CHAPTER ONE The tears had stopped, but her cheek still stung from the backhanded blow. Allen had hit her pretty hard. The bruise was tender and her jaw swollen. She didn’t know exactly where she was or where she was going. It really didn’t matter; she just had to get away and Stephanie drove on through the rainy night. It was two A.M. The lights of a convenience store, at a three way intersection, gave the promise of hot coffee. In the store, she poured a large cup of the dark, nasty looking brew and sprinkled in some sugar and creamer. Snapping a lid on the cup, she made her way to the counter and the sleepy clerk. Paying for the coffee and twenty in fuel, she went out and pumped the gas. Back in her car, she touched her jaw and she winced. Through the rain drops on the windshield, she looked at the state highway she had pulled off of, and then at the road that intersected it. She had no place to go and no one to see. Looking back at the highway, she debated which road to take. It didn’t matter as long as she could get away from him. How could she have been so wrong? You would have thought she would recognize an abusive S.O.B., after being married to one. When she had finally gotten the divorce from Rob, she swore she would never put up with that kind of treatment again. Yet when she met Allen, he had managed to hide that side of his personality. He had come in like a white knight and swept her off her feet. He was kind, sensitive and protective and after a few dates, she began to let her guard down and before long she thought he just might be the one. When he swore his undying love and asked her to move in with him, giving up her apartment was easy enough, but as it turned out, it was a mistake, a very painful mistake. Within a few weeks, the abuse and control had started. His protectiveness became overbearing and controlling. She couldn’t go out with her friends, or even go to the store by herself. When she came home from work, he would take her car keys. The final straw was when he hit her. It had come suddenly and without provocation. The backhanded slap had knocked her into the couch. He had been drinking heavily, and she suspected that the white powder around his nose was cocaine. The tears had started, although she tried hard not to cry. She had gotten up and gone into the bedroom. Hours passed until she dared to peek around the door. Hearing him snoring, she finally got the nerve up to venture back into the living room and was relieved to find him passed out on the couch. An empty Jack Daniels bottle lay on the floor. Cautiously, she had searched his pockets until she found her car keys. As she pulled them out, he had opened his eyes, mumbled something incomprehensible, and passed out again. His wallet was on the table and she took what money he had in it, a few hundred dollars. Hurrying into the bedroom, she stuffed a few clothes into a travel bag, and digging through the closet, got the credit card she had managed to keep hidden in a pocket of a jacket. Without a look backwards, she hurried out the door and into the cool damp Texas night. A steady rain had the streets shiny under the street lights. Getting into her car, she pulled away, with no destination in mind. Taking the first interstate she came to, which happened to be south bound, Dallas was soon in her rear view mirror. The farther she got from the city limits, the safer she felt. At the little store in Baytown, she sat trying to decide which way to go. Baytown, where the hell was Baytown? She had never been south of Dallas and had certainly never even heard of Baytown. As a car went by, the lights illuminated a small sign that read, SARGENT ISLAND, with an arrow pointing at the road that intersected the highway. An island sounded exotic. She had never bothered to go to the beach. I guess it’s time I find out what the draw of the beach is. Turning the wheel, she pulled out onto the road and drove on into the night. It was not quite an hour later that she was sitting at a swing bridge. Instead of constructing a draw bridge it was easer to use a long barge, with the roadway built on it. It could be moved to the side and held in place with cables. It was sideways to the road and two long barges, with a large tug pushing them, were making their way through the narrow opening. The rain had stopped, so she got out of her car and went around the drop arm, which kept cars from going farther. A cool breeze ruffled her hair as she stood close to the water. Her eyes opened wide as the tug, with lights blazing, passed her. She had seen tug boats on the TV, but there were not many boats that big in Dallas. The wheelhouse was lighted from within and a light flashed on the face of the man at the wheel. She saw him very clearly. His hair was salt and pepper and his face angular with a strong chin. Catching only a glance, she liked what she saw. He must have seen her standing there, because he looked down at her and waved. Although she liked what she saw, she just felt numb as she stared back blankly. He looked back at his barges. After the barges and tug were through, the bridge moved back into place and the arm lifted, allowing her access. She watched the tug, until it disappeared around a bend. On the back of the tug was the name, The Sea Gypsy. The name made her think of exotic ports and the freedom of life on the sea.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:11:38 +0000
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