Consequences

continued to improve in brilliance. The beauty continued to grow. Claire sat patiently and watched with a new sense of contentment.
    Once the sun reached the line of trees at the far end of the lake, the darkness quickly extended over the land. Claire remembered Catherine, she would be worried. The idea of walking back in the dark woods should have frightened her, but it didn’t. She knew her way back. In the daylight it took her an hour and forty-five minutes to reach the house or an hour to reach the clearing.
    When she stepped into the clearing the illumination from the moon allowed her to see her watch, eight thirty. She wasn’t making bad time but it would be almost nine-thirty before she reached home. The air had cooled but still tasted fresh and clean, she inhaled and set off as fast as she could. Direction wasn’t the issue, it was safety. The ground not only had limbs and roots as obstacles, but the rain had left muddy areas that made her slip. One time her left foot slid making her right knee muddy.
    When she stepped into the backyard her eyes focused on her watch, it was nine thirty-five. The last leg of her trip took longer than normal. Her stomach growled for dinner, but her first priority was removing the muddy boots, jeans, and taking a shower or a nice bath. She left the boots on the back stoop.
    The carpeted floor of the southeast corridor felt soft under her feet compared to the hiking boots. It also quieted her steps. As she opened the door to her suite, her thoughts ran between removing her muddy jeans and a warm shower. Although the room was dark, navigation was easy. She even considered leaving the light off. Then she remembered Catherine. Turning on the light would let her know she’d returned. As she reached for the light switch she sensed his presence. Before she could speak an arm come down over her neck and her head turned sharply upward as her ponytail was pulled back. It all happened so fast, she gasped.
    His fierce voice in the darkness was unmistakable, “Where the fuck have you been?”
    She tried to respond but the arm around her neck restricted her air intake. She couldn’t breathe, much less speak. He let go of her momentarily while he spun her around. Now she faced him. His hands gripped her shoulders with a force she never experienced. His warm breath hit her face with each word. “I asked you a question. Where the fuck have you been?”
    She coughed at the sudden intake of oxygen and tried to respond, “Tony, I didn’t think you were coming home until tomorrow.”
    That wasn’t an answer to his question. Although the lights were still off, her eyes adjusted quickly as the bright moonlight streamed through the unblocked windows. With diminished light, distinguishing color is difficult, but Claire didn’t need to see color to know his eyes contained none. He released the grip on her shoulder with his right hand and struck her. His left hand stopped her from falling. He supported her only to confront her again.
    “I have asked you a question twice. I will not ask again.” And his hand contacted her cheek again, harder this time.
    “Tony, please stop.” She gasped for breath as her temple and cheek stung. “I was hiking in the woods.”
    He let go of her shoulders, shoving her onto the sofa. He followed her and loomed over her body as she lay against the cushions. “Do you expect me to believe you were in the woods until this time of night?”
    She tried to explain, “I was in the woods. The sun was setting. It was so beautiful.” Her words came in gasps.
    Finally, he yelled, “Shut the fuck up! You were out there because you knew I was coming home and you didn’t want to face me after what you did.”
    Claire’s mind spun. She didn’t know what she had done. “I don’t know what you mean. You told me you were coming home on Saturday, this is still Friday. I haven’t done anything.”
    Tony slapped her again and called her a liar. Then he walked over to the light switch and turned it on. Claire watched him. His suit coat was gone and his shirt and slacks looked wrinkled. His chest visibly expanded and contracted with labored breaths and his eyes were not only black but violent. In the past he’d been upset, but in control. Tonight his self-control was replaced with rage. She knew he’d passed some invisible threshold. Claire just didn’t know why, but the reason scared the hell out of her. He walked to her dining table and picked up some papers.
    “Then