Explosions

How had it happened? Everything had been wonderful.  Or so it had seemed.  They had been together for several years.  Barbara avoided confrontations with Chuck; avoided contradicting him because she had once caught just a tiny glimpse of his temper and had not wanted to incur his wrath.

Barbara was fine with it.  She liked having him in her life.  She liked being seen with Chuck.  Barbara knew that her friends envied her.  So she was fine walking on tiptoes around him.  Until that day when it all fell apart.

They were in the car with Kerry and Bob, Chuck’s friends. They often went out together.  Chuck was driving and talking.  He took the wrong turn and didn’t realize it right away.  They were going to be late for their reservation and Barbara knew all four of them were really hungry so she told Chuck he had taken the wrong turn and he argued with her.  Barbara explained to him where the turn had been and what he’d done wrong.  That’s when he showed his explosive temper.  He called her a fuckin’ bitch.  Chuck blamed her for not having told him and for their lateness.  He blamed her for it all.  Barbara couldn’t believe it.  She tried to apologize but the words caught in her throat.  From the back seat, Kerry said it was okay, she and Bob weren’t that hungry.  They could go some place else.  But Chuck roared on and drove erratically.  He yelled at Barbara for crying and called her a big cry baby.  Then he turned to Kerry and told her it was probably because Barbara was on a diet and that she didn’t care if anyone else ate.   Chuck said Barbara was a fat cow and that’s why she had to diet.

When the car came to the next stop light, Barbara’s tears exploded and she threw the car door open, running out of the car and away from it, behind it so he couldn’t come after her without hitting the car behind him.  Barbara ran as fast as she could then ducked into a coffee shop where she asked the waitress if she could sit in the darkened room in the back.  The room that sat empty and unused.  Seeing Barbara’s state, the waitress agreed and pointed the way.  So Barbara sat back there sipping her coffee and thinking.  Thinking and admitting finally, that she was better off without Chuck.  She sat in the dark for a long, long time.