Misery Rides Again

Chapter 9: Where There is Hate, Let There Be Love...

Justine and I look at each other and mouth the name, "Darlene?"

Darlene jumps off the car, places both hands on her hips and screams, "Billy Bob!"

Justine and I look at each other and mouth the name, "Billy Bob?"

"Darlene how could you run off with these two old fucks and let them do those things to you? God that is just too fucking sick! I'm going to kick your ass like I ain't never kicked it before," Billy Bob screams at Darlene.

Brain cells smoke, snap, crackle and pop, but I finally look at Darlene and ask, "Has he hit you before?"

"Yes."

I turn to look at this Billy Bob. He is younger then me, but who isn't, he is of medium build and he has a baseball bat dangling in his right hand dragging the ground as he walks towards me. "What are you looking at old man? I'm going to kick your ass before I kick Darlene's!"

Billy Bob keeps walking towards me but his bat is still dragging the ground. I look him in the eye and calmly tell him, "I don't think so little boy."

My statement causes him to pause in mid stride as he was expecting weakness. When I see the bat leave the ground I charge him, grasping his shirt with my hands I lift upwards as I run him backwards. He is off balance and he cannot run backwards as fast as I can run forward so he falls with me on top of him. The fool does not know how to fall and his head hits the ground with a thud. While he is still in a daze I grab the wrist holding the bat, twisting with both of my hands the bat leaves his grasp. As I continue with my twisting motion he is rolled over on to his stomach as I bring his arm up to his shoulders. He screams in frustration and pain.

"Get off me old man," Billy Bob screams.

I pull on his arm pulling Billy Bob's upper torso off the ground, then I place my left arm behind his head and drive forwards with all of my might and plant his face into the hard unyielding ground. Bending forward I speak into his ear, "When a real man has you in this position, you don't demand shit. Do you understand?"

Billy Bob is not the sharpest of all people in the world and it takes a few more bangs before he understands that threats will not get him out of his predicament. I hate men who strike women. Period. Violence is never the answer to any problem. Never! Yet here I am naked riding the back of some idiot named Billy Bob who would have tattooed my body with his Louiseville Slugger because he thought I was old and weak. "What the fuck am I going to do with you, you retarded piece of shit," I ask out loud because I cannot come up an answer in the silence of my mind.

"Get off me old man and I tell ya," a defiant Billy Bob yells at me.

Lift Billy Bob's upper torso, forearm behind his head, bend at my waist as quickly as I can, plant his nose once again into the ground, this could get boring. "I'm sorry Billy Bob, but I was not talking to you," I tell him as he coughs and gags in the hole his face has dug for him.

"Let him go Papa, and I will take him home," Darlene quietly speaks.

"He will only beat up on you again as soon as he recovers, and you know it."

"Yes, but I still love the jerk. He ain't much but beats nothing."

I look up at Darlene and I want to tell her she does not need this retarded idiot but I see the look in her eyes. Sweet Jesus, I remember that look and I tremble. Many years ago when I was just a petty assistance district attorney I saw the same look in abused children, the parents may have physically abused them and other hurtful things but they were still their father and mother at least in the eyes of the kids.

I want to scream out the hopelessness of it all but I know that look. As I relax Billy Bob's head is pulled up from the hole his face has dug for him, and in between more spiting, coughing and gaging he tells me, "Get off me old man. You heard the cunt, she is mine!"

For all the battered kids and women, I think. "Okay Billy Bob since you are the man the woman wants. Let me help you up." As I get to my feet I pull and twist with all of my might. Cartilage tearing and bones snapping are muted sounds in comparison to the scream that Billy Bob makes as he is yanked to his knees. Once again the peace of the forest is shaken and the critters sing out their protest. I smile as I release his arm and watch it fall uselessly to his side. You will never use that arm again to strike anyone, so little, so late, I think.

"Get dressed and get him to a hospital," I tell Darlene. She nods her head in understanding and with Justine following her they move towards the passenger side of my big old battleship of a car.

I look at Billy Bob and listen to him cry like a little lost child. Part of me is happy that he will never use that arm again to strike anyone, and part of me is angry for using violence again violence. Where does it all stop, I ask myself in silence knowing that violence is never the answer. The minutes pass and the crying continues. I close my eyes.

"Get up Billy Bob," I hear Darlene speak.

"He broke my arm, Darlene. That old man broke my arm," a battered man in the voice of a child tells Darlene as he gets to his feet with her assistance.

"Billy Bob he should have broke your fucking head. You don't go walking around with a baseball bat in your hand threatening people. Tonight you met a man and he whipped your ass like a man. Now suck it in and take it like a man!"

And his reply is more sobs.

I feel arms around me. I open my eyes and look down at Justine.

Reaching up with her hand she strokes my face. "You're crying?"

I node my head, yes.

"Why," she asks.

"The stupidity of it all."

"I don't understand"

"Jesus Christ proved it. Gandhi and King replicated it and found that it worked."

"What are you talking about?"

"Love Justine. I'm talking about love and nonviolence. If you want to make a lasting change, it must be done through love and peace. What I did tonight was to meet hate with more hate, and because I had more intelligence my hate won out, but that win is only temporary. Hate will never win in the end, and I know it. What I did tonight was stupid."

"George you protected us all. If you had not acted he might have killed us."

"Yes, I had to act. But there was no need to destroy the use of his arm," I whisper out loud as I pull her to me, hold her tight and let my tears run down her back.

After a few minutes Justine pulls back from me, taking my head in her hands she pulls it down and kisses me. "I love you George. Now lets go jump into that lake out there and get cleaned up." Taking my hand she leads me to the water and like kids we splash, laugh and play. Once again she pulls my head down and unlike kids we kiss like adults. She feels my hardness pressing on her body, with a jump and a twist she engulfs my sex with her's. We are joined as husband and wife should be, with my hands under her ass I walk towards the beach. With up most care I lay her down half in and half out of the water. Our movements are slow and tender but water does splash on our sex and instead of cooling our passion it only adds to it. "Now George, give it to me, all of it!"

Justine moans her passion into my chest, as I moan mine into her shoulder. We both tremble and shake, then our bodies just sink into the sand that only minutes ago served so well as a spring board to our passion. I push myself up on my hands, look down on Justine who is bathed in the moonlight looking like a water nymph. Bending my neck until our lips meet I gently kiss her lips. Breaking the kiss I tell my wife, "I love you too Justine."

There is a gentle rustle in the woods that I interpret as a reminder from the denizens of the forest of how to act at night in their domain. Quietly we go back into the water to rinse off, then hand in hand we walk back to the car.

I open the car for Justine and she slides in bare ass naked, and likewise I slide bare ass naked in beside her. Starting the car I back up and hear a snap, a crack really, then I remember the bat. Just a broken useless piece of wood now, there is no going back and changing what has happened. With one arm around Justine, we drive off into the moonlight.