Philip Dampier's Blog

Episode 5

His mind was still a-whirl. He didn’t understand what had caused the renewed drinking or the sudden violence. Five minutes after he sat down at his work desk his extension phone rang.

“Anderson.”

“You sorry, feeble excuse for a man. Where have you hidden my daughter and why did you change the locks to my apartment?”

“Wanda. It’s over between us. You have a restraining order. You will not see our daughter or me until a judge says so and I hope that is a long time. Don’t call me again.”

Arvie hung up the phone but didn’t return to his work. He just sat there and stared at the phone. He didn’t really know what to do. Would she go get drunk? Did she have money? She had her card to his account, what should he do about that? She could clean out their account. He reached for the phone again. After a long conversation with someone at the bank office, he knew he had to go to the bank and set up new accounts. He looked to see if his boss was busy so he could ask for a few minutes to go downstairs to his bank’s branch which was in his own building.

He stood up on his way to see his supervisor when the phone rang again. Arvie answered it and then abruptly hung up. His face struggled with a worried frown. Arvie moved out his office door and across the hall to his supervisor’s desk. He explained that he had an emergency at the bank and needed to go downstairs.

“Not a problem, just let me know when you’re back, okay?”

“Sure, thanks, Ralph.”

“Hey, isn’t that your phone ringing? Seems like it’s rung a lot this morning.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Arvie called the police. They had released Wanda after she sobered up and was served the restraining order. However, they had no idea where she was.

“Look, Mr. Anderson, usually these things work out as soon as the person is sober. She’ll be all rosy dozy before you get home from work.”

“I don’t think so. What if she gets drunk again? I don’t want to go through this night after night. I’m afraid to let her around my daughter.”

“I suggest you call a lawyer but, in the meantime, if something happens just call us and we’ll be right out to take care of it.”

Arvie hung up the phone and went downstairs to the bank. He spoke to a lady at a customer service desk to explain what he wanted to do but not much as to why. She led him into a small office where he was introduced to a young banker. It took twenty minutes and several sheets of paper, but he left with a new account and some new counter checks. The old accounts were closed, and a large amount of funds were placed in the new checking account for the time being. Arvie wasn’t sure what he would need to do if things got worse.

Arvie and two of his co-workers decided to go out for lunch together. They had been friends since Arvie joined the company and often had lunch at a nearby restaurant. Arvie told them about the previous night’s events. The two were shocked at his story, and they could see the strain on Arvie’s face.

They picked a large restaurant two blocks away which had seating outside in an area bordered by a low fence. Halfway through his salad, Arvie heard a disturbance. He turned towards the outside entrance in time to see Wanda come through the door. Her hair was disheveled and her clothes rumpled. Her gait was as unsteady as it was purposeful. She was weaving in a direct line towards Arvie. The knife in her right hand was large and new. The words coming out of her mouth were laced with obscenities, and spit was drooling from the left corner of her mouth.

Chairs flew and tables turned over as people hurried to get out of her way. Arvie stood up, the table a barrier between the two of them. Wanda screamed like a wild person and swung the knife across the top of the table. Again and again, she slashed at him as they moved in a circle, the table between them. The sound of pounding feet reached his ears, and he glanced up long enough to see two policemen jump the small fence separating the dining area from the sidewalk.

The larger of the policemen grabbed the knife and wrestled Wanda to the cement floor. More officers arrived, and cuffed Wanda’s wrist. She refused to walk and so two officers dragged her over to a waiting van. Wanda screamed at Arvie and struggled against her captors every step of the way.

Fright overcame Arvie, and his nerves gave way to the fear. He was instantly concerned about Jill and the apartment. His co-workers just looked at him. Neither of them knew what to say.

“I’m not going back to work guys, I’ve got to take care of some things,” Arvie said.

“Are you alright?” one of them asked, “Don’t you think you ought to go someplace and lie down?”

“No, not now. I have to find a place for Jill and me. I can’t go through this every day.”

“My God, man. This’s awful. We’ll talk to Ralph. Don’t worry; he’ll be supportive,” one of the co-workers said.

“Right, Arvie. Can we help in any other way?” the second co-worker asked.

“No, thank you. But I need to find a new place for the two us where we can be safe. I hope they lock her up this time,” Arvie answered.