Every Memory Repeats

Chapter 19

Roman arrived at the house the following afternoon at Marlena's request. When he entered the house he found Marlena standing near the table. Her face was marred by bruising from where he'd hit her, and she'd made no effort to cover it. Roman felt like her decision to pull her hair back in a ponytail was almost done deliberately, to highlight what he'd done to her. He stepped closer to her, and said, "Doc."

"Have a seat, Roman," she told him gesturing at the table, and taking a seat across. "We need to talk, but I want you to know that if you touch me...at all, I will call Abe, and press charges."

Shame rolled over him, and he said quickly, "Doc! I'm so sorry about that! I was angry, and I wasn't thinking!"

"You hit me! You hit me so hard I fell to the floor, and our son...our child saw you do it! So, you will not be touching me. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, Doc. Yeah, I understand," he said, sitting down at the table.

"Seven years ago...I wanted nothing more than to have a calm, peaceful life. I was happy to make you happy, and I often did that at the expense of myself," she said.

"What? No! No, we were happy!"

"We were happy, but you have to understand that the happiness we had, often came at my expense," she told him. Roman stared at her blankly, but she continued, "Do you remember the day we got married? The argument we had?" Roman couldn't recall that argument specifically, but for Marlena is was imprinted on her mind...

"I'm not really sure that I want to marry you right now!" Marlena screamed at Roman.

"What do you want me to do? Go out there, and tell all those people to go home?" he asked her.

"I expect you to stand up to me, and answer my question! You owe me that much!"

"I told you, I will tell you later! This is not the time, or the place!" he said loudly.

"This is the time, Roman! I have been worried sick waiting for you to get to this church! I didn't know if you would ever show up at all, and now I want to know where you were, and what you were doing, and why you were late getting to the church!"

"I was late getting to this church because I was in a fight!"

"A fight? With whom? About what?"

"I told you I would tell you all this later," he said in frustration.

"No! I want you to tell me now!" she shouted, angry that he wasn't being honest with her.

"No!" he roared. "I will not tell you now! Now who's the boss in this marriage anyway?"

"We're both the boss in this marriage!"

"No, no, no! I am the boss, and I am telling you to get your tush out there, and marry me, right now!"

Marlena screamed, feeling tears fill her eyes, "I'm not going anywhere until I know what happened today!"

"Doc! You will only get yourself upset, and you will not even enjoy your own wedding!"

"Get upset?" she cried, in a tear filled voice. "How do you think I feel right now?"

"I think, you're sounding like a fish wife! That's what I think!" he yelled at her.

Roman looked into Marlena tear filled eyes, and said, lamely, "You were angry that I was late to the church."

"I was," she replied. "But I was more angry that you refused to tell me why. Instead you yelled, screamed, and refused to give me the respect I deserved. You refused to explain yourself. You told me that you were the boss in our marriage...and you called me a fish wife. On my wedding day, Roman."