The Longest Ten Minutes

Good God! Had it really only been two minutes since she last looked at the time? No way! What was taking them so long?

Grace Paulson forced herself to look at the man who sat across the table from her, even though the sight of him turned her stomach. The man who happened to share the same last name as her. The man who had made her life a living hell for the last ten years. Countless trips to the emergency room for “trips” and “falls”. Yeah, right!

Grace had thought she had finally been rid of him. That’s what the P was supposed to be for. Yet here he sat, eating her last piece of chocolate cake. It was a small miracle that she had decided to wait until tomorrow to eat it.

She was off work tomorrow so she though she’d spoil herself a little and binge watch “Bones” and eat that piece of cake. It didn’t matter now. She’d probably be dead soon.

“Mmm. Damn girl, you still got it!” Muttered Earl Paulson, her ex-husband, and bane of her existence. “You make the best chocolate cake this side of the Mississippi!”

Every time he opened his mouth, he proved just how stupid he really was. “Thanks,” she said, desperately trying not to sound too sarcastic, for she was trying to buy time for the police to get here, for she had pressed the panic button four minutes ago. They knew when she pressed that button to get here stat.

The disgusting slob took another bite of her cake, now his, she thought to herself, and began to talk with his mouth full, his greasy string hair hanging in his eyes. Thinking that she had once upon a time had sex with that ugly slob, made her draw her robe tighter, even though she wore pajamas underneath it.

She glanced at the time again. No! Two minutes! It had only been two minutes! She’d never survive another six minutes with him. It was impossible!

Grace forced herself to calm down. She had to think of something to talk about. Something that he’d want to talk about. He took another bite and a crumb fell into his beard. Somehow she had to focus on something else and not let it bother her.

She tried to talk about his new girlfriend, but how anyone could possibly want someone like him, she’ll never know.

“H-How’s Darla?”

Earl paused midchew and glared. With a mouth still full of cake, he said, “Since when do you care about who I date?”

A piece of chewed up cake flew out of his mouth and landed on her face. Oh God! She was going to throw up! Swallow it down, girl. Swallow it down. Just five more minutes. The police would be here any moment. “N-no, I-I’m interested. Really.”

Earl looked away and with a shrug said, “She’s good. She has a job at the convenient store down the block from us.”

“Oh, that’s great. Close to home so gas isn’t an issue.”

“Yeah, and she has a job, unlike you, you good for nothing whore.”

Point in fact, she always had a job. Often times even when he didn’t.

“Yeah, totally.”

Think Grace, think! “So, have you talked to your mom lately?”

Half the cake was gone, once it was gone, she was sure… so was she. Her only course of action was try to keep him talking. She hoped she chose a good subject now.

“What, that worthless whore who spread her legs and pushed me outta her womb? No. Why would I want to? Got any milk? Or is that too much for your stupid ass too?”

“No, I have milk.”

She practically jumped out of the chair she was so happy to have a reason to get up. She got a cup she knew he liked and poured him a glass of milk.

“Here you go.”

Taking the glass from here, he was just about to drink the milk, when he got a look at the glass. “Hey, this is my glass. What are you doing with my glass?”

“You-you said you didn’t want any of it, but-but you can have it and-and all that match. Sure. I can get more.”

Things were going from bad to catastrophic. “What, you got some big fancy high paying job now that we’re not married?”

“No, th-that’s not what I meant. I only meant that glasses are cheap. You can usually get four for a dollar.”

After a few seconds, his expression relaxed, and he said, “Oh, yeah, you weren’t much for the better stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah. I like the cheap stuff.”

He paused, mid the second to last bite. She glanced up at the clock just before he did. Seven minutes. It had been seven minutes. Oh, dear God, she hoped she could bull shit her way through for the next three minutes. “Why is that?”

What? Why is what? Oh no! What were they talking about? She couldn’t remember. Quick! Think! Okay, first, she got him the milk, and then he said the glass was his, and then—

“Grace! Why is that?”

Cheap stuff! Right! “P-probably because it reminds me of growing up. You-you know we were poor Earl. You-you were the one with money, remember?”

Earl snorted. “Yeah, ma never could understand why I chose you over Dana Hart… Dana Hart. Now there was one fine ass woman.”

Oh God! He was eating the last bite, and there was still two more minutes. “Yeah, I-I thought you like her and she liked you.” Desperate to keep him from any thoughts of hurting herself, Grace clung to any bits of conversation she could.

“I should’ve.”

Yeah, and then I might’ve had a shot at happiness. Now… “Why did you choose me, Earl?”

With a shrug, he polished off his milk before answering. “I don’t know really. Wait. Yeah, now I remember. Chris Dunkirk said you were a good lay, so I said, well damn, I need to find out.” With an evil harsh look, he turned to her and said, “He lied. You’re worthless in bed.”

He said it to hurt her, hoping to cut her deep she was certain, but over the past two years, she had been seeing a therapist, and then there was James.

“Well, time to get down to what I came for. But first, a quickie. Bend over woman. Don’t worry. I will take my time.”

Tears began to pour down Grace’s cheeks. She glanced at the clock, and it had been ten minutes. Where were those damn cops? “Please, Earl, you- you said you didn’t think I was good in bed.”

“Oh, you aren’t,” he said undoing his belt and unbuttoning his jeans. “But bad sex is better than no sex. Come on woman.”

A male’s voice came on over a megaphone. “Earl Paulson. Come out with your hands up. This is the police.”

At last! Grace took her ex-husband’s second of confusion to get the hell out of there and ran towards the front door.

“Come back here, whore!”

Almost there! Almost…Grace screamed as his hand caught her hair, but Grace was a fighter, and yanked her hair out of his grip. With a kick to the groin, she turned to the front door, grabbed the door knob, unlocked it, and yanked open the front door.

“Hold your fire!”

“I-I’m Grace! It’s my house!”

A police officer ran up to her and escorted her behind the barricade of cops. “Earl Paulson, come out with your hands up, or we will open fire.”

Open fire? For breaking an OP order? “Why are there so many cops? I mean, he had me at knife point, but, all this just for breaking the order of protection?”

The female cop who stood next to her, crouched down with her gun pointed at the house. Slanted her a momentary incredulous look. “Are you serious? Do you really not know what he’s done?”

Grace knew he did a lot, but not to warrant this much manpower. “Apparently not.”

“Ma’am, your ex, is wanted in question for four different murders. That knife that he was using on you? We are fairly certain that is the same weapon that he used to dismember all four women. He’s a serial killer, ma’am. And you just escaped him.” Just then, her ex-husband walked out, his hands in the air.

“Down on the ground! Hands behind your head! Do it now!”

“And now,” continued the cop. “You just helped capture a serial killer and probably rescued his next victim. You’re a hero.”