Philip Dampier's Blog

Episode 4

Still, things weren’t too bad, until one day her mom took her to a luncheon with one of her friends. Jill knew her mom was drinking something besides water or soda during the meal, but she had no idea what it was. Nor was she aware of the purchase her mother made at the small store down the street from their house on the way home.

Wanda sent Jill off to play, she stayed in the kitchen, a glass and a bottle on the table. In the trash was an empty one, finished an hour earlier. Wanda ignored Jill, but Jill was having fun playing with her toys, and she knew her daddy would be home soon. The house was quiet and peaceful. Jill moved from plaything to plaything, finally deciding she would ride the beautiful hobby horse her dad had given her on her third birthday.

The trouble began when her dad came home.

Arvie opened the door and walked in. He was almost an hour late. He had called earlier, but the phone was never picked up. Jill was riding her hobby horse in the den, he could hear the springs as she bounced up and down, but he didn’t see or hear Wanda.

“Wanda?”

She came out of the kitchen, wine glass in one hand and a large kitchen knife in another. Her eyes were red, and she had a wild look in her eyes. She threw her head back and laughed.

“So, the little skirt chaser finally made it home. How was she today, you loser?”

“Oh no, Wanda, please put the wine up and the knife down. I had to work late. I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.”

“Ha, sure you did. I’m tired of your running around on me, and I’m going to stop it now.”

She lunged towards him with the butcher knife cutting an arc towards his face. Arvie was barely able to duck the swing. What really saved him was she was so intoxicated that her reflexes were slow and her body unstable.

Arvie ran through the den scooping up Jill as he did so. He entered their bedroom and locked the door behind him, his breathing labored. Jill squealed.

“Oh, Daddy. Run with me like that again. That was fun.”

Arvie ignored her for the moment, reaching for the phone on the bedside table and punching the zero.

“Give me the police, please. Emergency. Hurry.”

The phone rang and rang. Wanda was pounding on the bedroom door and screaming his name amid hurling obscenities.

“This is the city police; how can I help you?”

“This is Arvie Anderson, and I live at 225 Rose Avenue, Apartment 7. My wife is drunk and threatening me with a large knife. She actually tried to stab me. I have a three-year-old daughter and she and I are locked in the bedroom. Please hurry. I don’t know what she might do.”

Ten minutes later the police were pounding on the front door of the apartment. They were met by a drunk woman with a large knife in her hands. A scuffle ensued, and Wanda was subdued and handcuffed. Arvie unlocked the door and brought a very frightened Jill out with him. The officers took his statement.

“Do you want to file charges Mr. Anderson?”

“I want her away from my daughter and me. I want some kind of a restraining order against her. She’s crazy. I don’t know what she’ll do and I’m worried about my little girl.”

“Fine, we’ll take her in and let her sober up. She’ll be in detox overnight. You follow us down, and we’ll start the paperwork.”

Later, after the paperwork was completed, Arvie called a locksmith and had the front door lock changed. Even though Wanda was in detox, he didn’t feel safe. He was afraid for himself, but he was more afraid for Jill. What was this doing to her? He could tell that she was in a state of shock. He held her close and read her favorite books to her. She wanted to sleep with him, and he agreed. He wanted her in his room, too.

Arvie felt like he was in a nightmare that had no end. Jill went to sleep cuddled up next to him, her favorite bear beside her. Arvie tossed and turned. He thought he might have slept a few minutes at a time but not longer.

When the night was finally over, he got up and made breakfast. He made a couple of calls. One was to Jill’s daycare to explain that she would no longer be going there. He then called another place further away from their apartment. He was relieved that they had an opening. He tried to explain the situation to the lady who took his call, but he found it very difficult.

“It’s all right Mr. Anderson. We understand. Yours is not an unusual request. Rest assured that no one will be allowed to pick up your daughter but you.”

“Thank you. That is a relief. As I said, the police have her mother in custody right now, but she will be released today after she sobers up. They promised to give her the restraining order before letting her go, but they don’t know her like I do. She will try to get Jill and then she will use Jill to get to me. I’m so afraid that Jill will get hurt.”

“Don’t you worry, sir. We’ll take care of Jill. Everything will work out, I’m sure.”

Arvie took Jill to the new daycare center and stayed long enough to assure her and himself that she would be alright. He kissed her several times before finally closing the door. From the center, he went to work. He wasn’t sure what he could get done and thought about asking for the day off. Then he decided he was as safe there as anywhere and he needed to do something to get his mind off Wanda and her attack. The police department called to say the restraining order had been given and that Mrs. Anderson had been released.