Description: If I had not seen it I would have not believed it if someone told me. There she was on the evening news, and with some guy who was NOT ME.

If I had not seen it I would have not believed it if when someone of the told me. There she was on the evening news, and with some guy who was NOT ME; not only was it not me it was an old boyfriend who had abused her to the point of putting her in the hospital. She had told me she was going to see her sister in the U.P. (for those of you who do not know, the U. P. is the upper peninsula of the State of Michigan), but here she was on the news in Detroit next to Cobo Center; and the man with his arm holding her by the waist was definitely not her sister. Now I was majorly pissed off.

I knew several people at the local TV affiliate, so I called in a few favors and got a copy of the raw news feed for that segment. Gail was in for a major surprise when and if she returned.

Allow me to make some introductions. I am Art Castor, 42, 6’ 0” 170 lbs. The woman I am pissed at is my wife of 18 years Gail Castor (formerly Hardwood). I’m a freelance news reporter and a published author. My wife is 5’ 6” and about 105 lbs with red hair and lots of freckles. She is very much on the slim side in terms of body shape, with smallish breasts and a cute butt. She also has legs to die for. She works at a small printing company as an account clerk. We have 3 kids; Art (not Jr.) 16, Amy 14, and Jack 11. Because of my career choice, I am the homebody. We live in a large (by Michigan standards) West Michigan City.

I met Gail when I went from elementary school to middle school in the seventh grade. She was from a different part of town and rode the bus to school. I thought that she, like a lot of the kids that rode the bus was sort of stuck up and cliquish. We did not do much interacting until we were sophomores.

I was and am very much into live theatre and music. Gail and I both tried out for a musical that the school was putting on to raise money for the music department. I got a small part as a farmer, and Gail was the girl I was wooing. She wanted to rehearse our parts together and I said OK.

We met at her house and used her basement for our rehearsals. Her parents were very supportive and welcomed me into their social sphere with great enthusiasm. After the show finished all of the performances, Gail asked if I would like to go to her house for a Sunday dinner. By this time I found a girl that was funny, smart, and I thought (as only teenage hormones can) very sexy. I said yes.

We appeared together in almost all of the school plays throughout high school and even were invited to appear in the local community college productions. I was also in several singing groups at school, so I was often performing with the school’s glee club and choir.

By the time we were seniors; we were joined at the hip and did all of the High School things except have sex. I assumed that we were going to the Senior Prom together, but Gail decided in January that we were too exclusive, so she decided that we should break up. That was a very hard blow to my ego, but also an eye-opener because after she returned my class ring (yes, at that time and era we were ‘going steady’) she started dating a guy from one of the other high schools in the city. I found out from some of the ladies that decided to comfort me in my sorrow that she had been seeing and dating this guy for a year or more. He was some sort of rich kid, and Gail must have wanted what she thought he could do for her.

This guy, Ross Jordan, I found out later, had three girls who all thought they were the one for Ross. I tried to tell Gail what I found out, but she refused to talk to me. Unfortunately for us, she did not find out until after graduation and I was in basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. She tried to write to me, but I was so hurt and angry at her that I never opened the letters, and sent them all back to her in a box after I moved on to my duty station in Arlington, Virginia.

I did my three years as a training manual writer and sometime Intel Analyst. I came back to my home town and more than a few of my ‘friends’ updated me on Gail’s status. I found out she was dating another man (if 24 years old can be a man) who was from another rich family. He too was keeping several ladies on the side.

I had a few dates, but nothing clicked, and as much as I dislike admitting it I was a virgin. I was told by the ‘friends’ that the same could not be said of Gail. Her status had been downgraded from good girl to attainable but not easy.

I enrolled in the local community college in order to improve my writing skills and learn something about the news business. I wasn’t looking for a degree, just trying to hone my skills and make me more marketable as a reporter. At the same time I was writing ‘The Great American Novel’ and working as an ad writer for a local agency.

I found out while in the Army that alcohol and I were much too much very good friends, so I quit drinking at the ripe old age of 21. I still went to the bars and hangouts with some of my classmates and coworkers, but I was the designated driver long before that was a buzzword. While I was on one of these outings I ran into Gail and her “boyfriend” at a local bar and pizza joint.

Gail did not notice me, but I watched her closely, and she did not look very happy. Her ‘Asswipe’ was chatting up one of the waitresses while Gail was right next to him. When ‘Asswipe’ reached out and pinched the waitress’s fanny, the waitress slapped him. Gail voiced her displeasure loudly. That led me to get up and start over to where they were seated. Before I could get there ‘Asswipe’ hauled off and punched Gail right in the face. I ran to where they were, and without thinking pulled ‘Asswipe’ out of his chair and started wailing on him. I was lucky because my companions that were there with me pulled me off him before I did much real damage. ‘Asswipe’ got up and as he was being escorted out of the building hollered out “I’ll get you back for this bitch and your rescuer too”.

Gail had not looked up or around since she was knocked back into the seat from the punch she took. When she finally shook off the effects of the attack, she looked up at me. Her eyes got huge, she started to sob, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She then lunged into my arms and locked me in a death grip.

I patted her on the back and gently took her out to my car and started to put her in the passenger seat when she again looked at me and I could see that she had suffered some serious damage to her face. She tried to talk to me, but I could not understand her. I got into the car and rushed to the nearest hospital emergency room. I explained to the staff what happened and was informed that the police would have to be notified as this was considered an assault. They took Gail to an exam room and would not let me in because I was not a parent, spouse or another relative. The nurses were kind enough to keep me informed of the extent of the injuries and updated on Gail’s condition. Turns out she had a dislocated jaw, and a severely bruised cheekbone, some minor cuts and several bruises that were not on her face. ‘Asswipe’ apparently liked to use her as a handy punching bag.

The police came and informed me I was under arrest because ‘Asswipe’ called them and stated that I punched him for no reason and then did the same to his girlfriend. After handcuffing me, and asking many questions (that I did not answer) I asked to call a lawyer. They then changed tactics by trying to be my friend and claiming that it was all a misunderstanding. When I again insisted on an attorney and asked to be unrestrained, they decided to try ‘good cop bad cop’ and also started to push me around.

Unfortunately for them, a couple of the ER nurses were there and witnessed everything. When I finally was allowed to call my lawyer, the cops took the cuffs off and waited for my attorney. I thought it was odd that these cops never checked on Gail, and did not ask her about this incident. When my attorney, John Chambers, arrived, the police decided that they had made an error and that I was not under arrest.

After talking to John, I found out that ‘Asswipe’ was a police officer, and that this incident was not the first time he had been in this type of situation. He had a history of excess force, and also complaints of domestic violence. His tactics were when the complaints were made to put the blame on either the victim or ‘interfering do-gooders’. It was just his, and my, luck that I was and am a stubborn and tenacious bastard, and would not roll over and let this go.

After the cops left, Gail asked for me and I was finally shown into her treatment room. Gail’s jaw had been fixed, but with the swelling and bruises, she looked like hell. She was having difficulty speaking, but one of the nurses gave her a pad and pen so she could communicate by writing.

I asked how she was feeling. She tried to laugh but I could see the pain that that caused. She wrote that it hurt. I laughed but thinking that I came across as insensitive, I tried to apologize. Gail just waved it away, and wrote in big capital letters “THANK YOU”. I told her about what had gone on in the corridor and what the cops tried. She began crying and the Doctor asked me to leave so he could calm Gail down.

Gail was admitted to the hospital for observation and some more extensive exams and tests. I called one of the guys that I went out with that night and was told that taxis took care of our group and that ‘Asswipe’ and his cronies tried to get all of the witnesses to keep quiet and let all of the night’s fun go away. Unfortunately for ‘Asswipe’ and company, the waitress filed a charge of assault for the butt pinch. ‘Asswipe’ (who I finally discovered was named George Batts) was finally arrested, charged and fired from the police force.

The police buddies that tried to interfere in the ER were suspended without pay, and the others who interfered at the bar were reprimanded. Because the police found out that I was a freelance reporter, the ‘blue curtain’ was opened and people were disciplined. ‘Asswipe’ left town, and I did not hear about him for over 10 years. More about him later.

I visited Gail and ran into her family at the hospital, and they were very vocal in their thanks. Gail was discovered to have several cracked ribs and a hairline fracture of her wrist. She was kept in the hospital for two more days. During that time we had several long talks to catch up on what has happened to us all.

I found out that after high school, Gail had not dated anybody for more than 3 or 4 times, including ‘Asswipe’. ‘Asswipe’ wanted to continue beyond the day of the “incident at the Village Inn” as the paper was calling it. Gail went out with him that day to tell him it was the last date.

The family had no idea that he was beating her, and were very upset when I explained what happened that night in the ER. They again thanked me and asked for the name of my attorney. They later had Gail sue the police department and the individual officers who failed to follow up on the reports of ‘Asswipe’s’ activities. She won a bunch, and gave a big donation to the local battered woman’s shelter.

Gail was finally able to talk after a day and we had several interesting conversations. She kept saying that what she did in high school was the biggest mistake she had ever made. She asked if there was any way that I could forgive her.

I told her that it was water under the bridge, and I was no longer angry at her or her actions from that time. I was surprised at how strong her desire for us to get back together was. I told her I needed to think about things but I was not going to rule anything out.

Well, I obviously decided to try and rekindle what we had before. We dated for a year and then got engaged. While dating Gail stated that her reputation was not true. She claimed that until she met George (‘Asswipe’) she had only given oral sex to any of her dates. She said that George just about raped her and only stopped when her roommate put a key in the door and distracted George. That incident led to the beating and that led to the night where I came on the scene. To say I was skeptical would be an understatement, but I was willing to listen.

We finally were married, and my skepticism was not misplaced. Gail admitted that she had played around more than a little. As it was before we were married, I did not react too badly. However that led me to tell Gail that I had zero tolerance for cheating. That tolerance also included outright lying about where you were going or had been. Gail was not too happy about that and threw the same rules back on me. I think that I surprised her when I produced a written agreement that we both signed.

The kids came along, my first novel was published, and was well received. I made several high profile exposés about corruption in some of the local communities and charities one of them surprisingly was the woman’s shelter. Life was good and we were living well. I was able to create trust funds for kid’s education and get new cars every other year. Our sex life was all I wanted, and Gail always seemed to enjoy the sex and always wore me out. The only thing she objected to was anal; even though we tried several times. Gail said it was too painful. If it hurt her it was not enjoyable for me. Anything else one on one between us she never turned me down.

About 6 years ago we had a major crisis when I caught Gail at lunch with, of all people ‘Asswipe’. I went up to them and told Gail she had 30 seconds to decide if she would be leaving with me or not coming home at all. I told her if she stayed, she should find a good lawyer because she would be served papers ASAP. She started to say something when I turned and walked away. By the time I reached my car she was right there with me, but there were many nights over the next few weeks that the temperature in our house was barely above freezing and I slept in my home office.