Your Change is Coming, Page 3

was holding a baby wrapped up in a blanket pressed closely to her chest. She lost her footing on the ice bringing down her companion. He felled awkwardly onto his back whilst the woman managed to stand up quickly onto her feet. The tall man felt embarrassedly on his backside. Because of his height he was struggling to stand up. His feet kept on slipping on the ice like a giraffe skating on the ice rink. The woman laughed at him hysterically and mocked him relentlessly.

  "You are such a clumsy pig."

  "I hate you, Sally."

  "The feeling is mutual, Rupert."

  "I can't help it, if I am falling down. It is slippery out here, woman."

  "You can't do anything right, Rupert."

  "Oh yes, I can."

  "Oh no, you can't?"

  "Go away, man."

  He waved his fist furiously at her. She refused to react. He watched her like a lion eyeing his prey. He was ready to pounce for the kill.

  "Come on then let's me see what you've got Sally."

  She shied away from the man avoiding eye to eye contact with him. He was foaming from the mouth. He was mad with rage and slim in built. But, it was his intimidating voice which made her shake like a white bed sheet caught up in the wind.

  "You are such an illiterate man" and "Don't you dear wave your fist at me again."

  "Why don't you leave me alone, woman."

  "I don't know what I ever saw in you, Rupert. It wasn't your brain and neither was it your looks."

  "Yes. It must have been my personality."

  "You don't have a personality, Rupert."

  "Well why don't you leave me alone, Sally?"

  "You're such a bully, Rupert."

  "What did you say?"

  "You heard me," shouted the woman.

  "Really," shouted the man in response.

  "I called you a bully," cried the woman.

  She threw her shoe at Rupert hitting him on the head. The man grabbed her round her throat trying to chock her. He wanted to kill her but she was far too strong for him. She loosened his fingers from around her neck.

  "You're one crazy man."

  "One day I'm going to kill you, Sally" and "I mean it."

  "I'll kill you first, Rupert."

  "Why don't you leave me alone, Sally?"

  "You're such a coward, Rupert."

  "I'm no coward."

  "You are a coward."

  "Go away, Sally."

  "You can only beat up defenceless women, Rupert."

  "Just cool it woman."

  "Where is he, Sally?"

  "Who are you talking about, Rupert?"

  "I am talking about the pastor, silly. Don't you know anything?"

  "He'll be here soon."

  "He'll better be here soon."

  Rupert was becoming increasingly agitated. He hated waiting at the doctors to collect his medication and didn't want to wait at the old church building. They left several messages on the pastor's answering machine from the telephone booth. He was late.

  "Did you phone the pastor yesterday?"

  "Yes. You know I did, Rupert."

  "I don't know whether you did or not."

  "I phoned him yesterday and he told me he was coming to meet us here."

  "Are you sure you phoned the right number, Sally?"

  "I'm sure, Rupert."

  "Are you really, really sure?"

  "I have told you before mister, stop questioning me."

  "And why isn't he here yet, dummy?"

  "Don't you dear call me a dummy, Rupert?"

  "You are such a dummy, Sally."

  "I'm no dummy."

  "You can't do anything right, can you, Sally?"

  "Yes, I can."

  "What can you do right then?"

  "Well."

  "Well what, I'm still waiting to hear from you."

  "The pastor will soon be here. You must be patient, Rupert."

  "Don't you dare tell me about being patient?"

  "You are such a selfish man who cares only about himself."

  "I don't care."

  "My poor baby is sick and a prayer of a righteous man would definitely heal him."

  "Let me pray for your baby."

  "No Rupert."

  "Why not Sally?"

  The thought of Rupert praying for the baby were ridiculous to Sally. It made her giggle with laughter.

  "I have more righteousness in my index finger than you will ever have, Rupert."

  "I can pray for the baby."

  "Rupert, look what you've done to my child."

  "It was you, Sally, who told me that the baby had a demon inside him."

  "I was unwell and my thoughts were unstable, Rupert. I couldn't think rationally."

  "You looked alright to me, Sally."

  "Everyone look well to you, Rupert. You've never been the same ever since you served time inside of prison. What on earth happened to you in prison, Rupert?"

  "I don't want to ever talk about prison, Sally."

  "I hate the living sight of you, Rupert. You went too far with my baby."

  Rupert had not taken his medication for a few days when he was taking care of the baby. In fact, he had a psychotic episode when he was smoking marijuana with his so called friends on payday.

  "I tried to beat the demon out of him as the voices commanded me."

  "You were beating my baby not the devil."

  "The voices inside of my head wouldn't shut up. They kept on crying all day long. I wanted them to stop. But they wouldn't. Where is the pastor now?"

  "I have told you before the pastor will be here."

  "How do you know? He's late and it's cold outside."

  "It's not that cold, Rupert."

  "Really, Sally."

  "It's freezing cold, you dummy. Just feel the tip of my nose and fingers, they are dead. Touch me, then."

  "Stop calling me a dummy, Rupert."

  "You are a dummy and I hate you."

  "Call me a dummy one more time and I'll..."

  "And you do what?"

  "If you think you're man enough to lay a finger on me. Come on then and touch me if you think you are a man," teased the woman.

  "Don't dare me, Sally."

  "I'm not a baby and I can defend myself. I'll fight you with all of my strength, Rupert."

  The man turned his back and proceeded to walk away from the woman. He was extremely upset. The many years of criticisms, abuse and put me downs have ripped apart their relationships. There was no more respect or love for each other. For Sally, the relationship was over, dead and buried. But for Rupert, he had no place of his own. Sally's name was written down on the tenancy agreement. He needed to stay at Sally's accommodation or he would be made homeless and there was a shortage of rented properties in Lower Ashworth.

  "Don't you dare turn your back away from me, Rupert?"

  "I have had enough of you, Sally. I'm sick of you. I'm through with you. It's over."

  "You are such a loser, Rupert. You have never been the man in our relationship. You're useless and you disgust me."

  "I'll show you who the man is, Sally."

  "Why now, it's too late."

  "We can start a new life in a new place."

  "I want my baby to be well."

  "We can start afresh with a new baby. This time it will be our baby, Sally."

  "You have always resented the baby because you weren't the baby father."

  "You spent far too much time with the baby and not enough time with me."

  "You're far too jealous of the baby, Rupert."

  "I need some attention from you Sally as much as the baby."

  "It's my baby. He can't feed himself. You can Rupert."

  "I know that. But every time I look at the baby I see Philip. I disliked that man intensely."

  "I don't care whether you like Philip or not, I want my baby to be healed."

  "Come here, woman."

  "Don't touch me, Rupert."

  "You are my woman and I have a right to touch you."

>   "And I have a right to say no."

  They squared up to each exchanging verbally insults. Tempers were boiling over.

  "Mind my baby, jerk."

  "Put the baby down, woman."

  The baby was laid on the ground for safety reasons. The woman was now in her element pushing and shoving him back. The man held his ground standing firm in defiance. He refused to retaliate even when she scratched his face with her overgrown nails.

  "Don't scratch me, woman."

  "Do you want more?"

  "No. I have had enough."

  "Good. Serve you right. You've hurt my baby" and "I don't trust you anymore and I'll never will."

  "He's here. Stop fighting me, woman."

  "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. We're not finish. Trust me."

  The man and the woman were still at war with each other. The man used his long reach to keep her at arm length. At last he was using his intellect to some good effect. She was a bitterly depressed woman who was far more determined and mentally stronger than he was. She knew no social boundaries. He was the enemy as far as she was concerned and she made up her mind to terminate him by all means.

  The sound of a misfired engine was sheer relief to the man. In fact he was ecstatic and overjoyed to see the welcoming sight of a car approaching them in the distance. He was losing the battle.

  "It is about time too," said the man.

  "It's lucky for you, he's coming or I would have certainly finished you off."

  The woman's threat was not taken lightly. The man's dark skin was showing recent signs of small patches of white areas where he was scalded with hot water by Sally who acted in self-defence. For years he used acts of violence against her to keep her under his control. This time she had made up her mind that she would no longer choose to be his victim.

  "I'm not frightened of you anymore, Rupert."

  "You should be."

  "Not anymore."

  "Look at me, woman."

  "I'm looking at you."

  "I can see fear in your eyes, Sally."

  "I can't live this life anymore, Rupert. I need to repent of my unkind deeds inflicted onto my baby. What we did was wrong. I need to be saved."

  "I had always known you were going mad, Sally."

  "Yes. I am mad enough to be with you, Rupert" and "Not mad enough to know when to leave you."

  "I can no longer live with you anymore, woman. We are both destroying each