A car pulls into a driveway of a white two story house. Shutting off the engine, a tired brunet exited the car. Walking towards the front door, lightheadedness kicked in. Stopping, she took afew slow breaths.
"Fatigue goes with the territory, Jane," she thought unlocking and opening the door.
Fatigue was the price of being a single stage actress/mother. Rehearsals for Streetcar Called Desire ate up most of today and adding to that was the trip to Anne's. With the rest of the afternoon to wait for Anne's phone call, she was going to rest it up like it was going out of style.
Entering, she paused. A shiver crept down her spine preventing her from closing the door. Realizing Richard couldn't touch her, she shook it off.
"Cooling off in county," reassuring herself.
Now that's funny, Richard couldn't cool off with that temper of his. Strange how appearance can be deceiving especially to one of the theater. Before meeting Richard, she got by doing local theater.
Saturday evening was the faithful day. The troupe was doing Shakespeare in the Park for free advisement. After finishing a scene from Othello, she went to the bathroom. Walking back to the stage, Richard stopped her and remarked about her stage dress.
While dating, he wined and dined her. During a rehearsal for Hamlet, he did the marriage proposal and she answered yes. Two years into the marriage, he demanded that she give up the stage.
Knowing that was the past, she closed the door. Then her ears detected something.
"Are those footsteps?" she thought placing her handbag on the table beside the stairs.
Can't be. Nell was at Anne's for a birthday party. The only joy from that marriage of hell was little Nell.
When Nell was forming in her stomach, Richard's abuse actually stopped. However Richard's verbal assaults pickup after three years of Nell's emergence. Keeping it behind doors, Richard's fists started connecting with her face after his words lacked punch.
Believing Nell wasn't his, he demanded blood tests. Final straw came when Nell walked into the battlefield and Jane stepped into the punch meant for Nell's innocent face. As their lawyers hammered out the details of their divorce, they stayed away from each other. Which was good for Richard's feral looking brown eyes scared her.
Last time their paths crossed was after a late night rehearsal. After everyone left, she stayed behind to read through some script changes. He grabbed her from behind. Luckily security guard Bill checked up on her for she almost died.
"Yes, Dickie that's what sent you to county," childishly she said to herself walking towards the kitchen.
Placing her keys on the counter, she searched for herbal tea bags and a pan
"Yes, those days were gone," adding water and couple tea bags inside the pan, "This should calm nerves," placing the pan on the burner and turning the dial to medium
Looking over her shoulder, "This silence is spooking you," leaving the kitchen and heading towards the living room, "There," picking up the remote and pushing the ON button, "little TV will break this feeling of dread," flipping through the channels.
Stopping, "Should check on that tea," turning the mute on.
Placing the remote on the coffee table, she returned to the kitchen.
Steam floated from the pan. Turning the dial to shimmer, she poured some of the pan's content into a mug. Tasting the hot liquid, she placed the pan back onto the burner and returned to the living room.
Sipping from her cup, she noticed a news update.
Turning the mute off, "Two of three escapees were caught," showing the mug shot of those brown feral eyes staring at Jane, "This man is still at large."
Jane didn't need to know whose mug shot that was. Realizing it was Richard, her mind started to make connections. Why she started to reminder Richard after pausing to close the door? It was the faint scent of Richard's hair tonic. When they met, Richard would reek of it. It was present at their wedding. Her memory of intensified during the abuse. It made her wish that she died then having to smell it everyday.
Creaking of boards near the stairs brought her brain back to the present.
"It's your heart beat," was her first thought then, "No, stupid. It's the return of the terror of your failed marriage."
The footsteps were getting closer
"Must get out," but the car keys were on the kitchen counter. Frantically her feet carried her into the kitchen. Quickly her eyes searched for the keys. Seeing them, she grabbed them.
Freezing when her ears heard, "Honey, I'm home."
Tapping of fingers against wood was followed by, "Now where can you be," tapping stopped, "Ah like a good wife in the kitchen fixing something to eat for her very hungry man."
Pulling open kitchen drawers, she discovered them empty.
"However, it's hard to cook without knives. Like a good husband, I removed so children wouldn't play with them."
As his footsteps headed closer towards the kitchen, her eyes saw steam coming from the pot on the stove. Grabbing it, she hid beside the fridge. The kitchen door creaked opened.
"Glad those hinges were never oiled," she thought.
"Honey, dear, sweetheart, come out and greet your loving husband who just wants to break you neck."
Hearing his footsteps moving across the tile floor, her breathing stayed low.
"Where is that little church mouse hiding?"
Holding the pan, her muscles ached eternally. Her heart beat marched his footsteps. Something tapped against the fridge. Hair tonic assaulted her nose. The blade of a butcher knife appeared around the corner of the fridge.
Holding the handle of the butcher knife, "Hello, dear," came from the grinning lips of her ex.
Throwing hot water into his face was her only greeting.
Cussing in pain, "Going to crave you up, bitch," slicing the air with the blade.
"Forget about it, bastard," swinging the pan.
The pan hit the knife allowing her to hit the knife hand. The knife dropped to the ground. Kicking it away, she hit Richard's face with the pan dropping him to his knees. Running past him, Richard temporally had Jane's ankle, but a second shot from the pan broke his grip.
Running out the door across the lawn, her knees buckled from the sight of police cars stopping.
Grabbing her, "Ms. Jefferson, it's Detective Matherson. Where's your ex-husband?"
"In…house…," she forced out.
"Suspect in the house! Armed and dangerous!"
Footsteps ran into house followed by, "Freeze, police! Drop the knife!"
Hearing gunshots, "Amy's going to be pissed about the mess," thought Jane.