This is part two of "Two Serve and Protect".
Calvin took the gun from my head, opened it and showed me the empty chamber. Then he did something that really made me see how crazy he was--he laughed. I mean a big belly laugh, like me using the bathroom on myself was the funniest thing he had ever witnessed. He walked out of the bedroom shaking his head.
"Why are you being so mean to me? What happened to the sweet, thoughtful man I fell in love with? Now, you're nothing but a psychopath."
I realized that Calvin had missed most of what I had said, when I heard the van pull out of the pebble filled driveway.
After I figured he was long gone, I eased out of the bed. I was sick of that fool. Once I had placed a call to 911, I immediately jumped in the shower, not wanting to smell like I had a dirty diaper when the police arrived. I had never been afraid of my husband before, but I was then, and I hated the feeling. I felt naïve for not noticing he had those tendencies before I married him. How could I let him treat me like that? Love was a hell of a thing.
Fifteen minutes later, I yanked the door open before Officer Jeremy Wilkins had completed his knock on the glass of the storm door.
"We got a call about a domestic disturbance. Are you Shanell Parker?"
"Yes, sir, my husband and I just got into it. He woke me up with a gun to my head. It was empty, but I was scared to death."
"Do you want to press charges, Mrs. Parker?"
"Well, no. He didn't really do anything; I just wanted you guys to have a record of the incident in case he does something like this again and I end up having to defend myself."
Officer Wilkins looked at me and nodded. He wrote a phone number on a sheet of paper from his notepad and handed it to me. I looked at him in surprise.
"Why are you giving me your personal number?"
"I want to be the one you call if you have more problems out of your husband. By the way, where does he work? Relax; I just want to talk to him. I won't even wear my uniform."
"Okay, but I know he's gonna come home clowning, so keep your phone handy."
"Yes, ma'am, I sure will."
Sure enough, when he returned later that day, Calvin began yelling before he could get the front door opened. I just looked at him and shook my head, "If you had not been acting a damn fool…"
"Fool! You're the one who's crazy. A man can't even hang with his boys without you calling, and now you're putting the police in our business. You need to get you a life."
"Tell your other chick to get a life," I screamed, slapping Calvin.
He touched his face and winced. I could see print forming where my hand had landed. Before I was able to register the expression on Calvin's face, I found myself licking blood from a loosened front tooth. Calvin had never hit me before. Normally, even when he'd said he was angry, I couldn't tell it because he always had half a smile on his face. I guess once weapons were introduced, that just opened the door for all sorts of things.
From the look on his face then, I could tell that Calvin wanted to say something, but decided not to. He stormed out of the front door instead. I dialed Officer Wilkin's number as fast as I could.
"Mrs. Parker, are you okay? What happened?"
"Just come get me. I'll be ready when you get here."
When Jeremy arrived, I told him to take me to my sister's house but he insisted on taking me home with him. He said that he wanted to make sure I would be okay. I was glad because Jean would have told my dad and I didn't want him to know what was going on. He'd never like Calvin, but had tolerated him for my sake. I didn't want my dad going over to the house, with a shotgun, trying to rectify the situation.
Jeremy didn't try to prey on my vulnerability, but left me alone to collect my thoughts in his spare bedroom. He took me to get my car and the rest of my clothes the next day, while Calvin was at work. I wasn't ready for any more confrontations. I knew that Jeremy would have had to arrest Calvin if he did anything to me. Even though Calvin had treated me like crap, I didn't want to see him behind bars.
Over the next few months, Jeremy and I became very close. We didn't share Jeremy's townhouse, but I did spend almost all of his free time over there. We took walks in the park, watched the sun set by the river, and either cooked dinner together or went out for a night on the town. It felt a little like déjà vu because Calvin and I had done some of the same things, at first.
Whenever Jeremy and I made love, he was so gentle, never rough and quick like Calvin had become. Calvin had begun to act like it was just another job when he made love to me, like he would much rather have been doing something else. Jeremy knew what I had been through with Calvin and wanted me to feel that there was another man that loved me, truly loved me. Not someone that just said the words then acted like he couldn't stand me.
I was in the tub when my cell phone rang. It was in the living room, so I yelled to Jeremy to answer it for me. He said hello, then a long pause followed. Jeremy opened the bathroom door and handed the phone to me.
"Hello," I said.
"Hey, baby, when you coming home? I miss you." It was Calvin.
It had taken him three whole months to take the time to get in touch with me and he acted like nothing bad had happened between us. When I looked up at Jeremy, he shook his head and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
The sequel to Good to Gonzo.
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