Love's Sake

He does not know what started the fight but they were at it again. Probably the same old stuff they always fought about. She did nothing and he nagged her about it. The fight escalated as it does. She liked to throw things at him. That is the only time she did something.
She hurt him many times by punching and kicking him like a three year old. Only once, he went to the hospital. She threw a broken cd and cut his face. They broke up for a short time.
He loved her for love’s sake alone. She, at times, was kind and caring and she loved sex. Of course, one can not love someone on that fact alone. When he did not have a job, they were close to homeless but she found them a camper to live in. She stayed by his side. She said he was handsome. She said she loved him. And that was enough.
She started her temper tantrums. Throwing whatever she could find and easily hurl. He ducked and dodged from the air-born objects.
The baby slept.
She was careless with the baby; grabbing him the wrong way and unobservant to him. Since the baby was born, she became worse with her childlike behavior. Sometimes, she would care for the baby and treat him well. Those times were few and far between.
He loved her for love’s sake alone.
Something snapped. Years of kicking and screaming, lying, laziness, jealousy and broken things pushed him to the periphery sanity. His mind went black. He grabbed the baseball bat. The wood felt good in his hand. He loved baseball and played with his friends on Saturday before her. Those were good times.
She told him many times that he was to treat her like a queen… He had to cater to her every need. No more baseball, no more friends. There was no more time for that. He had her and believed that is all he needed.
He raised the bat. He never hit a woman before, his momma taught him that. His mind empty and his heart full of nothing but wrath. He came closer to her and, with the strength he forgot he had, swung the bat against her head. She crashed to the floor with a heavy thud. Good thing, they had no neighbors.
The baby slept.
He replaced the bat and watched. Blood trickled from her nose. Her striking green eyes transfixed and pupils dilated. He checked her pulse, nothing. He tried CPR, no response. She was dead.
Panic and adrenaline brought him back to reality. He could not call the cops. He would go away forever. They would never believe his side of the story. They never did before.
He filed charges against her when he went to the hospital. The cops and social workers gave him snickering looks and made weird comments like he instigated the hitting.
No, the cops were not an option. He had to rid himself of her. He sat on the sofa and thought of a plan. Whatever it the plan was it could not involve a mess.
He wrapped her body in sheets and dragged her to the back porch.
The baby slept.
He grabbed a flashlight and shovel. He dug and dug a deep hole. He checked on the baby and he slept.
He dragged her body. She was heavy to begin with. She was short and weighed close to three hundred pounds now rigor set in and made her heavier.
He rolled her into the grave. His body ached from the digging. He had to finish, it meant a life with his son. He filled the hole in. He came in and washed. The baby woke up.
Later on, he bought some saplings, three to be exact. One for her, one for him, and one for the baby and planted them on her grave.
How much time did her buy himself? He was a renter and they did not pay the rent for the last couple of months. Eviction was on the horizon. Then he would be gone from this place; be gone from her. Eventually, some one would find her, he knew that. A dead body not interned in a cemetery always turned up.
He knew he had a long time before someone discovered her remains. He hoped for at least seventeen years, when his son would be 18.
He loved her for love’s sake alone.