Middle of May 2003:
George groaned as he pulled off his protective boots. Today had been hell. They'd worked hard to get the installation finished on time, and then found out that the sorry excuse for a fur who drew the plans had mixed up the floor numbers. They'd had to rip out half the cabling and do it again. He felt drained and tense.
Max nudged him "Hey, wanna join me and the rest of the crew for a beer or three at the bar?"
George considered it "Just one beer. That should relax me a little before I go home." "Yeah, today I really could use a few. Give me a few minutes to get ready, see you at the bar."
When he came in, he saw Max sitting at a large table, together with several other coworkers. George got a beer and joined them. They talked about the job, cursing the fursons at the central office. George was just starting on his second beer, when Arthur, his team leader, came back to the table, carrying a bottle of Bourbon and enough glasses for everybody "I should have noticed that the plans were all fucked up. Here, have a few drinks on me to make up for today." He poured for everybody.
George held up his paw "None for me."
Arthur and the others looked at him "Come on, just one. I'd really feel better if you did not turn me down."
George looked around, then gave up "Ok, give me one as well."
"Cheers!"
George did not like drinking the hard liquor. And he still had to drive home. "At least it is not far." But he did not protest when his glass was refilled.
The bottle was emptied in less than a quarter of an hour. Max bought a round of vodkas. Then Steve bought another round of bourbons.
An hour later George stumbled out of the bar, climbed in his car and drove home. He had only a few clicks to drive, he was not stopped by the police and somehow managed not to run anybody down. As he manoeuvered into the parking lot, he ran over a curb. When he got out, he saw that the front left tire had been damaged and was flat. "Shit! Just what I need." Grumbling angrily, he climbed the stairs to their apartment, swaying slightly.
# # # # #
Sarah put down the drawing stick and considered the picture on the screen. "Yep, looks just perfect." As she reached for the mouse to save it, the screen flickered and turned blue. "Unhandled Exception at address 0235fd3b:3af0345c." She stared at it and tried pressing some keys but got no reaction. "S*@"&!?!" She looked at the screen for several long moments "Now, when did I last save the picture?" When she looked at her watch, it was way past seven and she realized she must have been in her zone while she was drawing. She would not have thought to save the picture. "Oh God, more than two hours! Two hours of some of my best work lost because this F*"&!@#! computer crashes just before I can save it." She buried her face in her paws.
A few minutes later she wiped her eyes, turned off the computer and got up. Then she put on her jacket, left the studio and drove home.
# # # # #
Sarah stood in the kitchen, looking at the stove. She did not feel like doing any cooking today and was still considering what to do when she heard door open. She went to greet him "Hello George!" The smile on her muzzle faded when she saw and smelled him.
His "Hello Sweetheart, what's for dinner?" was slurred as he stood there swaying slightly and fighting to take off his jacket.
"Nothing. I don't feel like cooking today. Order a pizza or something." Disgusted she turned away and went back to the living room.
George followed her "What's the matter, Sarah? Come, give me a kiss."
"Not when you're that drunk. You stink." She wrinkled her nose..
George padded closer and said angrily "What do you mean, I stink? Don't be so grumpy!"
She took another step back and snarled "Get away from me!"
George followed her and put a paw on her shoulder "Sarah, don't be ..."
Sarah screamed "I said NO!" and slapped him as hard as she could.
He looked at her, momentarily stunned, then his eyes blazed with anger and he screamed "Bitch!" balled his right fist and smashed it into her face.
Sarah's head snapped back and she crumpled on the floor, blood flowing from her nose. Then she began sobbing.
When George saw her like that the fog in his mind lifted "Oh, my God! What have I done?" He knelt and reached for her "Sarah, please..."
Still sobbing she snarled "Get away from me, bastard!" and swatted his paw away.
He watched her, confused. Not knowing what to do, he retreated to his den, sat down and buried his face in his paws.
Sarah lay there sobbing for a minute, then she slowly got up and made her way to the bathroom. Her head was throbbing. She splashed cold water on her face, swallowed a painkiller and took stock of the damage "My nose is bleeding, but it's already slowing. I can barely open my left eye, it is badly swollen." She used a finger to test her teeth "Two seem a little loose." Carefully she washed away the blood. "My God, how did we come that far? What now?" She stood there for several minutes, looking at the mirror, not really seeing anything.
Finally she made up her mind "I need some time alone to think about this." She gathered some basic supplies and carried them to the bedroom. There she picked up her sports bag and filled it with a selection of clothes and other necessities. When she came out of the bedroom, George was waiting for her.
"Sarah, please, I ..." When he saw her face, he could not go on and stood there with his muzzle open.
She looked at him , pointed at her swollen eye and said "I can't sleep under one roof with a male who does that to me. Bye!" then she picked up her jacket and left, just barely not slamming the door.
George stood there, looking at the closed door "Oh, my God. Why?"
# # # # #
Sarah got into her car and drove to a cheap motel several blocks away, where she got a room for the night. The clerk gave her a funny look but wisely choose not to comment on her looks. When she was in her room, she cleaned her face again, then she called a pizza delivery service. While she waited for her food, she decided to call her parents.
"Harold Carolinae speaking"
"Hello, dad."
"Hi, Sarah, nice to hear from you. How are you?"
"I'm feeling terrible and I'm calling from a motel."
"What happened, daughter?"
She sighed "I had a big fight with George, dad. He hit me and gave me a black eye. I did not want to spend the night with him, so I'm staying at this motel tonight."
"The Bastard! That's terrible, girl. Do you want me to teach him a lesson?"
"No dad, leave him alone. For now at least."
"Is there anything we can do to help you? What are you going to do about him?"
"Thanks for the offer, dad, but I can't think of anything at the moment. I'll have to sleep on this, I'm very angry with him, but I don't want to make any hasty decisions. I'll talk with him tomorrow and then we'll see."
"Ok, but if he tries to hurt you again... Do you want to talk with your mother?"
"No, but give her my best. I want to cut this short, they charge a paw and a hoof for long distance. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Bye then, Sarah. I hope you'll work it out and please call us. Our prayers are with you."
"Bye, Dad."
# # # # #
Zig Zag looked at the proof Sarah must have dropped on her desk after she had left early yesterday. She considered it for some time "Looks pretty good, that girl is really shaping up. Just a few details that I'd like her to change." She got up and silently padded down the corridor to Sarah's room. The door was open as usual and she looked in without announcing herself. Sarah sat there, staring at the screen "Something is not right with her." She watched Sarah for a little while "Her breathing is ragged and the fur on her muzzle looks funny." she noticed.
She knocked on the doorframe to announce herself "Good morning, Sarah!"
Sarah jumped a little and answered without turning "Morning, Zig." Her voice was somewhat hoarse.
Zig dropped the proof on the table "Something is wrong with her, this can wait." and walked up to the desk "Sarah, look at me. What's the matter?"
Sarah sniffed and then turned around. Zig Zag's eyes widened when she saw her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, her left eye had a big shiner and the fur on her muzzle was matted with tears. Concern for Sarah and anger at whatever furson had done that filled her. She pulled up a chair, faced Sarah and growled "What happened? Who did that to you?"
Sarah sat there motionless and stared at her. Her eyes were filled with pain and fear. Zig forced her anger away and smiled, moved a little closer and put her paw on Sarah's. Sarah looked at her gratefully and then she started speaking "Thanks Zig. Yesterday I wanted to finish the video cover. I was really making progress, it came out so nice. I stayed late and then the computer crashed and destroyed two hours of work. Lately George is so often stressed out when he comes back from work. We were both angry and short tempered and he was drunk as well and then we had a big fight. I slapped him and he hit me back, hard enough to give me this and knock me down. I could not bear sleeping under the same roof with him, so I spent the night in a motel. My head still hurts."
Zig Zag growled angrily at that and suddenly Sarah jelped in pain and jerked her paw away. Zig looked at her in surprise and swore when she saw her paw. There were bright red streaks where she had dug in her claws. "Shit!" She jumped up "Sarah, stay put, I'll get the medicine kit."
She was back a few moments later. "Sarah, I'm so sorry about that." She gently took the paw Sarah was nursing, dabbed iodine solution on the wounds, and bandaged it. When she had finished, she looked at Sarah and said in a small voice "I'm really sorry about that. But I've been subjected to a lot of abuse when I was younger and it really torques me off to find that somebody I care about has been mistreated. Please forgive me. I did not want to hurt you further."
Sarah considered that for some time and then she held out her other paw "I understand, Zig. I guess I'm not really angry with you. It's nice to know that you care that much about me."
Zig carefully held her paw for a while, then she asked "So, what are you going to do about this?"
Sarah looked at her helplessly "I have no idea. I've been thinking about it all morning, but I'm drawing a complete blank."
"You can't just let this slide. If he hit you once, then he will probably hit you again. Either make really sure he does not do it again or bite the bullet and get a divorce."
Sarah shook her head and looked at her paws.
"Do you still love him?"
Sarah looked at her in surprise. She opened and closed her muzzle several times, unable to speak. Finally she shook her head and burst into tears.
Zig Zag held her for several long minutes.
After some time, Sarah got her weeping under control and wiped her eyes.
Zig looked at her and asked "So, have you decided?"
Sarah nodded.
"You are going to divorce him?"
Another nod "Yes."
Zig Zag gave her a mirthless smile "Good for you. When are you going to tell him?"
"Tonight."
"Do you think he will turn violent when you tell him?"
"I- I don't think so. But after what happened yesterday..."
"Then it might be a good idea if you are not alone with him. Think about it."
Sarah considered that for some time, then her features hardened and she said in a firm voice "Thanks, Zig, for being there. I'll get some friends and I'll tell him tonight."
Zig Zag squeezed her shoulder and got up "Good to hear, kit. If you need any help, just let me know. Otherwise take the day off if you want."
# # # # #
George dialed Sarah's office number. "Please pick up the phone." Nobody had answered when he had called in the morning and he had been too busy to try again until now.
"Sarah Lotor speaking."
"Hello, Sarah"
"George?!"
"Sarah, I'm so sorry about what I did yesterday. Can you ever forgive me? What can I do to make things right again?"
"You can't do anything, not anymore."
His eyes widened "I can't do anything? What do you mean, I can't do anything..." and his voice trailed off.
"Yes, I've thought about us a lot. And I can't take this any more. Sorry, but it's over."
His face fell "It's over? You mean... Oh, my God!"
"Just that. I'm going to file for divorce."
"No. Please, not that, Sarah!"
"George, please don't make this any harder than it has to be. But after yesterday I don't feel safe when I am alone with you. And we can't be married like that."
"..."
"George?"
"... Sorry, I don't know what to say, Sarah."
"George, can we do this like reasonable people? Without quarreling for weeks?"
His mind felt numb "What do you want?"
"Bring a good friend, I will ask Marsha and Rick to come. Then we sit down together today and make all the arrangements like splitting up our stuff. Around seven?"
It took him some time to answer "Ok. Bye."
"Bye."
George sat there, the receiver still in his paw, looking at the wall.
A few minutes later Anthony came into the temporary office "Hey, George, break is over."
George looked at the receiver in his paw, put it back and turned slowly to his friend.
"George, what's the matter? You look terrible!"
"I just spoke with Sarah. She is going to divorce me."
Anthony looked at him, then he closed the door and sat down "Tell me about it."
"You know how drunk I was yesterday? When I got home, we quarreled and I lost control and hit her. Hard enough to knock her down and make her bleed. She left and spent the night somewhere else. I just called her and she told me it is over."
Anthony put a paw on his shoulder "That is really bad, George."
"What is worse, is that I should have seen this coming, Tony."
"Why?"
"You know how stressful our work was in the last several months? I just realized how badly I treated her. And all this time I've been cross with her because of her job. I got so angry with her several times that I sent her away weeping."
"Oh, God!"
"Yes, just what I have been thinking. I think yesterday was only the last straw."
"Sorry, George. Are you going to try to get her to change her mind?"
"I will try. But I don't think my chances are good. I know her too well for that. Once she has made up her mind about something as important as this, she sticks to her decision. She stayed with me for a long time, maybe too long, waiting for me to stop hurting her. Now it is probably too late."
"I'm sorry for you, George. Is there anything I can do to help you?"
He looked at Anthony for some time "Yes, actually there is. Sarah wants to talk with me about splitting up today. And she does not want to be alone with me. She will bring a friend or two to our meeting and asked me to do the same."
He looked at George, then he squeezed his shoulder "I'll be there, George."
"Thank you, Tony."
"Ok, but we'd better get back to work before Arthur throws a fit." They got up.
# # # # #
Sarah had put down the receiver only a minute ago when the phone rang again "Sarah Lotor."
"Sarah, baby. Are you all right? You had me so worried."
"Hello, Mum! ... I'm ok, I guess." She sighed "I spoke to George just a few minutes ago. I'm divorcing him."
"Oh, that's terrible. Did he really hurt you that bad?"
"He knocked me down, gave me a black eye and nearly knocked out some of my teeth. It hurt a lot, it still does but there is no permanent damage. And I'd like to keep it that way. He has not been very nice to me for the last few months. And it was getting worse all the time. I was hoping that he would come around, but what he did yesterday was just too much."
"Sorry to hear that. So there is no more chance that you can work it out?"
"No, Mum. (pause) I know you had a few bad rows with dad and worked it out again, and I know you believe in the 'Till death do us part', but should I go for it even if it involves my funeral sometime later this year?"
"Sarah, sorry. You know him better, if things are as bad as that, then it is probably better to split up."
"I don't know if things would really get that bad. But two weeks ago he screamed at me, last week he threatened me and yesterday he gave me a black eye. I don't want to find out what he does next week. This is very different from the occasional problems you two had, mum."
"Well, I guess you are right. I don't want to see you hurt further, daughter. I don't like this, but whatever happens, I love you. If you need any help, don't hesitate to call us."
"Thanks, Mum, I love you too."
They talked for several more minutes.
# # # # #
"Marsha Besum speaking."
"Hello, Marsha."
"Sarah, what's up?!"
"Marsha, I need your help."
"Tell me, you know I'll do what I can."
"I'm going to divorce George. We had a fight yesterday and he beat me up. He hurt me badly, but everything will heal. The physical wounds at least."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Sarah. What can I do to help you?"
"I spoke with him a few minutes ago. I want to get our things in order as quickly as possible. We'll talk it over tonight and I'd like to have some friends around."
"I'll be there to help you, Sarah. I have a short day today, I will be home at about three. If you want to talk, come over."
"Thank you, Marsha."
"Oh, I've got a customer. Gotta go. Bye, Sarah."
"Bye, see you in the afternoon."
# # # # #
Marsha opened the door. When she saw Sarah, she exclaimed "Oh, my! You look terrible. (pause) Hello Sarah."
"Hello, Marsha. Yes, I've seen better days." she came in and closed the door.
When she struggled to take off her jacket, Marsha saw her bandaged paw "Your paw as well! Let me help you." In the living room Sarah sat down on the couch. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"Ah, yes. Tea would be nice."
"I'll fix a pot. Just sit and relax for a few minutes, I'll be right back." She got busy in the kitchen. A few minutes later she poured the tea and sat down next to Sarah "So, tell me all about it."
Sarah sipped at her tea for some time before she answered "Yesterday my computer crashed and destroyed several hours of my work. I was feeling very bad and angry. When George came home, he was drunk. Totally smashed. And he stank of booze and smoke, really yucky. When he tried to kiss me, I slapped him. That made him so angry, he hit me. He hit me only once, but it was enough to knock me to the floor. And I was bleeding and he nearly knocked out some of my teeth. My muzzle still hurts. I'm just glad he did not try to hit me again, my head was hurting so bad, it took me a minute or two until I could get up." She sniffed.
When Marsha saw that Sarah was weeping, she gave her a tissue, then she sat right next to her and hugged her.
"Thank you." Sarah wiped at her eyes, then she leaned her head on her friend's shoulder. "Then I went to the bathroom, cleaned myself up a little, packed a few clothes and stuff and left. I slept in that cheap motel on the main road. Well, I spent the night there, I could not sleep very much."
She drank a little more tea, then she went on "Zig Zag saw me weeping today and we talked about it. I don't know all that much about her past, but I do know that she has been abused by males. And she has a tiger's claws. She was holding my paw and got so angry at what had happened to me that she dug her claws into my paw. Then she patched me up again and we talked some more and then I decided to divorce George."
She paused again "He called a few minutes later to apologize, but I told him it was over. Now I just want to finish this as quickly as possible. We will talk tonight about how to split our stuff and all that. You will be there with me, won't you ?"
"Yes, Sarah. We will be there. Me and Rick."
"Thank you."
Marsha looked at Sarah and saw that she looked exhausted "Do you want to talk some more or would you like to curl up and have a little rest? You look like you could use it."
"Yes, I think I'd like a little rest."
Marsha got up "Make yourself comfortable." Then she fetched a blanket and covered Sarah. "Have a good rest, I'll wake you in a few hours." And she softly kissed her brow.
"Thank you, Marsha." She was asleep a few moments later.
# # # # #
"No, Arthur. We are leaving at five today."
"George, I need both of you. We have to finish this today."
"Sorry, Arthur. But your stupid bottle of Bourbon yesterday destroyed my marriage. I have to be home today to talk with my wife and see if I can salvage anything."
"What do you mean? How did that destroy your marriage?"
"It got me royally smashed. We had a bad fight, I lost control and hurt her and she left me. Today she told me she is going to divorce me."
"And you, Tony?"
"I've got to help George. See you tomorrow, Arthur." They got up and left their boss staring at the door.
End of Chapter 4