A Boring Sunday Afternoon

The car was parked at the local supermarket and inside Jenn was sobbing. She had managed to get away but didn't know where to go. She couldn't have gone to her mother's house otherwise he would have followed. He was, Gene, her husband. Not being able to go anywhere, she just sat there and phoned her older sister, Jean, to plead for help.

Between the sobs, Jenn managed to tell Jean what had happened. Apparently after the morning church service, she decided that it was time to leave Gene for good. It was no surprise to him because they had talked about it weeks before, so he was aware of the event. When Jenn arrived home to gather her clothes and some personal belongings, Gene managed to lock the doors and bar the windows. Jenn told Jean she panicked and froze for a few seconds. She was a prisoner in her own home. Somehow, she realized that she still had Gene´s car keys (Gene referred to the automobile as being his and not theirs) and that would give her a chance to escape through the garage door because those keys were on the keychain together with the car key. She had no time to take anything, got in the car and fled. Freedom seemed more important to her than her belongings.  Jenn drove as fast as she could and ended up in the lot at the local supermarket.

Jean told Jenn to stay put and that she would call one of the brothers to go rescue her. She called Jose´s house, their youngest brother; but who answered was the mother. Jean could not let her mother know what's going on otherwise the elderly woman might have an attack for her health was fragile. Handing the phone over to Jose, the older sister told him what he needed to do. She asked him not to mention anything to their mother, to go meet Jenn and accompany her to Gene´s house; that way he would make sure her husband let her take some clothes and her documents.

Worried but not in panic, Jose drove to the local supermarket and spotted his brother-in-law's car and his older sister inside in tears. She was in no conditions to drive so he took over the wheel without a word they drove to her home. He had left his car in the carpark and would come back later to get it. They drove silently. No questions asked.

The raging husband did not want his brother-in-law in the house. Calmly Jose told Gene that they had come in peace and he was there just to make sure that Jenn wouldn't be imprisoned once again. The husband felt offended and tried to attack the brother-in-law who grabbed his arm as he was about to be struck. Jose held his brother-in-law's arms and told him that it would not be wise to fight him because for sure he would lose. Jose was much stronger than Gene. Jose mentioned that if Gene didn´t allow Jenn to get her things, he would call the police.

Jenn rapidly gathered some pieces of clothing, her documents and her laptop; without a word or a glance, she walked out of that house with her mind set to never return. Jose accompanied her to her mother's house and she calmly told her mother that she was getting a divorce. It had been 10 years she had been suffering in a marriage that was not really a marriage. From day one she was aware that eventually it would not work out, nonetheless, she tried to make it work. With the pandemic, the situation one worsened. Gene was a kind man, but there was no passion, fire or drive to do anything, let alone make their relationship work out.

The mother was extremely worried for her daughter because she knew that her son-in-law would show up claiming his wife back. The mother feared what her youngest son what do in case that happened. She went to her room, took out her Bible and prayed furiously for the cause.

In the meantime, Gene had called Jean to tell her what had just happened, and she made believe that she was hearing that story for the very first time. She managed to convince him that it would not be wise to go over to her mother's house and drag Jenn back. She also reminded him that they had been talking about ending their relationship and marriage for a few years now. They had settled the issue and divorce was the best option. Gene agreed to what Jean had run by him, hung up the phone and broke down.

Who would imagine that on a boring Sunday afternoon all of this would have twisted the plot of their lives?

Written: June 18, 2020

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