"So, what happened to your son?" says Amanda. "Are you in touch with him?
"Finally, yes", says Jennifer, and now she is trying to compose herself because she looks like she is about to start crying. "Sorry, everyone, this is quite emotional for me. I have had two emails from him in as many weeks. He is now almost twenty-three, and excelling at Oxford where he is majoring in clinical psychology. I am so proud of him". And now she is smiling and beaming.
"What happened?" say I.
"This is where it gets really complicated. You see, the last time I saw Eli, my husband, I had beat him up rather badly and he had to spend a few days in hospital. He couldn't press charges or anything because I was so clearly defending myself. You see, shortly after we married, he decided to go all African patriarchal on me, that I had to be the submissive wife and obey him to the letter. When I refused, he hit me. But then I hit back. The marshal arts training has come in very handy, you know. I am also bigger, and stronger than he is. The last time he tried to hit me, I went all wildcat on him. That was when he was accusing me of trying to turn John gay, and my son is actually queer, but we'll get back to that later. Suffice it to say, after he was discharged from hospital, when I came home from work, he and John were both gone....
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