Brianna's Blues

As Brianna peered into the bathroom mirror, tears began to pour down her cheeks. The bruising around her eye was so pronounced that she had no idea how to cover it for today’s shift at the diner. Just as she was blotting her tears away with a tissue, Ronald bellowed from downstairs “BRIANNA – I’m leaving, make sure you lock up and DON’T BE LATE!” She replied with her usual “Yes, Ronald!” Ronald sped off to open the Diner he owned, where Brianna also worked.

Brianna let out a huge sigh. This was her favorite part of the day. She had three hours of freedom from her abuser to spend with her six-year-old son, Jalen. Jalen was still asleep so Brianna poured herself a tall cup of coffee, reached under her mattress and pulled out her favorite black journal. As usual, she recalled the events of the night before including how Ronald had lost his temper because the diner was not making enough money. According to Ronald, it was all Brianna’s fault because she was such a lousy waitress. When she tried to console him by offering some ideas about changing the menu, he flew into a rage. Ronald had slammed her against the wall and punched her face so hard that she saw flashes and fell to the floor. While writing about this episode, she got queasy and felt that she would faint again. “Why God! Why am I in this situation and why won’t you get me out of it?” Before she knew it, more than 2 hours had passed. She had to rush to wake Jalen up and send him off to school.

As she traveled up the stairs, once again, that queasy feeling set in. She mustered up enough strength to wake Jalen up and get him ready for school. She put him on the bus with a hug, a kiss and their usual promise of a good day.

Pouring on layers of make-up to cover her bruising, she prepared for her shift at the diner. How she loathed that place. She felt as if the Diner was her prison and she was doing a life sentence. Her only crime was choosing to fall for the wrong man. She got in her 18-year-old car and turned on the radio. Beyonce’s song was playing “All the Single Ladies!!!” Brianna thought, all she could do was dream of the day when she was single again and freed from her captivity. When she arrived at work, Ronald was grumpy as ever. A burner on the stove wasn’t working, slowing down orders substantially and the dishwasher had leaked all over the kitchen floor, seeping out to the carpet of the dining room. It was a very busy morning with all of the regular customers present and hungry.

Brianna poured Mr. Green his usual black coffee and served his egg sandwich. Then she saw Dr. Jones arrive. Dr. Jones was, by far, Brianna’s favorite customer. Dr. Jones was a young female gynecologist who always chatted with Brianna about music, movies and the doctor’s many vacations. Although she was only 34, Dr. Jones was wildly successful and affluent. “Brianna approached her with an unusual sadness. Dr. Jones greeted her with a smile. ”Hi Bri!” Brianna faked a smile, but it did not work very well. “What’s up Doc?” she said. “Are you okay?” “Oh yes, Doc. Just a little tired this morning. Can I get your usual?” “Sure, Brianna.” Dr. Jones was only a few years older than Brianna. She could see that Brianna was in some form of emotional distress. These two had encountered one another at this Diner every weekday for the past four years. The doctor had observed a lot over the years and felt that Brianna’s distress was far more visible lately. She strongly suspected abuse but did not want to put Brianna in more danger by drawing attention to it.

The wait staff consisted of three waitresses and one waiter. The staff could not stand Ronald and could never understand how he was able to have a relationship with a “Babe” like Brianna. They all thought Brianna was into make-up and fashion because she wore so much make-up regularly. They had no idea what bruises and scars lied beneath.

“Crash!!!” The doctor’s order hit the floor and Brianna went down with it. The nausea from this morning had finally caught up with her and Brianna fainted, dropping her tray of food and drink right on the border between the kitchen and the dining room. Ronald got very upset and began screaming expletives from behind the counter, demanding that she get up and clean up this mess. Dr. Jones instantly determined that today is the day she would help Brianna. Dr. Jones grew up watching her father abuse her mother and always wanted to find a way out. She tried to save her mother numerous times but did not have the resources. Her parents stayed together until her father disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Dr. Jones worked her way through college and medical school, deciding to never be dependent on anyone but herself. She felt a chill as she rushed to Brianna’s aid.

“Brianna, can you hear me?” “Yes. Dr. Jones. I’m so embarrassed, I’m fine, just a little nauseous this morning.” Dr. Jones insisted on examining Brianna in the bathroom where she inquired whether Brianna might be pregnant. “Oh Dear God, No!” Brianna said. As soon as they came out, she wanted to grab the words and throw them back into her mouth. Brianna could not dream of bringing another child into this situation. The doctor locked the bathroom door and pulled out a pregnancy test. “Please take it, just to check?” Brianna complied. While waiting on the results, Dr. Jones patted Brianna’s face with a cold compress. The make-up began to fade showing her black eye, and bruises. Three minutes had passed and it was time to check the test results. A positive pregnancy test sent Brianna into an emotional state so severe even the doctor was cautious, however, Dr. Jones knew that she had to help in some way. Brianna let it slip out that she was destitute with no family nor friends to support her and felt stuck with Ronald. She met him through work and regretted it everyday since.

As Brianna wept inconsolably, there was a loud knock on the door. “BRIANNA – You okay? Let me in!!!” Brianna’s face turned white. It was Ronald. She knew there was no way she could tell him that she was pregnant. She felt hopeless and helpless. “Doc…please help?” Brianna folded her thumb into her palm and lifted all four of her fingers. It was the universal sign for domestic violence. With quick thinking, Dr. Jones called out, “She’s going to be just fine, give us a few minutes to finish the examination.” Ronald was waiting outside the door, anxious about what might ensue when Brianna exited the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, Dr. Jones told Brianna that they only have a few minutes, but she was in an unusual place to help. She indicated that when her father was presumed dead after missing for years, she inherited $20,000.00 through his life insurance. Dr. Jones had put that money away in an account and always sworn to use it to help victims of domestic violence. For years, she pondered how she could use it most effectively. She handed Brianna a debit card and whispered instructions…”Put this in a place that he cannot find it. There is $50,000.00 in this account. I will add your name as an authorized user on this account as soon as I leave today. Use it to start a new life, are you ready?” Brianna’s face began to regain its color and glow, could this be for real? “But doctor, I can’t accept…” Dr. Jones interrupted, “you can and you will. Just DO NOT LET HIM GET A HOLD OF THIS MONEY, or I’ll have him arrested for fraud.”

This was just the jolt Brianna needed. She knew she had to finish her shift because if she left, Ronald would instantly become suspicious. She called outside of the door “Ronald are you there? I’m fine, Hun, be right out.” Dr. Jones helped Brianna fix her make-up to cover her scars and cleaned her up enough to return. “You’re going to be okay, Brianna, don’t look back.” Brianna heeded the doctor’s advice and spent the rest of her shift dreaming of how that money could help her start a new life. Where would she go? What would she do? How could she escape? By the end of the day, she had an escape plan that she thought was foolproof. “I can’t leave today.” she thought. She had to finish the shift and pick up her son from his afterschool program, then find a way to leave. Ronald owned her car, their home and the diner and everything was in his name. She decided to wait for the perfect time.

When her shift ended, she picked Jalen up at his afterschool program. “Hey Baby! How was your day?” “It was awesome, Mom. I made you a picture, here.” He handed her a picture with palm trees and a beach with just the two of them (stick figures) playing in the sand. That was the final piece of their puzzle…where to go. They went home and had their usual chaotic night with Ronald. When Ronald fell asleep, after drinking like a fish, she removed the debit card from the front panel of her underwear and put it in her black notebook, her journal. That was her trusted location that he would never see. On her side of the bed, under the mattress.

The following morning at around 5am, she awakened to make Ronald’s coffee and breakfast. Ronald was particularly groggy this morning and continued to insult her, reminding her how much time was lost when she faked a fainting spell yesterday. He claimed to understand that she wasn’t feeling well but they were losing money daily and she had to step it up. He actually apologized for not jumping to her aid, exclaiming that he was having a very difficult morning. Brianna did not care as she knew this was the last day that she would see the man who basically held her captive for four years. She smiled sweetly and said “Its okay Baby.” Ronald left, kissing her passionately and reminding her he would see her in just a few hours.

The plan was set, she would go as far away as possible and use the $50,000.00 to pay her rent and expenses while searching for a job. Brianna rushed upstairs and grabbed a suitcase throwing all she could into it within approximately five minutes. She grabbed a second for Jalen and threw in all of his essentials, as well as a few toys and a tablet. She woke him abruptly, “Come on Jay Jay, wake up…hurry, we have to go!” She awakened Jalen, brushing his teeth and working fresh clothing onto his body as he was still in a semi-sleep state. Before leaving, she made sure to grab her journal and remove the debit card placing it in her purse. She made one final call on her cell phone to Dr. Jones, to make sure that she had been added to the account. After confirming, she threw the cell phone in the woods of her backyard and sped off. Ironically, “All The Single Ladies..” was playing on the radio again. Brianna made two stops. The first was at the Boston, MA Police Department, to make a complaint and drop off the journal. Brianna, then dropped her car off in a vacant lot, right next to a Kia Dealership. She purchased an old Kia via debit card and sped off with her son and expectant child on her way to a new life in California. As promised, she never looked back.