Page 152 of Cul-de-sac

“Is it?”

A laugh scrapes at Dani’s throat. “You are madder than a wet hen.”

“Am I? All the makeup in the world can’t hide that bruise under your eye, Dani.”

Dani’s hand moves automatically to her face.

“Show me your arms.”

“What?”

“Roll up your sleeves and show me your arms.”

“I’ll do no such thing. I really think you should go now. All that exercise has clearly done a number on your head.” She turns to go back inside, then stops, turns back again. “You don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand?”

“It’s not always like this,” Dani says, her voice a plea. “Most of the time, Nick’s good and he’s gentle and he’s kind. Just when I get him riled up, when I go shootin’ my mouth off about stuff I know nothin’ about, when I—”

“Listen to me, Dani,” Maggie interrupts. “You are not to blame for your husband’s bad behavior. Nothing you say or do can ever justify his hitting you. And I don’t care if, nine days out of ten, Nick is a fucking saint. The only day that means anything, the day that tells you who he really is, is the day he hits you. You’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise. And you’re fooling yourself if you think anything’s going to change.”

Dani shakes her head, dislodging the tears that have been clinging to her lashes. “Just what are you proposin’ that I do?”

“Call the police, file a formal complaint.”

“And what good will that do?”

“They’ll arrest Nick, charge him with domestic abuse….”

“He’ll deny it.”

“They’ll believeyou.”

“You sure about that?”

Maggie runs a frustrated hand through her hair. Her own experience with the legal system has taught her that you can’t be sure of anything. “You can leave him,” she offers instead.

“Where will I go?” Dani asks. “To a shelter? I can’t go draggin’ my boys to a shelter. And there’s no way I’m leavin’ them with Nick.”

“You have a busy practice, a good income, you can find another place to stay. I’ll help you look….”

“He’ll come after me.”

“He might not,” Maggie says, again thinking of her own experience.

“Now who’s fooling herself? Nick’s never gonna let me leave.”

“What ifIcall the police?” Maggie asks. “Report my suspicions…”

“Oh, God, no. Please don’t do that. He’ll kill me for sure.”

“He’ll kill you anyway!”

The front door to the Wilson house opens. Nick fills the doorway. “Maggie,” he says, pleasantly. “I didn’t hear you ring the bell.”

“I saw her comin’ up the walk,” Dani says, quickly wiping away her tears. “I came outside before she had the chance.”

“Something on your mind?” Nick asks.

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