Born in Violence

Story Submitted by Jeffrey:

Nancy and I got to know each other online.  We had a lot in common (musical tastes, favorite teams, movies, and so on).  We also did some cursory talk about our pasts, and she mentioned that she was three months out of a long-term relationship.  "Brad was a bit jealous and possessive," she said about her ex, "So I've had to cut him out of my life."  I didn't ask her much more about it, and we made plans for dinner.

At dinner, we had some good laughs and she was someone with whom I really enjoyed spending time.  At the very least, she'd be an excellent friend, if not more. 

A big guy came up to us in the middle of our meal and knocked on the table.  "Mind if I join you?" he asked Nancy, and pulled up a chair before we could answer.

"Brad, what are you doing here?" she asked.

He said, "Just wanted to remember old times.  That's not so bad, is it?"

She said, "Remembering isn't.  Acting on it is."

I interjected, "Hi, I'm Jeffrey," and held out my hand.

He muttered, "Get your fucking hand away from me unless you want to lose it."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

He turned back to Nancy and said, "What do you recommend from the menu?  I'll be staying a while."

I stood up and said to him, "I think you should go."

He shot to his feet, knocking his chair back, and got right in my face.  He said, "We're having a date.  If you don't shut the fuck up, I'm going to sing you a lullaby."

I said, "Nancy and I are on a date–"

"I want to kick your ass so bad," he said, "But why don't you just leave?"

Someone who I guessed was a manager came up to us and asked, "Is there a problem?"

I said to the manager, "This guy is harassing us."

Brad yelled, "Shut the fuck up!" and clobbered me in the head.

I was stunned for a second, and I thought I heard Nancy scream and the manager say something about the police.  I heard other chairs scraping across the floor and other diners shouting and all I wanted to do was to make sure that Nancy was safe.

By the time I had regained balance, at least four other diners were restraining Brad, who struggled and spat and yelled.  I pointed at him and yelled, "I'm pressing charges, asshole!"

The police came, took statements, and arrested him.  Nancy was crying and apologizing, but I told her that she had nothing about which to be sorry.  She did tell me, though, that Brad had called her up that day (as, apparently, he did most days) to ask her if he could see her that evening.  She told him that she was going to be out on a date, and he hadn't taken it well.

Wasn't her fault, regardless, as the guy was a psycho.  It's still winding its way through the courts, but Nancy and I are still together, despite the fact that we had a violent introduction.