Pot-Roast Dinner

“I’m glad you enjoy it, Dan.”

“No, I mean it, honey. This is the best pot roast you’ve ever made for me. The vegetables were excellent too. Meals like this are good but make sure you don’t eat too much of it. I wouldn’t want you to gain any more weight.”

“I know, Dan. I’ve been doing P90X and trying to exercise more in the house when you’re at work, but sometimes I get bored.”

“When I married you, you looked like a damn pornstar, but now you look like you belong in the circus … or in the zoo.” Dan looked at his wife from across the dinner table and laughed.

“I know. I’ll work harder, Dan.” She took a sip of her home-made iced tea to keep her cool.

“That’s a good girl. So … anything interesting happen today with Kelly? Is she still drawing the pictures at school?” Dan sprinkles some salt onto the remaining piece of roast.

“No. Mrs. Shuttle said that her work has improved too. I told Kelly that sometimes little kids see monsters that are not really there and that this is normal. I asked her to stop and even bought her a new XBOX game as a little bribe. It seemed to work.”

“A little bribe huh? With my money? You aren’t the one earning the bread around here, Sally. I am. In the future, check with me before buying anything other than food or house supplies okay?”

“It’s just a game, Dan, for goodness sake! I’m immersed in our kids' lives and you have no idea what I really have to do just to keep things running smoothly in this house when you’re gone. Did you know that Arnold got into a fight last week?”

“WHAT?! Why the hell didn’t you say anything? Bitch, I’m the man of the house. You need to tell me everything that’s going on. You hear? We don’t need a reminder of what happens when you don’t do as your told, do we?”

“No…No, Dan.” Sally looks down at her plate of food, which has been barely touched.

“Good.”

They both sit in silence for a few minutes. Sally tries to eat a little bit of her own vegetables and meat, but it was difficult. She didn't have much of an appetite tonight.

“Look, Sally ... I don’t like yelling at you or hurting you, baby but … I need you to do as you’re told. It’s for the good of this family."

“I know Dan. I'm sorry."

Dan looks down at the last, untouched item he has on the dinner table. “Chocolate cake for dessert, huh?”

“Your favorite. I even put pecans in it.” Sally nodded.

“If it’s even half as good as that pot-roast then I think I’ll leave the dinner table a happy man tonight.”

“At least one of us will.” She replied.

“Look I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’ll make it up to you tonight in the bedroom.” Dan laughs and sinks his fork into the moist slice of chocolate cake and begins to shovel it into his mouth.

“You know I was thinking that we should go on a vacation later this year, Sally. Just you and me. The kids can stay at summer camp. What do you think?”

“Why would I go on vacation with you?”

“Because I’m your husband and we both need a little break from all of this. Don’t you want to get away? I’m thinking Paris or maybe even Rio.”

“I so need a vacation, but I think I’ll be going alone … or maybe just the kids and I. You can stay here in California and help the daisies grow.”

Dan stares at her from across the table for a moment before responding. “What the hell is wrong with you? If there’s a vacation, I’m … definitely … going to be with you … and the kids.” Dan loosens his belt a little and drinks more water.

“I doubt that, dear, but in a way, you will be paying for it. Thanks in advance.” Sally grins as she pushes her slice of chocolate cake away.

Dan finds each breath a little harder to take in than the previous one. It feels as if someone is standing on his chest and sweat begins to cover his body. He loosens his shirt and empties his glass of water into his gullet but it was no use. He looks at his wife from across the table. He thought to himself ... she wouldn't have ... she couldn't have.

“You whore! I have no … life insurance policy … for you ... or the kids. What will … you do … without me?” Dan stands up from the table and grabs a small steak knife. He approaches Sally, but she remains seated and calm.

“You okay, Dan? Honey you don’t look so good. Want me to call an ambulance for you, sugar lips?” Sally bats her eyes playfully and takes a sip of her iced tea.

“I gave you … a life … here. You had everything … a woman … could want. Why would you … do this … to me?”

“You think this is about insurance money, Dan? It’s about you or rather … the absence of you.” Dan tries to approach Sally with all of his strength, but he can barely breathe and she knows it.

“You say that you gave me a life but this is my hell, Dan. This is my prison! Your son is fighting people at school. Where do you think he learned this violence? Your daughter is depressed and draws pictures of a monster beating her mother. Who do you think that monster is?”

Dan falls to the carpet and reaches for his chest. Each breath is a gargantuan effort for his lungs at this point. He can also feel the sweat saturating his armpits as his temperature drops. “You’ll never … get away … with this … Sally. People will … know…”

“I promised Kelly and Arnold that things would get better, but you see Dan … that’s only going to happen if you’re out of the picture. I suppose I should thank you for the bruises and for picking up that steak knife. It will make the jury more sympathetic to my motivations during the trial.”

Dan looks up at her with surprise.

“Oh ... you thought I was going to try and cover this up, Danny boy? I fully intend to tell them everything and you wanna know why, Dan?”

Confident that he has only seconds left to live, she finally stands up and approaches him. “It’s because the truth is on my side, Dan. Even if I go to prison, it will be a paradise compared to the hell that you’ve put me through these last 12 years.”

The strider from Dan's breathing is loud at this point. A tiny part of Sally actually feels sorry for the man that she once loved ... or was that even the same man? Did that man actually exist or was it just a façade to hide the abuser within?

“Do you have any last words, sweetie pie?” She said while squatting down next to him.

Dan looks up at her with red eyes and takes his last breath before exhaling his last words.

“That chocolate … cake was…actually pretty good, Sally.”