Featured Short Story: A Glutton for Punishment by Rebecca Benston (Chapter Three)

Jane’s attorney, Angela Nelson, had assured her that she had nothing to worry about. He wouldn’t be able to take her car or the money she had in her savings account. She had also said that he might not be able to get visitation if he continued to threaten her as he had that day in the parking lot. When they sat down in the courtroom, Pete was already there with his attorney. He smiled at Jane as though nothing was wrong and then started whispering to his attorney. Jane looked at Angela and said, “Please tell me they won’t give him custody.”
Angela patted her hand and smiled at her, “I’m sure everything will be fine, just relax.”
The hearing went on for about an hour as the two attorneys spoke with witnesses and then with both Jane and Pete. By the time it was all over, Jane was exhausted. She couldn’t take anymore. She went home and threw herself down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling as though she were in prayer. She might have been, but for the feelings of resentment towards Pete that kept her from thinking “good” thoughts. Emma was staying at her mother’s for the night so she was on her own.
The night passed slowly and Jane found herself watching old rerun sit-coms at three in the morning. Somewhere between Barney Miller and Alice, she drifted off to sleep. She awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She shook her head to regain her consciousness and then headed over to the door.
“Jane Anderson, you need to open up, Sheriff’s office,” a voice said from outside.
“Just a minute, I was asleep,” she said, nervously, “hang on.”
She was wearing sweats and other than having a serious issue with her hair, she looked normal. She opened the door to a Deputy Sheriff and her husband, Pete.
“We’re here to collect the car,” the officer said, holding up a copy of an official looking document. Jane noticed that there was a document taped to her door as well. She pulled it off of the door and opened it quickly. It was from the court and it stated that Pete was entitled to the car and to standard visitation with their daughter, Emma. She read on quickly until she came to the part that said Pete would be able to take Emma every other week and then for an entire month in the summer.
“What the hell?” she said, “How did this happen?”
“I’m not here to speculate, ma’am, I’m just here to make sure that he gets his car,” the officer said. Pete just stood there smirking at Jane. He was taking her vehicle and he intended to leave her with nothing, no way to get around. This meant there would be no way for her to get a job, even if there was something out there that she could get. With no transportation, she had no way to get Emma to appointments and no way to make sure that they had what they needed in the house. She would be crippled by this and Pete knew it. He was planning to use it against her so that he could get custody of Emma. This couldn’t happen.
“What am I supposed to do for transportation?” she said to the officer. “He’s not supposed to be able to do this, I want to speak with my lawyer before you do anything.”
“I’m sorry, Miss, the car needs to go today,” the officer said, “I’ll need the keys.”
“This is bullshit,” Jane said, on the verge of tears. She reached to grab her purse from the hook by the door. Angrily, she reached inside and grabbed the keys. Without thinking, she flung the keys at Pete hitting him in the jaw. The officer put a hand up and said, “Miss, that’s not necessary.”
“Just get out of here,” she said and turned to slam the door in their faces. She waited until the officer and Pete had pulled away from the building’s parking lot. Once they were gone, she picked up her phone and punched in a number. There was only one person she wanted to call right now. The person who could make all of this go away.



Come back soon for the rest of the story!

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