“You okay, man?” Officer Blackwell asked.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Blackwell had heard stories about his partner’s parents and the fact that his father was serving a life term in prison. He knew why cases like these took their toll on Brunson.
“What did she say?” Blackwell asked once they were outside.
“She denied it of course. I hope she comes to her senses before it’s too late.”
“I don’t get it, Brunson. Why the hell do these women stay? Hell, they got married last night and he’s beating on her already. What the fuck is the point?”
“First of all, who’s to say it started last night? And, second, this ain’t about a judgment thing. We chose this job to serve and protect. But, we’re all human, aren’t we? We make mistakes, just as easily as our perps and our victims. It’s up to us to maintain the peace.”
“Is that what you were doing when you cornered Mr. Westman in his own hallway? Maintaining the peace?”
“Hell yeah,” Officer Brunson responded.
Anxious to lighten the mood, once inside their police cruiser, Blackwell looked over at Brunson with a grin.
“Ain’t it time for a break, Brunson?”
“Hell yeah, but I don’t want no goddamn donuts!”
“Why not; you love Dunkin’ Donuts?”
“Not today, I don’t,” Brunson responded.
And, by the way, Brunson, some of us only took the job for the cushy benefits package.”
“I know that’s right!”
Blackwell started the car and as they pulled away from the building, Brunson took one last look at yet another statistic he hadn’t been able to save.
CHAPTER THREE
The police gone, Damita did her best to keep her distance from Neal. She thought about what Officer Brunson said, about things getting worse and wondered why she hadn’t taken him up on his offer to make Neal leave. For two days she walked around in a haze, feeling like she had married a stranger.
So much had transpired since Damita said I do that she almost forgot their honeymoon. They were supposed to board an eight a.m. flight to Jamaica the morning after their wedding.
Somehow, Neal was still behaving as though nothing had ever happened.
“Do you want to change our flight to tomorrow morning?” he asked.
Damita shrugged. “I’m tired and I’m not really in a Jamaica kind of a mood.”
“Damita, baby, are we even going to try to make this work? I’ve apologized again and again. What else do I have to do to make you believe how sorry I am?”
Damita listened, but wondered if she had married a sociopath. How could a person go from being sweet and kind one minute to being a monster the next?
“Neal, I do believe you’re sorry; really, I do. I was so sure I knew who you were. Now, I’m not so sure.”
“What does that mean?”
“Do you want to know the first thing I told Carmella when I met you?”
“Yeah, sure I do.”
“I told her I believed you were the last gentleman left in New York City.”
Neal smiled. “I’m still that man. Nothing has changed.”
“That’s the problem, Neal. I feel like everything has changed. The kind of man I was talking about would never hit a woman. I listened to you on our wedding night go on and on about Brandon and, at first, I thought it was something I had done or maybe even something Brandon had said or done. But, after having a couple of days to think about it, I realize I didn’t do anything wrong. Brandon didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Brandon, Carmella and I have been friends since elementary school. We grew up playing on the monkey bars and sliding board. They are like a brother and sister to me. Sure, when we were in high school and our hormones were all raging, there were those moments when Brandon and I considered dating. Brandon probably considered Carmella as well, but nothing ever happened. We figured it out all those years ago. We are family; that’s it. And, as far as your other insinuation about Carmella and me and anything sexual, I can’t even wrap my head around that. I’m straight. Carmella’s straight. It’s too bizarre to even consider. I don’t understand how you could know anything at all about me and still believe that any of the things you alluded to could actually be true.”
His shoulders slumped and his body a far cry from his usual upright stature, Neal appeared more subdued than she had ever seen him. Suddenly, he buried his face in his hands and he started to cry. Damita couldn’t bear to see him in such pain. She didn’t think she had ever seen anything more painful in her life. As close as she had been to her father, she didn’t think she had ever seen him cry. It was difficult enough seeing someone she loved in that much pain, but there was something about seeing a man cry that elicited such sympathy. She walked closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, to which he sobbed even more uncontrollably.