The manchineel tree- Short story - Part 2

 This story is published in our steemfiction series.  The book is still available on kindle. 

The loving Frank she knew was gone, he had undergone a complete transformation and he started drinking more. He found fault with everything she did, and nothing was good enough for him anymore.  He complained about her cooking, and even the way she dressed.  She had become a puppet in his hands. 

He even bought her clothes and he ordered the groceries.  The one thing he did for her was to change the one room in the house into a studio for her.  He wanted her to focus on her art, and that seemed to be the only thing that she was allowed to do.  

She spent most of her time in the studio or in her garden, and she had so many finished paintings she could literally fill up an art gallery.   

The only time anybody saw any of her art, was when Frank arranged his dinner parties. He had a desperate urge to impress people, and he arranged a party at least once a month. He would show off the house and he would show her off. 

That was literally the only time she was allowed to talk to anyone. Frank usually bought her a new dress as well, and she had so many dresses she didn’t know where to put them all. 

She was still in bed when she heard Frank come back.  Her throat closed up and she felt as if she was having a panic attack.  

He emerged with a bunch of flowers and walked closer. He kissed her on her forehead and took a seat on the bed next to her. 

"I'm sorry baby...I didn't mean to hurt you..."

How many times did she have to listen to his same old excuses? He begged her for forgiveness until she couldn’t take it anymore. All she wanted to do was to smash his head with a hammer. He despised her, and she didn’t even turn her head towards him when she uttered the only words that would get him quiet.   

"It's okay Frank. Just leave it alone." she got up and walked to the bathroom. She didn’t even want to be in the same room as him. 

Sally tried to walk as upright as possible, but she was in tremendous pain. She was sure she had a broken rib, but she had her medical aid kit in the bathroom.  She would just bandage it up tightly. It was not the first time that he had broken one of her ribs. Frank always made sure that she had enough bandages and he only took her to the hospital once and then lied to the doctor and told him that she fell down the stairs.   

She could hear the phone ring in the bedroom and heard Frank speak to someone on the phone. He knocked on her door a minute later, to tell her that he was going back to the office. She didn’t say anything and felt relieved when she heard the front door close a few seconds later. 

Sally looked at herself in the mirror.  Slowly she took off her clothes and stood there naked staring at herself. It was as if she didn’t see the person right in front of her.  Her left breast was bruised and when she lifted her arm, she was sure that she had a broken rib. 

She climbed into the shower and opened the hot water. She let it run over her face and cried silently because of the pain. She stood for a few minutes with the warm water running over her and then washed her hair. It was a difficult process with just one arm, but she wanted to get rid of any smell that reminded her of him. 

With great difficulty she dried herself and then bandaged herself up.  It was easier to move around and after she dressed, she combed out her hair and went down to the kitchen to make coffee.  

She took it out to the back porch and sat in her favorite chair. She missed her parents and wished they were still alive to talk to. She was an only child and had no other family. Frank was the only person she had contact with and she couldn’t stand being in the same room as him anymore. 

Sally decided to take a stroll through the garden just to get her mind off things.  She loved working in the garden, and it kept her mind occupied. She forgot about her injuries for a second but was reminded quickly when she bent over to pull out some weeds. 

She decided to take some pain tablets and go lie down a bit.  She still had a long day ahead and she had to cook dinner.  After a night like last night, Frank always made sure that he came home early, and he usually expected a proper home cooked meal. 

Sally felt a little better after taking a nap and went down to the kitchen to start dinner. She was just about to take the meat out of the freezer when Frank called. He invited a few people over for dinner and he was ordering in. 

To be continued