"911 What is your emergency?"

Well, he was attentive for a while and I thought everything was going to be good again. We moved into my mom's house to save money, in order to purchase a new house. Jose was supposed to be over for dinner at 6pm. He didn't show up and didn't call. I called him at 9pm and I was told by his sister-in-law that he was not home. I was not happy. At 1am there was a knock on the door, I ignored it. Jose came into my bedroom and he smelled of beer, a lot of beer. He tried to kiss and hug me. "Go back to where you just came from, I don't want you here!" I pushed him away and rolled over. HE HIT ME! He didn't slap me he actually punched me. A little background is needed about now, I am a kick boxer. He made a BIG mistake. I rolled away and got off of the bed. I was livid (not to mention that it still stung) and ready to brawl. I followed him down the stairs and he attacked me again, but I was on my feet this time. He punched at me and I ducked, I drove my knee into his ribs while I pulled down on his shoulders. I don't remember everything blow by blow, but needless to say he got what he deserved. He had a bloodied nose, black eye, and 2 cracked ribs. I had a black eye and a bruise on my back. Well, my brother came down at the end of the tussle and grabbed Jose and dropped him six feet off of the porch. He was cussing and calling me names all the way down. My mom called the police and I was checked out and he was charged with assault, but couldn't be found. No surprise there. This was on a Friday; I spent the weekend treating the eye so that I wouldn't have to go to work on Monday with a shiner. I took Monday off and spent the whole day getting a protection order; they advised me at the court house that the order was not in effect until he was actually served. Needless to say he was never found and went to work on Tuesday with enough make-up for 3 hookers. Thankfully, no one noticed. Well, I made it through the day and was relieved when it was time to leave for home. It was a warm day and it lifted my mood considerable. I unlocked my door and Jose was behind me. "I am sorry." "Go away and leave me alone." I stiffened and was ready to protect myself. "Let me talk to you." "No." "Please, I love you and I am sorry." "Go away." I got in my car and started the engine. I tried to shut the door and he grabbed it to stop me. I drove away with the door open and Jose attached. Of course, Jose let go of the door and it shut with a "THUD". I went to pick up the kids at the church childcare center. We talked all the way home about their day and what they wanted for dinner. We settled on potato stroganoff and I took a mental inventory of what I would need and what I had at home. It was a go, I had everything I needed. We didn't discuss the events of the previous Friday, they slept through the commotion and didn't know anything about it and I wanted to keep it that way. They bounced out of car and I gathered their backpacks and my purse and briefcase. Then I saw him, after they did. They were jumping up and down happy to see their "Papi". My blood turned to ice and I felt jittery. What do I do? What do I say? "Come on babies, let's make dinner" "Papi is going to take us to dinner!" my daughter was jumping up and down with glee as only little girls can. "Honey, we can't. Mommy has to call her friend at 9-1-1; Papi has to go see his friend Johnny Law." They were disappointed, but they went into the house. Jose got in his car and left. I called the sheriff's office everyday for three weeks, checking to see if he had been served; he never was. He managed to find me everyday after work and he called my pager constantly. I lost my mind or I am just an idiot, but I did eventually listen to him. His excuse for what happened was that his cousin and uncle had been killed in Honduras and he was drinking and mourning. I never did quite follow how that translated into hitting me, but hey, maybe I am just not supposed to understand. So by this point, we have cheating and physical abuse. Nice. Keep checking back. There is a lot more and it gets worse, much worse.