Chapter 9

One morning, Garrett was sitting in the café, visiting and having coffee with the regulars, when Pete and Trevor came in again. After they ordered and joined the conversation, Trevor turned to Garrett and asked, “Hey, what’s this I hear about Bitchy Bea getting married?”

“Don’t know,” Garrett said. I haven’t seen or talked to her or her mom in months. Who’s the unlucky man?”

“Only one of the richest assholes in Newton. She’s marrying into real money, she is. I heard she’s marrying Geoffrey Godfrey. They’re having a June wedding and everything. They’ve already torn your grandpa’s house down and are building a monster mansion in its place. You’re gonna be neighbors, looks like.”

Kathy heard part of the conversation and said, “Oh, no. Does she know what he’s like?” She turned to Garrett and said, “We have to warn her.”

“I don’t know if she does or not, but warning her won’t do a bit of good. I suggest we get a copy of the article from his court dates for when he beat you, and give it to her. I suspect it won’t make any difference. You know he has a real line when he’s trying to get something, especially from a woman. He’s probably everything she wants. He’s rich, or she thinks he is anyway.”

That evening, at Kathy’s urging and against his better judgment, Garrett phoned Bea. After a none-too-pleasant greeting, she said, “What do you want, Garrett? I’m busy.”

“Bea, I was in the cafe this morning and heard you were getting married to that Godfrey asshole. I wanted to talk to”

Bea cut him off and screeched into the phone, “You son of a bitch. He said you would probably try to spread rumors about him and break us up. You’re just jealous of his wealth and social status. He’s the kindest, sweetest man around, and everyone is so down on him it’s not funny. Yes, I’m marrying him and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do to stop it.” She cut the connection after saying that.

Garrett’s phone had been on speaker, so Kathy heard everything. He looked at her and said, “Well, I tried. Let’s forget it.”

Garrett kept track of the construction on Bea’s place as he drove past when he went to his land. The coffee shop rumors were right on. The house was not only a monster, but the money they spent on the entry gates and landscaping was outta sight.

Unsurprisingly, Garrett was not invited to the wedding. He did read about it in the local paper. It was billed as the largest such event in the last ten years in the small town of Newton. The happy couple would honeymoon for a month, touring Europe, then make their home in the country outside Newton, residing in a new house that the groom’s father had given them as a wedding present.

Life went on for Garrett and Kathy much as before, except she was busier. Money was rolling in, and Garrett had very little to do to ‘earn’ it. Every day, he would be ensconced in a chair at the coffee shop, savoring morning coffee, breakfast, and lunch on most days. Locals wondered how someone who worked part-time as a maintenance man and farmed such a small acreage could afford to eat out all the time. Most decided Kathy was feeding him for free since they were married and all. He was the talk of the town, with most saying he was just like his grandfather. He farmed the little acreage and spent most of his time hunting, fishing or fucking off. Yep, a true ne’er-do-well for sure, even if he was a nice guy.

Throughout the summer and the following winter, Beatrice would occasionally drive through town or stop at the post office. She was seen much more frequently than before her marriage. She drove a nice Lexus SUV and was always dressed in designer clothes.

Shortly after Christmas, her visits declined slightly, and on a couple of occasions, her makeup didn’t completely hide what looked like bruises on her face and arms. Once, she walked stiffly and seemed to favor her side when she moved. Kathy and Garrett discussed her apparent plight with each other, but they knew they couldn’t do anything to help her, at least not until she asked for it. They just hoped the request for help would come before it was too late. Garrett didn’t like her at all, but she was his sister, and he felt bad about what was probably happening to her. No one deserved the beatings she was probably receiving.

One cold, damp March evening, Garrett heard someone slowly climbing the stairs to their second-floor apartment. He listened to see if it was one of the upstairs tenants before returning to the story he was reading while sipping on his Balviene. The outer door opened, then there was a timid knock at his and Kathy’s door. Kathy was in the shower, so he sighed, put his glass and book down, and answered it.

When he opened the door, Beatrice stood crying before him. She looked terrible. There was a bruise on her right arm, and the side of her face was red as if she had been slapped. She looked at Garrett and said, “I know you don’t have any reason to help me, but please, can I stay here tonight, Garrett?”

On one hand, Garrett wanted to send the little bitch packing but he just couldn’t. She was his sister even if she was a bitch and she seemed to be in some kind of trouble. He would help most locals if they needed it. All this flitted through his mind quickly, but Beatrice slumped farther and started to turn away before he opened the door wider and said, “Come on in, Bea. You can use the spare room tonight.”

Kathy heard them talking and came into the room wearing her robe and drying her hair. She saw Bea and said, “Bea, what are you doing here? You look terrible.”

Bea began crying and collapsed into a chair before she said, “You were right. He’s an animal, a monster. He changed into a control freak on the honeymoon, and then, after we got home, he began hitting me. He said it was for my own good so that I would learn from my mistakes, but it just kept getting worse and worse. I went to mom for help but she told me to suck it up, that he had money to take care of us and if I weren’t such a spoiled bitch he wouldn’t have to punish me.

“I went home today from shopping, and he was in his office with that little floozy he calls his secretary. He had her bent over his desk fucking her. They just looked up and she said, “Close the door and get out of here, bitch.”

“I didn’t know what to do. Like an idiot, I closed the door and put my shopping away. I heard them laughing after I closed the door. Later I heard the little bitch leave, then Geoffrey came into the kitchen and pushed me against the cabinets. He slapped me and said I was never to interrupt him in his office again.”

“I said he didn’t have to worry about that, that we were history, and I was filing for divorce tomorrow. He laughed and said, Fine, now get the hell out of my house. I refused to leave, and he actually picked me up and threw me out of the house, then threw my purse after me. I went to moms and she told me to get my ass back home and patch things up with my husband, but I can’t do that, I just can’t.”