My Two Husbands

by Yari Martinez

  Even though I lied to Dominic about having work to do at home, I remember to send Zoe a text before calling Julie. I stumble into my room, grabbing my cellphone and prepare a text for Zoe: “Hi Zoe, tomorrow we go over the teams we will be selecting and move forward with our project. We will put a portfolio together of our expectations and goals for them as a unit. Hopefully, this week proves to be productive and the teams can finally get started on their projects. See you tomorrow. Brook.”

  I then call Julie. My stomach suddenly feels weird and I surprisingly fart without control. My nerves must be getting the best of me. Standing by the window, I call Julie and wait for her to answer. Looking around, I notice a set of bridal magazines on my dresser. I wonder when he put them there without me seeing him.

  “Hello,” I hear and am pulled out of my own thoughts.

  “Julie?”

  “This is Julie.”

  “Hi, it’s Brook. Sorry to bother you,” I say.

  My mind wanders off again, and I find myself staring at the magazines again. “Can you hear me?” says Julie.

  “I hear you now. I’m sorry, I’ve no idea what’s wrong with this phone. I was calling you to see how things are going with the paperwork,” I tell her.

  “As I said, it went fine, I completed everything and explained why we’re requesting custody. I also added Hunter’s violations, explaining the emotional stress it may cause Kaylee,” she says, sounding confident.

  As nervous as I am, I avoid saying anything that might dampen her confidence about my case.

  “Is there anything you need me to do?” I ask.

  “Actually no. Everything is taken care of. All I needed from you was the information you’ve already given. Tomorrow I’ll be submitting the petition to the court. Unless you want to come with me to court to drop it off or review it.”

  “You let me know what you think is best.” I know I shouldn’t trust someone I so recently met with the most important paperwork in my life, but I feel I can with Julie.

  “Everything looks good. There shouldn’t be any problems obtaining a date for a hearing. Everything on the petition is a kind of quick refresher for the judge. That way the judge will have a clear idea why we are there and will read our side of the story before Hunter and his lawyer get to say anything. It’s kind of a trick I use to avoid a longer process,” says Julie.

  “Sounds good then. But please, if you need anything from me, let me know. You don’t have to do everything on your own. I feel horrible you’re not charging me anything as it is.”

  “It’s me who needs to repay you for giving me this opportunity. Not many people would feel confident about a woman they met at a burger spot. You have paid me more than you can imagine.”

  Her words touch my heart, but I don’t want to say anything to make her sad. “Thanks Julie,” I say instead. “Well, I have a few errands to run. Call me after you drop off the paperwork.”

  Julie takes a second. “Will do. Talk to you then.” Her voice sound soft and full of emotion. I have no idea if I triggered her tears, but I quickly hang up before I get a chance to find out. I have no idea what to say to anyone who has gone through a rape. I don’t think I’m qualified to say anything.

  I grab the bridal magazines and take a seat. I have no idea why, but I feel like looking through them. Come to think of it, these magazine people are good. With their beautiful pictures, they can brainwash anyone into believing they want to get married. Time passes, and to my surprise I mark many pages in the bridal magazines. A summer wedding seems ideal. Without any difficulty, I can imagine our wedding and our small party.

  I always thought I was the desperate one in my relationship. It never occurred to me that Dominic would want a life with me as much as I wanted one with him.

  I have been hard on him since the proposal. It’s unfortunate that I have been bringing him down with my problems. He must think he’s making a mistake. I need to stop ruining my own life.

  I can’t control feeling giddy as I grab my phone. I hate bothering him while he is at work, but I can’t find a better time to let him know that there’s no point in waiting.

  “Love the wedding magazines. Definitely got me into the wedding mood. How does a summer wedding sound? I’ll show you a few things I marked when you visit. Give me a quick call. Love you,” I text him.

  It only takes him an hour to text back. “I’m a little busy at work right now. Call you later. Love you too.”

  Chapter 9

  It has been over two hours that Hunter has been notified about my petition and the given hearing date. It feels longer though. It’s irritating not being able to call Hunter to talk about what is the best course of action to take as parents.

  Prior to Julie’s call letting me know that Hunter has been served with the petition, I was having an uneventful morning. But now that Hunter clearly understands that I’m not going to allow him to keep me away from Kaylee, I am on full alert.

  I don’t know who Hunter is anymore, but I think it’s safe to assume he isn’t the same man he was when I was his wife.

  The banging at my door scares the life out of me. It’s Hunter.

  I open the door, and he immediately barges in without giving me the time to move out the way.

  “What are you doing here Hunter?”

  “Are you kidding me?” he snarls. “Are you seriously pretending as if you don’t know why I’m here? You know exactly what I’m doing here Brook. You petitioned for custody of Kaylee!”

  “You gave me no choice,” I justify.

  “You will not get custody of her, I’ll make sure of that.”

  He didn’t have to come all the way here to tell me that I would not get custody. What the hell does he know? He has taken advantage of his parental rights, abusing my right as a mother. What kind of monster hides behind a child to wound his enemy?

  “Do you hear me?” he screams.

  He looks like a vicious dog foaming out the mouth. I expected anger, but I didn't expect him to show up at my house. When he had me served with custody papers during our divorce, I hired a lawyer and cried, but I didn’t attack him, much as I wanted to. Yet here he is. Clearly we are not of the same species.

  “You gave me no choice,” I repeat. “I’m doing my best to abide by your rules, which clearly don’t coincide with the court order. Yet you’re giving me hell to remain in touch with our daughter. You clearly don’t want me to have a relationship with Kaylee. That’s something I’m not going to allow. She’s my daughter too, even though you wish otherwise.”

  “She’s my daughter more than she is yours. I have never turned my back on her for a piece of ass. You did that. It didn’t matter what we went through. You and Kaylee were always my top priority. You chose to change that. I’m telling you right now, you better drop the petition before you make both of us regret it.”

  “This is not about us! It’s about Kaylee, and you know it. What you think or don’t think about me should not affect my daughter having her mother.”

  “I gave you everything Brook, and you took me for a fool. You and that bastard didn’t give a crap about the damage to Kaylee and me. I didn’t see you crying then about your relationship with our daughter! I didn’t see you caring about our marriage. I gave you a choice. I married you! I made you a wife, a mother, and I gave you a home. You didn’t have anything to worry about, other than our life together. So don’t say I didn’t give you a choice.”

  “You also beat the shit out of me. You also gave me bruises, broken ribs, and black eyes! So no, you didn’t give me a choice. I should not have had to pick between being a beat-up wife and a mother. No woman should,” I counter.

  “I said I was sorry, I told you that I needed help. Instead of you doing what was right for your family, you turned your back on us and abandoned us. You couldn’t wait to be a whore.”

  Is he really blaming me? Was I supposed to take my beatings like a champ? Now that I think about it, I did take them like a champ. I should definite
ly not have dealt with it for as long as I did. I should have told someone.

  “My mistake, Hunter, wasn’t that I didn’t do what was right for my family. I was a good wife to you. I was loyal. I was faithful. I was there for you! I helped you make your dreams come true, and I’ve always been a great mother to Kaylee. But your mistake was that you forgot I was your wife and your equal. Your best friend. Don’t blame me for turning into a coward, for thinking that I owed you something. You didn’t make me a wife. You didn’t make me a mother. You didn’t give me a home either. We married each other and built everything together because that’s what married people do. So don’t flatter yourself thinking you did me any favors.”

  He moves closer to me. If I could jump out of a window to get away from him, I would, but instead I stand frozen. He brings his hand close to me, and I can’t help but cover my face.

  “What the hell is that on your finger?” He grabs my left hand and pulls me towards him. “How lovely!” he sneers. “You and Dominic are planning to get married. What now? You two will be a happy family and raise Kaylee together?”

  “No,” I protest, trying to pull my hand away from him. His grip tightens, and he pulls me closer.

  “You’re damn right no. Over my dead body will that man ever be around my daughter.”

  Without warning, I feel a flare of pain on the right side of my face and crash to the floor. I do my best to get up, but in a flash, he bends down and grabs me by the hair.

  “Stop it!” I scream. “Please!”

  Instead, he punches me in the face, again and again. I drop to the floor in sheer agony, hoping that he will stop. He kicks me in the gut, screaming, “Kaylee will never be with you understand, you whore!” I can't remember everything he says through his rage and my screams, but he finally stops.

  Through a blur, I can see him walking towards the door. I lie still, just in case he decides to return.

  “You better drop your petition if you know what’s good for you,” he says and walks out.

  I take a deep breath. All my bones hurt as I let my body relax on the floor.

  “Oh my God Brook! Are you okay?” is the next thing I hear. Julie runs up to me and tries to help me up from the floor. “My God! What happened?”

  I can’t remember how long I have been lying on the floor, but I am so happy to hear her voice. I push myself to sit up and hug her tight so she doesn’t leave my side.

  “What happened?” she asks again.

  I don’t want to bring myself to say the truth out loud, but I think the cat is out of the bag.

  “What time is it?” I mumble through swollen lips.

  “It’s 4:20. You have to tell me what happened?”

  I let go of Julie and stare at the floor. This is the first time anyone has seen me immediately after Hunter has beaten me.

  “Hunter came over, upset about the petition. When he realized that I’m engaged, he started hitting me,” I say, embarrassed.

  “You need to tell the police.”

  “No! I can’t!” I cry. Getting up is a struggle, but I force myself to my feet and collapse on the couch.

  “What do you mean no? This isn’t the first time he has put his hands on you. Look at how he left you on the floor. He was fine with walking out of here without worrying about the consequences. How long has he been hitting you?” she asks, concerned and furious.

  She is right. This isn’t the first time. But he’s Kaylee’s father, and I can’t taint the image she has of him. “It has been going on for years,” I say. “It started with a push during a petty argument, then a smack because I rolled my eyes. You can imagine the rest.” Tears fill my eyes.

  “Why haven’t you said anything? Does anyone know?”

  I feel horrible that she is so concerned, but I’ve gotten habituated to Hunter and his abuse. I haven’t reported him before, and I feel nothing good would come of reporting him now.

  “I can’t say anything. One of my friends knew, but I never allowed her to say anything. And Dominic had his suspicions, but when I moved out and started my divorce process, he never brought it up again.”

  “But why haven’t you said anything?” she asks again.

  “At first I didn’t say anything because I thought one day he will remember how much we loved each other. That he would go back to his loving ways. But that never happened. By the time he talked about marriage counseling, it was too late to find a solution to our problems. Dominic came into my life. It felt nice not to be beaten. Hunter’s apologies were just repetitions. He offered them after every single beating. By then, I just wanted to get away from him. I felt reporting anything would just cause a bigger problem when I could just walk away instead. And that’s what I did.”

  Why did I open the door? I can see the bruises already blooming on my skin. I can’t help feeling stupid. It has been such a long time since my last beating, I didn’t think he had the courage to beat me now that I was no longer his wife.

  I look up at Julie. Her face is red. She looks like she is barely breathing.

  “I don’t know when or why, but one day I was careless while seeing Dominic, and Hunter found out. That’s when things got really bad. He beat me so hard that I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks. For a long time, I felt everything was my fault. Maybe I should have tried harder to fix my marriage. Maybe I should have tried being a better wife. Maybe I should have sought help when the beatings first started, but I didn’t. I couldn’t face we’d become the people we were. And he wasn’t always abusive. He really was a dream-like Prince Charming in the beginning. I don’t know what changed. Anyway, I never called the cops because I didn’t need the neighbors knowing we had problems. Or Kaylee learning that her father beat me. Kaylee adores him! How can I do anything to change the way she looks at him? I tried to find out what I was doing wrong, but nothing I did to change seemed to make him stop. So I left him. We went through a hideous divorce. And here we are today.”

  Julie’s face is frozen in a puzzled expression. “And you didn’t bring any of this up during your divorce?” she asks softly.

  “No I didn’t. Hunter and his lawyer were coming at me aggressively at the time. I just wanted the storm to pass, so I thought it was best not to say anything. Plus everyone would have thought I was only saying he hit me to get custody of Kaylee or to justify my affair. I honestly didn’t believe he would keep me away from her. I thought all of this would pass. But since I lost custody and the divorce went through, I haven’t been able to see Kaylee, in spite of the court order. I haven’t even been able to speak to her every day. That is what pushed me to petition for custody. I feel this is all my fault,” I explain.

  Julie gently cups my face and looks into my eyes, “To begin with, let’s get one thing straight. You have no fault in why Hunter hits you. Second, if Kaylee’s image of her father is ever tainted, Hunter will have no one to blame but himself. Third, enough is enough. You have to report him now. And you need an order of protection, because the next time he hits you, you might not live to tell your story again and Kaylee won’t have a mother. Is that something you want?”

  Her words feel like a ton of bricks on my shoulders and make me sick to my stomach. As painful as it is, I move away from her and throw up all over the floor. I still feel sick.

  “Please take me to the hospital,” I gasp.

  I don’t remember how I get to the hospital, but I am happy to wake up without the horrible pain from earlier.

  “Hey you, how are you feeling?” asks Julie, her face pale.

  “A little better. Thanks for bringing me. Go home and get some rest, please.” I whisper.

  “I have nothing to do at home. If it’s okay with you, I’d rather stay.”

  This woman has gone through her own personal hell, yet here she is, embracing my problems as her own. I’m convinced she’s an angel.

  “Ms. York, how are you feeling?” asks a young looking doctor from the other side of the bed.

  “I think okay.”


  “You gave us quite a scare there. Is it possible to talk alone, or is it fine to speak in front of your friend?” he asks.

  It’s obvious my secret is out. There is no longer any reason to speak to the doctor alone. My darkest secret has come to light thanks to Hunter’s irrational behavior.

  “You can talk in front of her,” I say.

  “Okay then.” He flips through his notes, making me anxious. Why does he have to flip through all those pages?

  “To begin, all the pain you’re experiencing is obviously due to the blunt trauma you just faced. I’m sorry you had to go through that, but the good news is that within a few days you’ll start feeling better. We did run some tests. But we weren’t able to take x-rays because of your pregnancy. However, you don’t seem to have any broken bones or internal injuries. We would like to keep you overnight, just to monitor you and the baby. If there are any changes overnight, we’ll explore other options in the morning. Now that you’re awake, we’d like to run some more tests and make sure everything is going well and to make sure the baby is out of harm’s way,” he concludes.

  I let go of Julie’s hand. I stopped listening to him after he uttered the word ‘pregnant.’ How stupid of me to believe my life would get any better.

  “Pregnant?” I ask.

  “Oh! You didn't know? Um… congratulations,” he says, looking down at his notes, his face red.

  “I didn’t know! How could this have happened?” I say, not directing my words at anyone specifically.

  He doesn’t respond, obviously knowing I’m not really expecting an answer.

  “Also, we need to contact the police for the assault. We haven’t yet done it, but it’s hospital policy,” he continues.

  I look at Julie for verification, and she confirms this with a nod and a soft smile.

  “Okay,” I mumble. I can’t believe I’m pregnant. What am I going to do? How is Dominic going to react to this?

  “A nurse will be visiting you to gather more information for your charts. When the police arrive, I’ll come in first to make sure you’re ready to speak to them. If you like, I can sit with you or your friend here can be there. Just know you don’t have to do this alone. I’ll be back in a bit,” he says.