Chapter2/Violence is the Question
Donald sighs as he walks past the iron bars containing frightened occupants that all huddle as far as possible from the pacing figure just a few feet away. Growls can easily be heard above the whimpers and he can't resist the urge to sigh again as the tense apex predator makes another violent outburst, causing even his escort to shiver in fear.
"Marianne, stop terrifying the other prisoners and calm down," Donald comments tiredly as his eldest daughter paces across the large jail cell once more.
"Calm down! How can you tell me to calm down after what happened?!" Marianne yells, paying no attention as her cellmates cling to each other even tighter.
"What happened?" Donald questions.
"That...that...that JERK! How dare he?!" Marianne growls, gesturing squeezing something with her hands before crossing her arms.
"Marianne, what happened?" Donald asks again. "Bog wasn't able to tell me anything and the police don't know much either, so why don't you tell me."
"Okay, fine," Marianne mutters.
Donald tries not to chuckle as the occupants of the city jail breathe an audible sigh of relief when Marianne finally takes a seat on the bench but it's a lost cause when someone screams in fright when Marianne rises to pace again.
"It's like this. You know how I had to pick Sunshine up from school since they wouldn't let her take the school bus home because of the fight. Well, Bog and I decided that ice cream was in order, so we went to Sugar Plum's Cafe. Yeah, I know, we shouldn't encourage the fighting behavior but we figured that she'd be more ready to tell us what happened if she was a lot calmer," Marianne explains, waving off her father's attempt at speech. "Turns out that Sunshine and her friends were talking about the presents they got for Christmas while they were in the cafeteria for breakfast and the second-grader, Denny, had overheard them and invited himself into their conversation. They had already asked him to go away but he refused and then he told them that Santa Claus isn't real. An eight-year-old told a group of four and five-year-olds that Santa isn't real and the teacher didn't even care! No, they got mad at Sunshine for standing up to the little bully, even though he pushed her first and called her a baby! I don't know why Dawn insisted on putting Sunshine in that school. Who cares if they have a high success rate for graduates that go onto vast careers, they're a bunch of snobs!"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure we all agree but back to the subject at hand. Like the incident that caused you to wind up in jail," Donald coaxes, already planning on talking with his youngest daughter.
"By the time Sunshine finished with her story, she had more ice cream on her than in her, so I took her to clean up while Bog stayed at the table. Next thing I know, someone started laughing loud enough that we heard it in the bathroom, and Aura comes running in to tell us not to go out. Well, you know me," Marianne continues with a smirk.
"Only too well. Aura should have told you to go out and then you would have stayed in and none of this would have happened," Donald mutters.
"Haha, Dad," Marianne comments dryly. "Anyway, I went out to see this JERK being the one laughing and Bog...poor Bog, he looked so horrified!"
Bog? Horrified?
That didn't sound right.
Donald can't help as his eyebrow raises in surprise. He had met the man several times before that fateful day last October when the pair finally started dating and he was almost positive that nothing could shake the gym owner...well, nothing except the woman standing before him whose expression portrays that she is reliving a traumatizing moment.
"Poor Bog," Marianne whimpers, her amber eyes filling with tears. "How could that JERK do that?!"
"Marianne, what happened? What did he do?" Donald questions.
"Before Sunshine and I left the table to get her cleaned up, she asked us if Denny was right since the teachers didn't correct him and Bog told her that Santa Claus is real. He said that Denny was probably too naughty to get anything from Santa and that the teachers were probably grumpy because Santa stops giving presents once you grow up. To which Sunshine replied that she will not grow up if it means no more presents from Santa," Marianne chuckles.
The tentative laughter filling the enclosed area stops immediately as the sense of danger fills the air once more and terrified eyes stare from their places pressed against the edges of the jail cells as the petite brunette's attitude shifts back to violent predator. Like a wild tiger denied its freedom by iron bars, Marianne paces furiously and gestures wildly.
"And you know what that JERK did while we were in the bathroom?! He started complaining to Bog about teaching 'our daughter' fairytales and nonsense and that we are bad parents for telling Sunshine that Santa Claus is real. Bog believes in Santa!" Marianne yells. "That JERK ruined my boyfriend's innocence and then laughed at him when he realized that Bog believed in Santa! He was laughing at Bog! THAT JERK!"
Donald hums in understanding as Marianne starts shadow boxing. It's obvious what happened next. No doubt his wild-cat-of-a-daughter immediately pounced on the offender to punish him for his transgression.
It also explains why he couldn't get a straight answer out of Bog. Marianne basically defended him and now the man can't stop swooning long enough to explain the simple events. Merely repeating how incredible his girlfriend is and how fortunate he is to have her.
Good thing Aura had the presence of mind to keep Sunshine occupied and away from the commotion. This would not be a comfortable thing to explain to a five-year-old. It's bad enough that Sunny and Dawn are already on their way home thanks to Aura contacting them first to inform them of the cafe fight and Marianne's subsequent arrest.
Also a good thing that even while furious, Marianne had controlled her strength enough not to do too much damage. Though, she'll probably have to go on probation again and back to anger management classes.
"Marianne, I've told you a thousand times," Donald sighs. "It's better to talk things out or walk away. Violence is not the answer."
"But violence is the question," Marianne counters, miming the punch that would have knocked her ex-opponent unconscious. "And the answer is yes!"
"Hopefully, so is this one," Bog murmurs shyly, walking up beside Donald and kneeling in front of the jail cell with his right-hand palm up. "Well, how about it, tough girl, would ye be my sparring partner for life?"
Donald chuckles once more as the enraged caged tiger before him turns into a startled blinking kitten. Seems the police escorted her away too soon for Marianne to realize that Bog isn't traumatized one bit by this turn of events.
Tea Blend.