So Many Warning Signs

Charlotte continued to run the razor along my face, making each stroke a near caress. I just tried to hold still as she continued to talk, quietly and earnestly.

"You see, Brent... you and your wife have a LOT of red flags." Charlotte tapped the razor against the side of the tub again before returning to the job. "First off... your favorite show."

"What does Firefly have to do with..." I asked as she adjusted my head again.

"Pretty much everything, Brent. I mean that show is... MEAN." Charlotte shook her head. "I mean the guy in the Hawaiian shirt... what's his name... anyway, it's clear your wife sees that relationship as romantic. And for a total Fem Dom relationship, it might be. But she shows too many red flags."

Charlotte reached down and picked up a small washcloth that I hadn't earlier noticed. She began wiping the remainder of the suds from my face with a gentle motion.

"She threatens him. All the time. Kaila threatens you... all the time. She thinks it's a joke, of course. But... you know, I wonder what would happen if you ever threatened to say... smack her around a bit for being uppity?"

I know that my wince of anticipated strike was obvious, and I hated the fact that it was an instantaneous reaction.

"I don't even need to say anything, do I? You already feel like shit now, just because I mentioned that men do that. That screams somebody who's been told that, over and over, for a long time. That men suck and hit women."

I reflected on her words, thinking about every single domestic **** briefing I'd ever had. I'd had a lot of them. Any time some guy in the unit had a fight with his wife, no matter what it was about, every single one of us had been crammed into a room and subjected to **** by powerpoint for a couple hours with the proper procedures for avoiding domestic ****. Rule One, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER hit her. EVER. For any reason. There is no excuse. None. Doesn't matter if she's just set fire to your house, ripped up your uniforms, smacked you in the face and DARED you to hit her. You don't.

"So... why is it ok for her to hit you?" Charlotte asked quietly.

"She doesn't... hit me."

"She threatens it. She threatens you. A LOT. She even threatened Helen. Behind a door, I noticed. Made you get up and deal with her problem." Charlotte spoke quietly. "That screams ****. She lies to you, she... ok, your wife is beautiful, I'm not going to lie, she can be really sweet and romantic when she WANTS to be... but there's something very ugly about her."

"I still don't think my show's that..."

"Please Brent... the entire concept of one of the episodes is that men must never accept sex from a woman if she wants it."

"But he thought she was brainwashed and innocent..."

"Did you see the way the guy lit up when she was talking to him? The way he wanted so badly to go along with it? Instead, what does he do? Immediately starts talking about his abusive wife and how she will literally kill him if he does anything." Charlotte shook her head. "And is rewarded for being a good loyal dog who is beaten. No, Brent... it's not romantic. And... wow... the fact you thought it was... it says way too much about the damage you have."

Charlotte rubbed a bar of soap on the washcloth.

"Ok, lean forward, I'll get your back."