The Georgia Peach That Spoiled

It was hot outside the courthouse. Sweltering hot. It was the kind of hot that could make a Georgia Peach spoil in the summertime. Lena sat outside on a wooden bench that faced the courthouse and stared at Lady Justice who stood atop of the clock tower on the historic Renaissance Revival stone building. Lady Justice looked worn with defeat in her eyes. 
 
Twenty minutes passed. The beads of sweat that were on Lena's forehead began to roll down her face. It was too hot to wear all black in the Georgia heat, but she was mourning, mourning the death of justice in the legal system. 
 
She sat on the bench flabbergasted by what the District Attorney told her. The DA called Lena on Monday and said that she wanted to meet with her to discuss the case. Lena said that she would be available to meet with her at the end of the week. So Friday the 13th at high noon was when they met. Imagine meeting someone on an unlucky day during the time of a decisive confrontation. She didn't expect to hear good news, so she wore black in anticipation of what was to come.
 
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Whitfield," the DA said as Lena walked into her office.
 
"Good afternoon," Lena replied.
 
The way the DA greeted her was grim, so Lena knew the meeting was not going to end well.
 
"Look, Mrs. Whitfield, I'm going to cut right it. Mr. Whitfield's lawyer presented evidence that hurts your credibility. Because of that, I am not going to prosecute him."
 
"But I have a recording of the incident. It should surely be enough to prosecute my husband."
 
"OK, let's listen to it," she said skeptically.
 
Lena played the tape. It replayed verbatim everything that happened that early morning in November.
 
After the tape had stopped, the DA looked at Lena aloofly. "Mrs. Whitfield, I cannot use the tape as evidence. Mr. Whitfield did not say anything to you in an aggressive manner nor did it prove that he hit you. It shows that you were aggressive towards him. Based on that and your lack of credibility, I am not going to prosecute him."
 
"The legal system in Georgia is fucked up," Lena said as she got up to leave. She picked up her purse and stormed out of the DA's office.
 
"What is wrong with the criminal justice system?" Lena thought. "The system is supposed to protect victims like me and instead, it slapped me in the face by dismissing the charges. The DA is just another person that my narcissistic, soon-to-be ex-husband manipulated. How could she not see how conniving he is?"
 
Lena began to think back to that early morning in November, a day that started off ordinary and ended up with her lying on the ground. 
​

Bang. Bang. Bang.
 
Lena woke up to the sound of someone banging on the front door of her two-bedroom apartment. She opened her eyes and looked at the alarm clock. It read 7:00 am. She looked at her 3-year-old daughter who lay in the bed next to her. Lena rolled out of bed and walked to the door.
 
"Who is it?" she called out.
 
"It's me!" Daniel, her husband, replied.
 
She rolled her eyes and unlocked the door. She slowly opened the door and saw him. The sight of him made Lena irritated. 
 
"Why didn't you use your key? I was asleep!" Lena said, clearly annoyed.
 
"I would have if you didn't lock the inside door bolt. You know it can only be unlocked from the inside," Daniel responded.
 
"I had to lock it to protect my daughter since you aren't here to keep her safe." 
 
"Please don't start with that now. I'm just here to get my daughter ready for school since you refuse to do it."
 
"You wouldn't have to do it if you were staying in your home instead of staying at that whore's apartment and committing adultery."
 
"What are you talking about? We aren't even legally married. No one sent the marriage license to the clerk's office. Besides, you can't file a marriage license in the state of Missouri if we had the ceremony in Georgia."
 
"But we are married!"
 
"Ok," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Where is Britney?"
 
"She's in my bed."
 
He went to Lena's bedroom and woke up their daughter.
 
"Daddy!" she shouted, excited to see him.
 
He carried her to his bedroom and noticed that the lock on his door was broken.
 
He turned around angry and shook his head at Lena.
 
"Why did you break my bedroom lock?"
 
"This is our apartment, and I should have free access to all of the rooms in here."
 
"This is not OUR apartment. This is MY apartment. I am the only one working, and I pay all of the bills. Your name isn't even on the lease. Your license doesn't even have this address on it. The leasing office gave me a letter about you being here. You are technically an unauthorized inhabitant, and they can potentially kick me out."
 
"As long as we are married and my daughter's name is on the lease, I am staying in this apartment.
 
He sighed and took their daughter to the bathroom that was connected to his bedroom. Lena followed them and sat on the toilet.
 
"Where did this burn on Britney's leg come from?" Daniel asked Lena as he was getting their daughter ready for school.
 
"I don't know," Lena answered. She knew how Britney got burned thought. Britney was playing in her room the night before and bumped into the heater in Lena's room. 
 
Lena changed the subject and requested, "I need you to buy her some Drift and Pull-ups."
 
"Why? I just brought a bottle of Drift and a pack of Pull-ups three days ago. How did it all run out already?"
 
"Why do you have a problem buying your daughter the things that she needs?"
 
"I don't have a problem with it, but I just bought some. Besides, you aren't contributing anything to the house, and I know that your aunt gives you money every month from the payout on your dad's insurance policy. You could buy some if you really need it."
 
"But you are her father; it's your job to buy everything that she needs."
 
"Yeah, ok. And why isn't she potty trained yet? She shouldn't be wetting and dirtying Pull-Ups unless she has an accident."
 
"Potty training takes time."
 
"You have all the time in the world since you aren't working."
 
"I am a housewife. I take care of your daughter and make sure the house is clean."
 
"WHAT? This house is dirty. Britney's in school all day, and you don't do anything. There are tons of dirty dishes in the sink. Your bedroom looks a mess, and you use the living room as a storage unit, and stuff is everywhere.
 
"Well, I deserve to rest from time to time."
 
"Whatever," he replies. "Can you make sure that you are home when I drop Britney off from school?"
 
"Why?"
 
"There's a Falcons game tonight, and I want to go."
 
"Oh, I have something to do. I won't be home until later on this evening. If you want to go the game, you'll figure out what to do regarding Britney."
 
Lena didn't have anything to do, but she knew Daniel was going to take his girlfriend to the game. She didn't want to help Daniel court another woman especially since she felt mistreated by him.
 
"Ok," Daniel responded.
 
For the rest of the time at the house, he only engaged in conversation with their daughter. Lena tried to engage in conversation, but he ignored her. After he finished getting Britney ready for school and made her breakfast, he headed to the door to leave.
 
"Bye, mommy. Have a good day!" Britney said as she turned toward Lena before she left.
 
Daniel picked Britney up in his arms and said, "I'm taking her to the game since you won't be here when she gets out of school."
 
He looked at Lena with disgust in his eyes and left.
 
                                                                      ***

Lena Whitfield <whitfieldmommy@yahoo.com>     Sent November 6 at 9:36 PM
To: danielwhitfield@gmail.com
 
Hey Daniel,
 
I hope you and Britney are having a good time at the game.
 
Lena Whitfield <whitfieldmommy@yahoo.com>      Sent November 6 at 10:28 PM
To: danielwhitfield@gmail.com
 
Hey Daniel,
 
Let me know when you are going to drop Brit off.
 
Lena Whitfield <whitfieldmommy@yahoo.com>     Sent November 6 at 11:18 PM
To: danielwhitfield@gmail.com
 
Did the game end yet?
 
Lena Whitfield <whitfieldmommy@yahoo.com>      Sent November 7 at 12:06 PM
To: danielwhitfield@gmail.com
 
Where are you?
 
                                                                      ***

Daniel, his girlfriend, and Britney had fun at the game. They left the game early because Daniel wanted to get the burn on Britney's leg checked out. Daniel rarely checked his email after 9 pm, so he didn't respond to any of the emails that Lena sent him. Lena got worried that something happened to Britney, and at 12:30 am, she called Daniel. Daniel answered but as soon as he did, the call dropped. She called back, but he didn't answer. Daniel called back seven times, but it went straight to voicemail. Unbeknownst to Daniel, Lena was on the phone with the police asking them to see if Britney was at Daniel girlfriend's house. She told them that Britney might be in danger and asked if they could do a wellness check.
 
At 12:48 am, Daniel called Lena.
 
"Where are you?" Lena said as she answered the phone. "I emailed and called you, and you didn't respond.”
 
"I called you seven times, and you didn't respond."
 
"You did not call me!"
 
"I did, though. You can check my call history."
 
"I don't care what your call history says. You did not call this house."
 
"Well, I'm at the hospital getting Britney checked out. There was a burn on her leg that you couldn't account for, so I wanted to make sure that everything was ok."
 
"What? I'm going to meet you at the hospital."
 
"There’s no need to do that. I'm on my way back to the apartment now."
 
"Make sure you give me the discharge papers. I called the police and requested that they do a wellness check on Britney at your girlfriend's apartment. I need the discharge papers to give to the police."
 
"No, you don't need them. Just let them know what happened."
 
"No, I need the papers."
 
"For what? I'm not giving them to you."
 
"Well, I'm on my way to the hospital to get them from you."
 
"We are on the road now headed to you."
 
"Meet me at the hospital!'
 
Lena hung up with Daniel and got dressed. 
 
"Why did he take her to the hospital for the burn?" Lena thought. "Is he trying to make me look like an unfit mother? He's so devious; he'll say anything to make me look bad."
 
She got in her Ford Pinto and headed toward the hospital. On her way to the hospital, Lena saw Daniel heading to their apartment.  She decided to keep driving to the hospital because she thought that she could get the discharge papers from the hospital since she probably wouldn't be able to get them from Daniel. 

When she got to the hospital, she went to the registering assistant in the ER department.
 
"Hi. My name is Lena Whitfield My husband, Daniel Whitfield, came in with our daughter, Britney Whitfield. She was discharged from the hospital 30 minutes ago. I wanted to know if I could get a copy of the discharge papers."
 
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to do that, ma'am."
 
"And why not? I'm her mother."
 
"Since you didn't bring her to the hospital, I can't release the papers to you."
 
"This is absurd. I want to speak to your supervisor."
 
"Ok," she told Lena as she rolled her eyes.
 
Five minutes later, a heavy-set middle-aged woman with curly hair appeared at the desk.
 
"Hello, ma'am," she said to Lena in a southern accent. “May I help you?"
 
"My daughter, Britney Whitfield, was brought in by her father, Daniel Whitfield, late last night. He brought her in here to look at a burn on her leg. I'm worried that he might be abusing her and I want to get a copy of the discharge papers so I can send it to the Department of Family and Children Services."
 
"Unfortunately, we won't be able to release that paperwork to you because of HIPAA laws. But rest assure, if we suspect any abuse, we will report it to DFCS."
 
"I'm telling you that there is abuse going on and I need the discharge papers to sent to DFCS."
 
"Again, ma'am, we won't be able to do that. You will have to ask your daughter's father for the papers."
 
"Why would someone who is abusing my child give me papers that prove that he is abusing her? I need to get them from you."
 
"I understand your concern, but by law, I cannot give you your daughter’s discharge papers if you didn't bring her to the hospital. But we will report anything if we suspect that your daughter is being abused."
 
"This is ridiculous! I'm trying to protect my child, and you are talking about some HIPAA laws. I don't care about them. I care about my child and her well being. Obviously, this hospital doesn't. I'll be sure to contact the news and inform them that this hospital knew of a case of child abuse and didn't do anything to stop it."
 
"We don't do that ma'am. We follow HIPAA laws, and we report any suspected abuse to the Department of Family and Children Services."
 
"NO, YOU DON'T!" Lena shouted as she stormed out of the hospital.
 
On her way back to the apartment, Lena prayed that Britney was alright. As she pulled up to the gate of the apartment complex, she saw Daniel's car exiting. She put her car in park and got out of the car. Lena saw Daniel, his girlfriend, and Britney in the car. She took her phone out of her pocket and started taking pictures of them. Daniel got out of the car to take Britney out of her car seat. She opened the voice recorder app on her phone and began recording the conversation. She then went toward him and grabbed Britney’s car seat. 
 
"I got her. She’s sleeping. I'm going to put her in your car for you," Daniel stated.
 
"No. I don't need you to be anywhere near Britney. Give her to me!" Lena responded.
 
They wrestled back and forth with the car seat. The rough movement of her car seat woke Britney up, and she started to cry.
 
"See what you did! You woke her up," Lena shouted angrily. 
 
Daniel let go of the car seat, and Lena unbuckled Britney out of the car sear and took her over to her car. Britney peed on herself as she continued to cry. Daniel got the car seat out of his car and put it in Lena's car. As Daniel was putting Britney in Lena's car, Lena walked over to his car.
 
"Where is it? Where are the discharge papers?" Lena shouted.
 
"What do you need them for? I already told you that I'm not giving them to you," Daniel responded.
 
Lena went inside his car and looked for the papers. His girlfriend sat in the passenger seat looking down on her phone. 
 
"I'm sorry, but I had the police go to your house. I didn't know where my daughter was and I wanted to make sure she was alright," Lena said.
 
His girlfriend didn't respond. Lena tried to engage in conversation with Daniel's girlfriend as she continued to look for the papers.
 
"You know that he's married, right?" 
 
Daniel’s girlfriend ignored Lena and continued to look through her phone. Lena continued to look through his car.
 
"I'm not giving you the papers. You can get out of my car now," Daniel said.
 
Daniel went around to the driver's side of the car and tried to get in the car. Lena went behind him and reached over to push the door closed, so she could block him from getting inside his car.
 
"Get off of me so I can get in the car!"
 
"Not until you get me those papers!"
 
Daniel pushed Lena off of him. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. She put pressure on her wrist trying to break. She got up and grabbed her wrist, which began to swell. Daniel got into his car, and he drove off.
 
Rage overwhelmed Lena. She went into her car and drove back to the apartment.
 
                                                                      ***

The next morning, Lena heard a bang on the door. She stayed in her bed and put the covers over her head. Daniel called the house phone, but Lena did not answer. She ignored the phone calls, emails, and knocks on the door until Daniel left. She did not want him anywhere near her or her daughter.
 
After she had dropped her daughter off at daycare, Lena went to the hospital to get examed. 
 
"Ma'am, what seems to be the problem?" the nurse asked her.
 
"My husband and I had an altercation last night. He grabbed me and threw me to the ground."
 
"Oh, my! Do you want me to call the police?"
 
"Yes, please. I would like to press charges."
 
The police officer arrived 15 minutes later. He asked Lena what happened and she gave him her version of the story.
 
The police report stated the following: On November 7th at approximately 1300 hours, I, Ofc. Callahan was dispatched to Peachtree Hospital on a domestic assault call. Upon arrival, I, Ofc. Callahan spoke with the victim (Lena Whitfield). Ms. Whitfield stated that on November 7th around 1:30 am, her husband, Daniel Whitfield, assaulted her. She said that her husband took their daughter, Britney, to the hospital for an unknown burn on her leg. She stated that when he came home, she asked him for the discharge papers, and he refused to give her the papers. She said that they began to argue, and he hit her and pushed her to the ground, which resulted in her wrist being sprained. She stated that she suspects that he is taking drugs due to his erratic behavior and paraphernalia around the house. There is nothing further to report at this time.
 
                                                                      ***

Once the report was filed, Lena went to the courthouse to press charges and get a protective order against Daniel. Once the paperwork was filed, they asked her if she had Daniel's address to send over the court date for the hearing.
 
"No, I do not have that information," Lena stated.
 
Daniel didn't know about the court date, so he was not present on the day that he was supposed to appear in court. Because Daniel was a no-show, a warrant went out for his arrest. A week later, when Daniel went to file for a divorce, they immediately cuffed him. After Daniel was arrested, a temporary protective order was granted to Lena, and she got full custody of Britney. Daniel spent a week in the county jail before his girlfriend was able to bail him out. Daniel fought hard to clear his name and have the charges dropped. After numerous trips to the courthouse, thousands of dollars spent on a lawyer, and Lena's unstable behavior during the court dates, the district attorney decided not to try the case.
 
"I have to tell Ms. Whitfield that I am no longer going to try the case. I will schedule a meeting with her this week to let her know" the district attorney told Daniel and his lawyer. 
 
                                                                      ***
 
After what seemed like an eternity, Lena finally got up from the bench. A bitter taste entered her mouth as beads of sweat made its way to her lips. The taste matched her mood: bitter. Lena surely thought that Daniel would be behind bars so she could get permanent custody of Britney. But Lena vowed that day that she would do whatever it took to tarnish Daniel's character and make his life a living hell.