8

Blackfoot, Idaho

.
Tanya was grateful that Skye and Rose were already awake as she got out of the minivan, equally grateful to stretch her legs in the early evening darkness.

Freya didn’t manage to knock before the door opened. A brown-haired, fair-skinned woman stood there. “Hello, Freya. I trust your journey went well.”

“We are here safely, that’s what counts,” Freya replied. She turned to Tanya. “This is my friend, Therese, where we will stay tonight.”

“Come in, quickly! I don’t pay to heat the outdoors!” she said looking at the children with a grin.

Skye giggled, but went inside, sniffing loudly. “I smell something yummy!”

“Me too!” Rose agreed, going with her.

Tanya laughed and joined them, Freya closing the door behind her.

“Sit down, sit down! We have plenty to eat!” Therese told them, going into the kitchen and returning with plates and setting them down on the table next to the telltale boxes.

“PIZZA!!!” shouted Skye.

“Pizza!!!” echoed Rose.

“Looks like everyone is happy then,” Therese said with a smile on her face, helping each of the girls to a couple of slices each. Then she turned on a cartoon for them to watch and turned back to Tanya, helping herself to a couple of slices as well. “Can I get you some coffee?”

“Please,” Tanya replied. “It’s been hours!”

“Do sit down.”

“Actually, I think I’ve done enough sitting today to last me a week!”

“Okay, stand then, but don’t mind me if I sit, please. I’ve been on my feet all day!”

“The girls have been really good,” Freya said, looking from the girls to Tanya to Therese. “They are a compliment to your ability as a mother.”

Tanya blushed. “My husband never thought so.”

“Then he’s stupid,” another woman replied.

Tanya looked at the other woman, very clearly Native. She brought her brown-skinned daughter out, maybe two years old. The child sat happily next to Rose, watching the cartoon.

“This is Tiger Lily,” Therese introduced. “And Jasmine.”

“Tiger Lily, like in ‘Peter Pan?’” Tanya asked.

“My mother called me Lily,” she replied.

“After she left Jasmine’s father, someone said she fought like a tiger and the name stuck,” Therese added.

“Her sperm donor was a bit of a loser, but he didn’t reckon on me being strong like I am… leaving to raise my daughter on my own. It wasn’t what I really wanted, but it was better than letting him ruin my life on the Rez!” Tiger Lily explained.

“She’s living with me now,” Therese said. “She takes classes as she can and holds an online job so that she can pay some rent. This house is too big for me and she helps me pay the bills.”

“Do you guys do this often?” Tanya asked, thinking about what she was doing.

“More often than you’d like to know,” Freya answered.

“I think this is only the third time this year I’ve been needed,” said Therese. “Most women fleeing from domestic violence aren’t fearing for their lives. They are simply regaining their independence from a man (or a woman) who treats them badly – like a slave. Their lives are miserable, but he’s not out to kill them. These ones often stay in Blackfoot or move on to other cities.” She finished a piece of pizza and took another, swigging some coffee as she did. “Evana told me in advance that she thought there was a problem in your house. She figured that you would eventually want out and would require help.”

“How did you know Evana?”

“We went to school together at Eastern Oregon. I admired her Native skin and she admired that I could speak French. We’ve been friends ever since.”

“So, she already knew… My daughter’s teacher already knew as well. It feels like I was the last one to know!” Tanya exclaimed, feeling stupid.

“That’s typical,” Therese soothed. “The person being abused is used to the bad treatment. Maybe she thinks she deserves it or can make it stop by being better.”

Tanya nodded. “That’s what I thought… if I would be a better wife, he would treat me better. That I deserved to be punished.”

“Exactly! It doesn’t matter how severe or mild it is either. Abuse is abuse – it serves to wear down the victim and give power to the abuser.”

“All relationships can be abusive at times,” Tanya protested. “I’m sure there were times I abused him.”

“No one’s expecting perfection,” Therese continued. “We’re not talking about spats, we’re talking about a pattern of abuse. A cycle.”

“In my case, it started very gradual,” Freya added. “At first, he didn’t like a particular friend of mine or a particular dress or hairstyle. Soon, he wanted to approve all my new friends or clothes, to ask him permission before changing my hair. He wanted me to ask him whether I’d finished a household chore to his satisfaction. He treated me more like a rebellious daughter than a wife. I was never an equal partner.”

“But even with physical violence, it’s not easy to understand,” Therese said. “My husband would knock me into the wall during an argument. But then, the next day, he’d go out and buy me lingerie or jewelry, something he knew I wanted. He was very charming and sweet and I’d let him make it up to me.”

“The make-up stage is what keeps you there,” Freya agreed.

“Then things would get really tense and I would be walking on eggshells around him, trying not to make him mad. But it always failed. Eventually, we’d have another fight and he’d hit me again. Finally, he killed our baby in one of those fights. I woke up in the hospital in Walla Walla with police around my bed. They told me that I was lucky to be alive and that I might not be so lucky next time. They helped me press charges. Evana was able to take me to Swan Valley where I finished my recovery before moving to Blackfoot. I’ve been here ever since, but I worry that my ex might get paroled and come looking for me.” Therese’s tears fell and Freya rubbed her back sympathetically.

“I’m glad you made it,” Tanya said. “Maybe you’ll get married again someday?”

“Doubt it. I’m not sure if I can ever trust a man to that degree again,” Therese replied. “Can you?”

“I don’t know,” Tanya answered. “I like to think that someone will love me properly.”

“You’re a romantic,” Therese said with a smile. “I hope you find him. You’re a good woman, I can tell. And Swan Valley is full of good people. You will do well there.”

When they finished talking and crying, it was late and the children were all asleep in front of the TV. Therese put blankets over each of them and encouraged Tanya to go to bed.

♥♥♥