Friday, February 1, 2008

Women without Men II




Since it was a Saturday afternoon, the beauty salon was packed. While Maribel was curling Rita’s hair post her platinum blonde touch-up, Nancy, a client in her fifties sitting on the adjacent chair, had this to share on her outlook on men.

- “I don’t see what the big deal is about getting a new man. If you have enough to live on, why look for trouble? I love my quiet life. I find peace of mind precious.”

- “You’ve got to be kidding Nancy, I love men, and they love me! (winks). Granted, some men can be cheating bastards, yet revenge can be sweet too if you know what I mean.” Said Rita.
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- “Maribel, don’t let her fill your head with fantasies. The cruel reality of life is, that at your age, you have to learn to fend for yourself and not to depend on a man for everything. I made that mistake a long time ago, and what started as a sweet, tender, loving relationship, grotesquely morphed into a living hell.
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He was my provider, lover, husband and tormentor. I had to walk on eggshells, dreading everyday the potential for physical abuse. I lost my dignity and sense of self, becoming a mass of anxiety, a perennially afraid version of myself. You see, when things outside his control overwhelmed him, I would become his punching bag. I was just an innate object for his pleasure and sadistic tendencies. And you want to know the sympathy I gathered? They asked me: “Why did I let him do that to me?”
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- “I’m sorry Hun, that must have been awful. My father used to beat my mother when ever he got drunk. I guess that is why deep down, I use men. I’ve seen the monsters some can turn into. Why did you stay with him though, I don’t get it?” Asked Rita.
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- “At first it came out of nowhere, for no particular reason, except he had a lot of pressure at his job. It didn’t happen again for a while. Then I got pregnant and things deteriorated after our daughter was born. I only had the guts to leave him, when she was old enough to witness when he punched me in the eye, and this caused a hematoma in my left eye. She started screaming, and then hit her as well too. He was like a man possessed.
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Yet, to answer your question, I must say that I was tied to him out of love, wanting to keep the family together for my daughter, as well, I had no other means of support, and my self esteem was non-existant, thanks to the constant verbal abuse.” Nancy said this with a haunted look of past horrors endured.
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- “Thanks for sharing your story Nancy, and please don’t worry. I will be careful of the type of man I choose for a partner. I am going to night school to get my medical assistant certificate; I only need one more semester to go.” Maribel said this as she offered a hopeful smile to Nancy.

That night Maribel and her best friend Cecilia, went to a nightclub. They wanted to dance and unwind from a week full of overwhelming responsibilities. Maribel wanted to celebrate passing with excellent grades, a particularly demanding examination for which she had arduously studied well into the early mornings.

While waiting to catch the bartender’s attention to get drinks for herself and Cecilia, an amiable young man in his mid twenties approach her, and established a conversation with her.
He said his name was Jose, and asked Maribel if she wanted to dance. She said that she would like to, after she procured the drinks for her best friend and herself. Jose gallantly paid for those drinks when they materialized, after telling Maribel that he was a construction worker, single, and had come with a couple of buddies to mingle and socialize.
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They gathered their drinks and left together to join Cecilia, unaware of the scrutinizing gaze of a man observing them from the bar. He was sheltered by the darkness and shadows enveloping the nightclub.
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to be continued...
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