A name tossed unwittingly in the moment forces James Anderson and his Ghanaian wife, Patience Osei, on a path that will lead to either hard-won restoration or painful separation. Can a couple with such different backgrounds and a borderline abusive...
I chanted this silently to myself as I lay in bed next to my wife. The morning was so still that I almost felt frozen in time. If I didn't move, my alarm would never go off, the sun would never crest over the horizon, and I wouldn't have to meet the silence of a house that had witnessed my abuse.
You are an abusive piece of shit.
You are an abusive piece of shit.
You are an abusive piece of shit.
That chimed better in my mind. What could I possibly do to make everything right at this point? Of course I would try and be better – to not dominate and abuse. But Patience didn't love me and didn't want me. I was messed up and had messed her up.
You fucked up, you abusive piece of shit.
You fucked up, you abusive piece of shit.
You fucked up, you abusive piece –
My alarm sounding halted my thoughts. With a sigh I silenced my phone and lay back down, gathering my resolve to get ready and go to the farm. Beside me, Patience stirred.
There's no use prolonging the inevitable, I consoled myself, untangling from the sheets and stalking to the bathroom. My thoughts were on the woman in the adjacent room as I got ready. We'd have to speak eventually. Would the next time we had any sort of real conversation be when she's handing me divorce papers or telling me she's moving out?
I re-entered the bedroom to the lights on and Patience fully dressed. She was rolling on a pair of thick woolen socks. She looked up at me, and I looked back at her.
Was she planning on coming to the farm with me?
I had no words and merely continued on to the closet. I remerged to the smell of eggs and the glow of lights downstairs. Following both, I descended to the kitchen.
Without a word, Patience handed me an egg sandwich and a travel mug with coffee. She headed to the garage door with her own mug and sandwich and began lacing up her tennis shoes.
This woman is really planning on coming to the farm with me.
The silence continued as we entered my pickup truck and took off into the dark morning. I thought back to another quiz Damond had me take on Monday during our time.
"James, you're doing great. I know these are very hard truths to be faced with. I just sent you a link for another short quiz I'd like you to take. If you find it hard as you go along, we can pause and revisit it later."*
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No, I answered confidently.
You don't have to check up on her because you don't let her leave the house.
