After Elle left her car hop job and college classes to marry Sam she worked as a bookkeeper for a furrier who owned several retail shops. Elle and Sam lived in a basement apartment in the home of Sam’s parents. Life was good except for Sam’s incessant jealousy. Nearly every day Elle would endure Sam’s interrogations about where she went and with whom.
After the fire that burned one of the store buildings Sam became very jealous of Elle’s boss, the furrier store owner. Sam didn’t think it was appropriate for his wife to have lunch with her boss. This can still be a tough question for some couples today when finding themselves in work related situations with the other gender. We’ve all heard the stories of men leaving their wives for the secretary who always looks nice and is always supportive and helpful compared to the wife who he sees when she first awakens in the morning and has to listen to her concerns. Business is business but on the other hand maybe one can’t be too careful when guarding their heart in marital faithfulness.
Whether Elle gave Sam legitimate fuel for the fire of his jealousy or not no one can know. Elle was a young beautiful impressionable woman. Whatever instigated it, Sam’s jealousy only worsened. Arguments between the two of them became part of a typical day. Elle started hating her life and the genuine love she had for Sam grew colder as fear took replaced the happy feelings. Sam even started becoming violent.
Elle tried to get help from family members on both sides of their families. She tried talking to some close friends about what was happening behind closed doors. Amazingly, no one believed her because Sam was such a great guy and such a gentleman. No one could imagine him the way she was describing and thought for sure that Elle was exaggerating. Research now shows that when a woman is physically, mentally or verbally abused the norm is for few people, if anyone at all, to believe her or take seriously what she says. Domestic abuse is usually hidden, denied by everyone even the victims and well overlooked.
Here are a few facts about abuse:
· One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
· An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.
· 85% of domestic violence victims are women.
· Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.
· Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.
· Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.
National Coalition against Domestic Violence
One evening Sam’s parents heard an inordinate amount of noise coming from their downstairs apartment so they went down to see what was happening. They saw a very angry Sam with a knife in his hand yelling at Elle. “What are you doing Sam?” his mother cried out to him. “What’s the matter with you? Have you lost your mind? Stop that right now.” “Now you’ll believe me!” cried Elle. After that night his parents and some other relatives started believing that Sam got what he deserved when Elle finally left him.
One evening when Sam and Elle were home the old fashioned landline phone rang about 8:00. Elle answered and heard Skeet’s voice from the other end. He began explain that he had met a lady he thought he might want to marry but when he checked into getting a marriage license he was told that there was no record of the annulment from his marriage to Elle. He didn’t know what to do and wondered if Elle would help him with the necessary documentation that validated their legal annulment. Elle was glad to hear that Skeets was alive after all the war days and was happy to help him.
Sam overheard Elle on the phone and began questioning her about the caller. “Who is that on the phone,” Sam asked. “Is that a man” What does he want?” Elle was trying to listen to Skeets and when she did not respond as Sam wanted his anger escalated. Sam tried to grab the phone from Elle’s hands and a scuffle ensued. On the other end the alarmed Skeets cried out to Elle “What is happening there? Is he hurting you Elle?”
The next day Elle managed to have a private phone conversation with Skeets and he told her to come to where he was staying in New York City to get away from Sam. She had felt much trapped with no place to get to feel safe so this was her chance to find help form someone she knew she could trust. Elle quickly packed and was missing (on her way to New York) when Sam came home from work that day.
When Elle arrived in New York she was so happy to see Skeets again. He did not marry the woman who was under consideration and Elle would have likely stayed with Skeets from then on had it not been for one thing- he had to leave very soon after her arrival to go out to sea for a military assignment. He was a seaman and the sea called him to duty. So there she was again left alone. “Stay here and wait for me in New York until I can return”, Skeets asked her but she couldn’t bear being alone. Thus Skeets gave her the money to get her own place to live and get a new start for her life.When she arrived back in her home town she first stayed with her mother and step father until she could find her own place get a new job and resettle. There was one more incident when Sam accosted her when she was out with some friends. He tried to grab her and interrogate her. He said “we are not divorced and you need to stay away from other men.” Elle told him “we are legally separated and if you ever come near me again or lay a hand on me I’ll have you arrested.” That was Sam’s last attempt to control the woman who once loved him.
New York City - Statue of Liberty
New York City - Statue of Liberty
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