Chapter Thirty Six

 Jay woke up early so he could go with me to court.  I had called in somewhat fearful of Patty’s reaction.  She was actually very happy to hear about what I was going to do, but warned me that Frank would probably write me up again.  She did promise to try to talk him out of it.

 The three of us went to court, and I was successful in getting the order of protection.  They expected him to get served later in the afternoon, since they now knew where he lived.  Jay took us out to lunch at Kidz Howse as a celebration.  Being the middle of a weekday, it was empty.  Madison had the run of the place, and the staff was eager to do anything for us just for the sake of something to do.  Everything was going better than I’d expected.

 “I think I’m going to see if someone will take my shift tonight,” he said awhile after we got back.

 “Why?” I asked.  “I mean, not that I don’t want to spend the time with you of course but...  We won, didn’t we?”

 “I’d like to think so...  Look, I’m not trying to discourage you, I’m definitely not trying to scare you.  One time I had to x-ray a girl whose ex broke her jaw.  She had an order of protection, too.  Just for tonight, alright?  In case he gets a hot head about it.  If he doesn’t do anything right away, and takes a minute to think about it, I think we’re good.”

 It was like Jay had read Earl’s mind.  Jay was reading more fables, this time to me as well as Madison.  She sat wedged between us on the love seat.  I loved listening to Jay’s voice, and enjoyed the stories.  Suddenly we heard Earl’s car pull up and the engine being turned off.  No rev?  He must be in a hurry.

 I didn’t send Madison upstairs, since I had taken the officer’s advice and started locking the door.  “Well, I’ll call the police,” Jay said, getting up with a sigh that connoted Earl’s stupidity.

 We heard him try the knob, and I smiled.  Why didn’t I ever do that before?  Afraid of him waking Madison?  More like him slashing my tires.  I wonder what would have happened if I’d locked it before.  It didn’t take long to find out.  Jay was almost out of the room when the door flew open.

 It was almost an exact repeat of last time.  Earl moved toward me, and I knew he meant to hurt me.  Jay headed for him, and Earl tried shoving him away again.  This time, Jay seemed to melt out of the way with a step back and to the side, allowing just enough contact to trick Earl’s body into keeping the momentum behind the push.  He almost politely guided Earl’s arms to the side and down, and he fell face-first on my floor.  Jay was on him instantly, with a knee in his back.  He got one of Earl’s arms behind his back, pushing it up into an arm lock.  “Get the f**k off me!  Get off!” Earl started screaming.

 “Hey,” Jay said over Earl’s following string of obscenities and Mariah’s barking.  “Hey!” he snapped, forcing Earl’s arm farther up.  The pain made Earl pause.  “Mariah, be quiet.”  She stopped barking, and started making a noise that was between a growl and an anxious whine.  “Good girl.  Quit struggling Earl, or your shoulder’s going to pop right out.  Know what?  Keep fighting me, I don’t care.  You’re not supposed to be here.”

 “Boy,” Earl panted, “You better get off me.  Now.”  It was a low, threatening tone.  I had heard it many times before, but now it wasn’t having the old effect on me.

 “Earl, Laura told you not to come by anymore, didn’t she?” Jay asked.  Earl said nothing.  “Well?”

 “I don’t care what that f*****g b***h said.”

 “Madison, go upstairs,” I said, realizing I’d been holding her so tight I was surprised she could breathe.  She buried her face in my chest and shook her head, afraid to move past the two struggling men.

 “Well, the police sure did,” Jay said.  “Laura?  Give them a call.”

 “Don’t you dare!” Earl bellowed, spurring me to do just that.  Carrying Madison, I edged around them and went into my bedroom.  I could still hear them as I talked to the police.

 “Why didn’t you stay away, Earl?” Jay asked.  “We never would have had to see each other again.”

 “Why the f**k would you go to the cops, you idiot?  I don’t need that kind of trouble!”

 “Yet, here you are.  How did this all play out, in your mind?”

 “I just wanted to talk to the mother of my child, now get the f**k...  Ah!”  Jay must have wrenched his arm higher up.

 “Quit swearing.  Your daughter can hear you.”

 “Just let me up.  I’ll take off, I swear.  I can’t deal with cops when I’m all pissed off.”

 “Maybe I would Earl, but you smell like a jug of whiskey.  I can’t let you go driving.”

 “What the fu...  Ow!  What do you care if I been drinkin’?”

 “Had to x-ray a whole family of five that got nailed by a drunk driver before.  It’s an ugly sight, let me tell you.  Look, I’m not letting you up, but if you quit being an a*s I can at least ease up on your arm.  Try to calm down before the police get here.”

 I was off the phone now, debating whether to go out there.  Don’t hide.  Jay has him.  I heard Earl renew his struggle at Jay’s mention of the police.  I sat Madison on the bed and told her softly to stay put.  I went back out to the living room, and Earl saw me.  “Babe,” he pleaded, “tell me you didn’t call the cops.”

 “I told you to stay away, Earl,” was my only response, spoken with quiet authority.

 He struggled again, and in addition to forcing his arm up again Jay dug his thumb and first two fingers into a muscle at the top of his shoulder.  We argued in the same circle a couple of times, until Jay and I got sick of responding.  “That’s the way you want it, fine,” he said when we fell silent.  “I’ll be back on the street within twenty four hours, believe that.  You wanna go the cop route with me, b***h?  Fine.  Let’s see how you like it when I push for custody of that little girl.”

 I couldn’t help getting drawn in.  “You can’t!  I have a restraining order against you, and you just broke it!”

 “Ever hear of father’s rights?  I’ll get her on weekends, minimum!  Just you watch!”  He managed a look at me, and laughed at my expression.  “And it ain’t over between us either, buddy,” he addressed Jay.  “Don’t you think for a second that it is.”  Seeing how he’d gotten to me seemed to calm him down a bit, at least.  The police weren’t long in coming, and it was Officer LanPhere who came in with her partner.  Earl was calm as he allowed her to cuff him.  “Be seein’ ya,” he threw over his shoulder as they took him away.

 “Jay, he can’t be serious can he?  Custody?  The officer told me last night they’re trying to nail him on drug charges!”

 He looked troubled himself.  “I don’t know a thing about it, unfortunately.  He sounded awful sure of himself when he said ‘father’s rights’.  I never have heard of it, myself.”  My lips started trembling.  “Hey, don’t worry.  Even if he tries it he’s got his work cut out for him already, right?  Like you said, he did just violate an order of protection, on top of whatever else they’ve got on him.”

 “This was supposed to be over,” I said emptily.

 Madison came out to us.  I sat, and she slid into my lap without a word.  Jay joined us and we sat as a family, drawing strength from each other for awhile.  “I guess he made a key,” he said after we’d settled down.  “I’m going to get you new doorknobs.”  He got up.

 “What, now?”

 “Right now.”

 “I don’t want to be alone...  Take us with you?”

----

 He got us new doorknobs, a set that came with deadbolts.  He also bought a drill to install those with.  The project took him about an hour, and then we put Madison to bed.

 “Jay...  Why didn’t you hit him?” I asked when we were in bed for the night.  “I’ve seen you striking the bag.  You could have beaten the hell out of him and gotten away with it.”

 He hung his head a bit.  “I thought about it, believe me.”

 “No, it’s okay,” I said softly, sliding closer to him.  “Why, though?”

 “Hang on.”  He got up and slid a pair of boxers on.  I heard him go to his room, and he came back with two halves of a concrete block.  “Here,” he said, holding them out to me.

 “What?”

 “Take them.  I want you to feel them.”

 I did, and they were heavy.  One half was signed and dated.  “You broke this?”  Suddenly their weight was intimidating.

 “With the palm heel strike I taught you two.”  There was no pride in his voice, only solemnity.  He took them back, and set them on my dresser.  He stripped again and climbed back under the covers.  “Something changed for me that day.  That was the day I learned to fear my abilities.  If I can break a concrete brick, I thought, what could I do to a human skull?  Let alone any of the softer targets like throat, kidneys, so on.  If I let go, and started hitting him...”  Jay laughed nervously.  “I don’t know if I would have known where to stop.  I told you before, I’ve never hit anybody.  I’m afraid to...  Open that pathway up.  If it becomes a solution once, it’ll always be there as a solution again.  I had him under control before I knew what I was doing.  Once I had him there, anything more would have just been...  Acting violently for the sake of it.  Again, part of me wanted to.  Make no mistake of that.  But...”

 I laid an understanding hand on his arm.  “You’re right.  I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”  I kissed him.  “Thank you for being here...  I don’t know what he’d have done if you weren’t.  If you hadn’t called in...”  I kissed him again before he could respond, and kept kissing him.  After all, there was only one way for a princess to reward such a valiant knight...

Reviews

[Sarah]

Excellent chapter. The scene with Earl kept me captivated the entire way through. I can't imagine any court would allow him any sort of custody considering he was just arrested and had prior run ins with the law. Either way, I'm curious if he will be back as he says. Would he be placed on bail? Who would even bail him out if so? His connections?

I liked Jay's explanation at the end of the chapter. How he fears his own strength. It is a very realistic ability. I have felt similar feelings when it comes to suicide and what not. Not that I've tried anything, but just thinking about what you're actually capable of is mind blowing.

I'm also wondering what Madison is thinking about everything. She knows that Earl is bad, but is she the least bit curious of him being her father. I'm surprised she hasn't asked Laura about why she was with him or what not. Maybe she is still too young to know, but I would've thought she'd be more frightened or curious or something.