Judge Bowden closed the front door and hung his coat on the rack just inside the door. He was glad the day was over. When he entered the kitchen, Sybil was standing beside the sink wiping her hands on a t-towel. She looked up at him.
“You’re late, Gerald.”
Bowden checked his watch.
“Only ten minutes,” he answered meekly.
“Late is late, Gerald.” She had the glint in her eye he had come to know and dread. Her shape had changed since she had won the Ms West Coast Bodybuilder competition. She had become bigger.
And stronger.
She moved towards him. He froze with fear. She swung her fist. He raised an arm to protect himself. She was too strong. Easily breaking through his defense and striking him on the side of the head. He hated her and cursed her as he fell to the floor.
One day he would leave the fucking bitch.
A plate smashed onto the floor beside his head covering him with pieces of cake. He knew it was carrot cake. Sybil only ever made carrot cake on his birthday.