Prologue

It had been one year since Joanie and Chachi had been married, and life had gone quickly back to normal. Joanie and Chachi had moved into a mediocre apartment that they could barely afford using Joanie's paychecks. Joanie had acquired a teaching job at Jefferson, while Chachi worked off and on at Arnold's. To an outside observer, they seemed like they were a happy couple; however, in the privacy of their own home, they were constantly arguing, and with Chachi's short temper, it didn't always end happy.

Joanie was always telling everyone that the bruises that she acquired were from minor accidents that she had experienced; falling off a chair, running into a door way, someone accidentally hitting her in the face with the door at school, things like that. In her heart she knew that Chachi didn't mean to hurt her, and that she brought it upon herself by pressuring him to get a job, and calling him "Charles" instead of "Chachi."

Joanie's façade went on for most of her marriage to Chachi, but after six months, something happened that would change not only their lives but also the lives of everyone around them.