“What kind of video?”
“One that tells the whole world what he did to me.”
I walk across the floor, taking her with me to the couch. We sit, her still in my lap, snuggled up against me so tight that air can’t penetrate the space between us. “I don’t want to talk you out of this, if making a video is what you need to do, but if you’re doing it just to spite him, I can’t see how this will end well. I’ve read your file. I know who your ex’s family is, how much power and influence they have….”
“Which is exactly why I have to make this video. I have to speak up for the powerless. For women like me too ashamed to admit what was happening in their marriage, for the ones who feel like they have no hope…I have to. I can’t let him win.”
“Then we’re making a video.” The way her eyes light up makes my ego grow bigger than the entire building. It’s not an artificial inflation, either. I’m proud of her and the strength she’s exuding. “What do we do first?”
“Let’s go to my spare bedroom and I’ll show you.”
—
She has an office of sorts set up in her bedroom, complete with small desk, laptop, and a printer.
“I used to have a better monitor, but he smashed it.” She takes out a digital video camera. “It’s a little old-school this way, but it will get the job done. You can go ahead and record me.”
I take the camera from her and start recording. “What would you like to say?”
“Hi, my name is Evangeline Ambrose and I’m a survivor of marital abuse.” She looks straight at me, her vivid eyes clear and her chin strong as she tells the story of how she met her ex. She even shows pictures of what she looked like after she arrived at the women’s shelter.
“They wouldn’t let me take the pictures with me from the hospital because those are for evidence. This was my alternative, I took these with my smartphone. I was so afraid that no one would believe me, or that the bruises would fade before someone did believe me, and I wouldn’t have proof. It would be my word against his, a guy from an all-American family who was also a decorated war hero.
“Who would want to believe that?” she adds. “Who wants to believe that anyone could treat another human being that way?”
She’s so sincere as she talks, as she speaks to the camera as if it’s the person she’s trying to reach. If only my mother could have heard someone like Evangeline, heard her share her story…who knows if that would have made a difference or not.
“You are not alone,” she says. “If you need help, please call or text this number.”
I press Stop and lower the camera to the desk. “Wow.”
“Do you think it will help?”
“I don’t think it will hurt,” I say honestly.
“Then let’s upload it, unedited footage and all.”
Once she’s done uploading the video to her YouTube channel, she turns to me. “While I wait for it to go live, I need to do one more thing.”
“Do I need to record it?”
She shakes her head. “No, but I would like for you to stay for support.”
“I can do that.”
Picking up her phone again, she dials a number and waits. I wonder if she’s calling that asshole to let him know that she made good on her promise.
“Momma…Can you put Daddy on the line, too? I have something to tell you both.”
Oh shit. I grab her hand, gently squeezing it.
Biting her lip, she attempts to smile at me, but tears start to run down her face. “Hey y’all. So…I just uploaded a video about—well, about how Penn…about how…” She closes her eyes. “He abused me while we were married…and the last time, he almost killed me. That’s why I left him.”
Her shoulders turn into one rigid line and I let go of her hand to rub her back. “I know…I know, but I was afraid that you’d be disappointed in me.” More tears fall. “I love you, too. Love you so much that I have to come clean about where I am. I’m not on the West Coast. I’m in North Carolina, in a town north of Charlotte.”
Nodding, she wipes at her tears until I can’t take it anymore and I pick her up and carry her to the bedroom. I lay her down in the middle of her bed and join her, keeping my touch light and comforting.
Finally, she ends the call and just looks at me.
“I’m proud of you.”
“For telling the truth?”
My heart races. “Yeah, for telling the truth. Sometimes we keep stuff inside because we’re afraid of what others might think or say…or even push us away.”
“They didn’t push me away,” she says.
“I’m glad they didn’t, but if they had—I’m all in for you. There’s nothing you can say or do to push me away. All I want to do is love you, protect you, and shield you from the bad things of the world.”
“All I want is you,” she says, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my lips.
I take my time with her, baring her bottom as I kiss every inch of her beautiful body until neither of us can take it anymore.