Misunderstandings

           Penny reflected over the series of incidents that led up to the moment that she and her husband, Clark were now facing.

           Never in the length of their seven years of marriage, had Penny and Clark had an argument that lasted this long or had the ferocity of two lions fighting over the dominion of a pride. Penny could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage as they continuously barked out demands and insults at one another.

           It seemed to be that every idiosyncrasy and accusation of the past seven years had finally bubbled to the surface and now was exploding fiercely like an erupting volcano.

           Clark criticized Penny for not keeping the house clean since she was at home all day, while Penny retaliated with her objection stating that if he didn’t make such a mess when he came home at night, then it wouldn’t look so messy all of the time.

           Penny protested the fact that Clark was able to go out at night with his guy friends while she was stuck at home, and if she wanted to go out with her friends, then it became a big ordeal.

           Clark then griped over the issue of the fridge always being empty, so Penny suggested that he goes out and does the groceries instead.

           The bickering continued for what seemed like three days, but in fact, it was for six hours. Once in a while, one of them would storm off and cool down only to return minutes later with more ammunition to use against the other.

           Penny screamed with frustration as Clark decided to make himself a peanut butter sandwich and left his dirty knife laying on the countertop covered with the sticky, brown paste. Clark looked at her and shrugged his shoulders; his mouth too full to say anything. She picked up the knife, and her first instinct was to throw it at Clark but chose to deposit it into the sink instead. If that wasn’t enough, Clark ate his sandwich as he walked across the living room and he left a trail of breadcrumbs on the carpet along his path. Penny looked down at the floor then up at Clark. Again, Clark shrugged as if to say he didn’t understand. Penny declared, “Now that you’ve left yourself a trail of crumbs, you can find your way back to the other room to grab the vacuum and clean up this mess!”

           Clark finished his sandwich and told Penny that he would get it later. She insisted that he clean up his mess immediately, and another argument began. Penny ran out of the room and locked herself in the bathroom. She knew that if she waited in the same room as that man one moment longer, she would do or say something that she would regret. She calmed herself down for ten minutes before leaving the bathroom. Her face had turned a blush color and was hot with the increase in her blood pressure, and continuing the way she was could have been difficult for her body to endure much longer. She decided to try and smooth things over when she had returned to the living room where Clark now sat watching television. His dirty bare feet were propped up on the coffee table just inches away from Penny’s glass of Coke that she had set down earlier. The truce was over before it began and they were back at it again.

           Clark finally removed his feet from the table but continued to watch his TV show while ignoring Penny’s rants. Penny then grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table and turned off his program. Clark yelled back in protest stating that it was his favorite show. Penny told him that until they resolve their issues, she wasn’t going to allow him to watch any more TV.

           Clark began to storm off out of the room and in her frustration, Penny threw the TV remote which she still had grasped in her hand and it collided with the back of Clark’s skull. He grabbed at the back of his head and let out a yelp of pain. In a fit of rage, Clark turned to Penny, raised his right hand high above his head, then hesitated. He had never hit Penny or any other woman before and he wasn’t about to start. Penny cowered before him with her arms in a protective pose above her face. He saw the fear in her eyes and lowered his hand, turned, and walked down the hall to the kitchen. There, Clark removed some ice cubes from the freezer and placed them onto a dish towel. He rolled the towel up into a ball, wet it slightly, then placed it on the back of his head. Penny sauntered into the kitchen and apologized for throwing the remote. Clark told her that he would be fine, but the remote looked like it had turned its last channel. It had shattered into a few pieces as it hit the hard, wooden floor.

           The couple sat silently for about twenty minutes until the phone rang. Clark checked the call display and saw that it was his best friend, Rob so he answered it. Rob was asking Clark to meet him and the boys at Bucky’s Bar & Grill for a few pints and some pool. Clark agreed to go and after he had hung up the phone, he began to put on his coat and shoes. Penny ran across the room and blocked the front door telling Clark that they weren’t finished talking yet. He went to grab his keys from the table, but Penny beat him to them. She dropped the keys into her front, left pocket, and said that he can have them back after they talk. Clark attempted to wrestle the keys away from Penny, but she was too quick for him. His beer belly was no match for her toned physique. She ducked out of the way as he dove for her and Clark lost his balance. His head struck the hard, steel door and he collapsed to the floor. Penny attempted to revive him, but she was unsuccessful. She called 911 and within five minutes, the EMS arrived and took control of the situation. A neck brace and backboard were applied and the EMS attendants carefully loaded Clark onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.

           At the hospital, the doctor ran Clark through several tests including a CT Scan. After he regained consciousness, Penny was sitting by his side in the hospital room. Tears had left tracks upon her cheeks and her eyes were swollen and red. Her hand was lying upon his. It felt warm and comforting to him.

           Penny alerted the nurse that Clark was awake and soon after, the doctor entered the room. Doctor Johannsen went over the results of the tests with Clark and Penny and told them that other than a contusion on his frontal lobe, there didn’t appear to be any other serious problems. His blood pressure was slightly elevated as well, but it wasn’t clear if that was a result of the fighting, or if it was the extra weight that Clark carried around. He was told to rest and not over-exert himself for the next few weeks. He was to avoid alcohol and stressful situations, and he was to sleep in short bursts, waking every hour or two to avoid a severe concussion. At this point, however, he didn’t show any signs of a concussion other than a headache.

           When the doctor left the room, Penny held Clark’s hand tighter and smiled, and Clark returned the smile. Penny then apologized for the fight they had. She said if it wasn’t for her trying to resolve the argument, he never would have gotten hurt.

           Clark told Penny that it was his fault for trying to forcefully take the keys from her. If anything, this bump on the head had knocked some sense into him. He questioned Penny about what started the argument in the first place. Clark was uncertain if his accident had caused memory loss, or if he just didn’t remember because they had argued over so many things.

           Penny thought for a moment because she had also forgotten, but then it came to her. All of the disputes over cleanliness and time out with friends were just trivial things to get the upper hand in the argument. The true reason behind the argument was that today was their Anniversary, and Clark seemed to have forgotten about it. Clark chuckled for a moment then told Penny to go grab his pants from the closet. She did so, and when she returned, Clark reached inside the front pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in satiny paper. He handed it to Penny and she unwrapped it. As she opened the box, her face lit up with shock and excitement. Inside were two tickets to a Broadway production of “Guys & Dolls”, Penny’s favorite musical. Tears began to pour down her face once again, but this time, they were tears of joy. She looked up at Clark and he said, “Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. I love you.”

           Despite all of their faults, their love remained strong. Love is the glue that holds every marriage together through thick and thin. Without love, we are just empty, zombie-like shells who go about our days following the same pattern day in and day out, without achieving any positive or lasting results.