Confessions of a Submissive Wife

CHAPTER 7

The Encounter

2004

The spring of 2004 was my most memorable spring ever. Turning sixteen is a pivotal time in any young girl's life. If they were anything like me, they look forward to finally getting behind the wheel of a car.

I worked two part-time jobs for two years, saving every penny just to buy my mint green Jeep Cherokee. The day has finally come! The day I have waited for since I was a little girl, my independence day. Freedom at last! No more riding the bus, I'm finally getting my car tomorrow, I thought. My birthday couldn't have come any sooner. The more I daydreamed, the more excited I got thinking about the moment I pull up to my sweet sixteen birthday bash and all my friends would be envious of me.

Today must be the hottest day of the year, I thought as I sat on the front porch sweating bullets on the lopsided metal folding chair, waiting for my daddy to arrive. Days like this my grandma would say, "I swear I could see the devil walking around blowing his deadly breathe." I started to feel lightheaded from all the heat so I rushed inside to grab some cold water and I fixed breakfast as usual. Kenya just slipped in and out the house only moments before Pearl walked down the stairs. She looked like she had gotten smacked by a Mack truck or something worse. Her upper lip was bruised and swollen; she also wore dark shades trying to mask her black eye. Her hair looked like she had been dragged down the street in some sort of street brawl. I looked at her from the corner of my eye as I flipped my flapjacks, not being too concerned with her latest drama. I learned not to get involved with whatever disaster Kenya was facing. Last year, she had the bright idea to run away and moved in with her much older boyfriend at the time, Steve.

Pearl and I searched everywhere for her. It wasn't until a nurse called the house from St. Agnes Hospital, telling us she had been admitted. She was a minor and she had a fractured rib, broken jaw, and finger. When we got to the hospital, my mother was furious after seeing Kenya all bruised up. She called my Uncle Hammer to meet us at the hospital. No one called on Hammer, unless some hammering needed to be done. When the police arrived, Kenya refused to report Steve. Pearl was so angry at Kenya that day. I had never seen her so upset with her before; she usually reserves that anger for me. It took two officers and half the nurse staff to calm her down. It was never confirmed if my Uncle Hammer actually did anything to Steve or not, but we never heard from him again.

Kenya saw me staring at her and shaking my head in shame. She begged me not to tell Pearl about her bruises. Telling Pearl about her latest shenanigans was the last thing on my mind. I wasn't going to let her or anything ruin my day.

She had Peanut and his crew waiting for her outside as she ran upstairs to her room. Moments later, she ran back down with a brown paper bag in her hand.

"Do you want something to eat?" I asked, as she tried to hurry back out the door to her impatiently waiting thug associates. Peanut blew and blew the horn, while I tried to stall a bit, hoping Pearl would come downstairs and stop whatever disaster from happening. I guess in some twisted way I cared.

I fixed my plate and went outside, sat on the porch, and ate. I watched Kenya pull a gun out of the brown paper bag and slid it under the passenger seat of Peanut's BMW. Pearl came to the door and asked, "Was that your sister?"

"Yep," I said as I ate my perfectly cooked bacon, not giving any more information than that. I refused to let Kenya's crap ruin my birthday.

It was so hot, I began sweating in places I need not describe, impatiently waiting for my dad to arrive. As time seemed to slowly pass me by, my attitude rapidly began to grow with every sweat bead that dropped from my forehead. My mother further infuriated me when she came outside for the third time checking on my delinquent sister. This time she had a look of sadness about her. Oh Lord, did something happen to Kenya? I should have said something, I shouldn't have let her go, I thought, as panic began to set in. "What's wrong?" I asked.