she was going--just trying to get away.
Jeremy ran out of the house as Sharon fell down the front steps and onto the lawn. He was shocked to see Linda and Philip running toward them as well as other neighbors gathering around.
He knelt quickly beside Sharon. “Sharon, oh baby, forgive me,” he whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you, but you make me so mad sometimes. It’s your fault. I know I’ve drunk more than I should, but everybody has picked on me today. You should have more faith in me. It won’t happen again, I swear. Please don’t tell anyone or I’ll be in serious trouble. Gen. Huff said --”
“Sharon! What has happened?” Linda broke in as she fell on her knees beside Sharon. “We heard you screaming.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“What’s going on here?” Philip demanded through gritted teeth.
“Oh, dear God,” Jeremy groaned. “Sharon, sweetheart, what did happen to you?”
Sharon could hardly believe that Jeremy was denying what he had done. It’s almost as if he doesn’t know. This is a chance for me to prove to him that I do love him and support him.
“I--um-- started down the steps and some animal ran in front of me. It startled me and I fell,” she said haltingly trying to breathe through the pain.
Someone had called for help. Military police and paramedics arrived. Philip’s lips were a tight slash as he pulled Linda to her feet so that medical assistance could be given to Sharon.
“Capt. Pallister,” Philip turned to acknowledge the lieutenant who lived on the other side of the duplex with Jeremy and Sharon. “My wife and I heard Mrs. Taylor screaming and Lt. Taylor yelling inside the house several minutes before she came out. She was begging him to stop and then we saw her run out and fall off the steps.”
“Thank you for the information. Will you please tell this to the M. P.? If you know, for a fact, about any other unpleasant incidences in the past, please give that information, also.” Philip was sure this was not the first incident.
“Yes, Sir. We’ll be happy to help. We’ve heard her begging for mercy before this.”
Linda and Philip followed Sharon to the hospital. The doctor could not give them much information because the injuries were too fresh and the flesh swollen. Philip explained to the medical staff why Jeremy should not be allowed to see Sharon. He and Linda stayed until midnight and then reluctantly went home.
Sharon woke the next morning feeling sore and stiff. Her aching heart felt worse than her physical injuries. She hazily became aware of a nurse standing by her bed.
“Good morning, Mrs. Taylor,” the nurse spoke kindly. “I need to bother you a little to take stats. Your breakfast is on the way.”
“Thank you, but I don’t think I can eat anything.”
“You need to build your strength. Besides, putting it in your mouth is a lot more pleasant than putting it through needles and tubes,” the nurse chuckled.
“I suppose you’re right. What’s wrong with me?”
“The doctor will be here in a few minutes and he can answer your questions a lot better than I can.” The nurse patted Sharon’s foot and quietly left. Sharon slept.
“Good morning, Sharon.” She slowly opened her eyes. “How do you feel?” Squinting, she recognized Col Ben Davis, her doctor. “How do you feel,” he repeated.
“Like I’ve been hit by a speeding train.”
“That good, huh?” He smiled at her as he sat in a chair by her bed. “Honey, I wish I could say you just need a rest, but it’s obvious you’ve suffered a beating. According to your neighbors, this isn’t the first time. I can’t for the life of me understand why you’ve put up with such cruel, inhuman treatment. Why didn’t you leave him or confide in someone who could help?”
“You’ve heard it all before,” she sighed. “I truly love my husband and keep hoping he’ll be like he was when we were newly married. Too, I’m not sure how much of the guilt is mine. I knew he had emotional problems while growing up, but I assumed his military training had helped him to mature. Please don’t tell anyone what I’ve said. I must try to help him. Now, what is wrong with me?”
“First, you can’t help your husband do anything. He’s an adult and responsible for his own actions. He has to recognize that he needs help and ask for it. As for you, you have three broken ribs, a broken finger and numerous cuts and bruises. I’m keeping you on painkillers for a couple of days until you can breathe easier and feel like sitting up for a short period of time. I have to go on rounds, but I’ll be back. We need to have a long talk. Good. Here’s your breakfast, and I want you to eat every bite.”
Sharon dutifully tried to eat the oatmeal, milk and bowl of applesauce, but she choked when she tried to swallow around the catch in her throat.
Although Sharon slept through Linda and Philip’s brief visit, she was wakening when Jeremy came just before lunch. He placed a vase of her favorite peach-colored roses on the stand by her bed. “Hi beautiful. Wanta’ see these blush with shame? They know they’d never match your beauty.” He continued to babble, but Sharon was too groggy to respond. Too, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say to him.
“I’ll come back another time when you’re more alert,” Jeremy said as he leaned to kiss her cheek. He left, and Sharon relaxed into the cottony feeling of the painkillers.
A soft voice repeatedly speaking her name roused her from troubled dreams. She slowly opened her eyes to see a chaplain, Col. Mark Kirkpatrick.
“Hello, there,” he said softly. “We’ve all been so worried about you. How are you feeling, or is it too soon for you to know how you feel?” he smiled.
She tried to smile but a groan escaped.
“Be still, please. I’ll do the talking. I don’t want to add to your hurts and heartaches, but I know what happened regardless of what you’ve said, or haven’t said. People heard the ruckus from inside your house, and the M.P. s saw Lt. Taylor’s bruised hands the night you were injured. You may not realize how loudly you were screaming and begging him to stop, but several people came out in time to see you running out of the front door and fall down the steps.”
Sharon began to sob and shake, cringing against the pain.
“Please try not to cry. I know it upsets you, but for your sake, and your husband’s, you must tell the truth. We all know he desperately needs professional help, and the only way he’s going to face facts is for you to be strong enough to tell the truth.”
Sharon shook her head and turned her face away from him. She was sobbing aloud as a nurse hurried in.
“Colonel, you’ll have to leave. This is a very sick woman. She must have rest and remain free from stress as much as possible.” He patted Sharon’s shoulder, said a quick prayer and left.
That evening, gritting her teeth against the pain, Sharon made a person-to-person call to Malcolm Taylor. It wasn’t something she wanted to do, but common sense told her he needed to know what had been happening.
“Dad Taylor, you don’t know how sweet your voice is. First I want you to promise you’ll
