The Marriage Trap 2

This is a continuation of my previous post.
For those who haven't read it,read it here.

I spent the next couple of days still in the dark. I couldn't call because she told me not to call her on her mobile or sent text messages. Apparently she had a new secret line where I had to wait for her to call me.
It all seemed very spyish, James Bondish and mysterious.
Then a couple of days she opened up to me.

'Funmi, my marriage is falling apart. My husband beats me and now he says he won't mind if we divorced'.
Beat ke? That was the part that made my hackles raise.
Beat!How can a husband beat his wife?
I know it happens but I have never seen my dad lay a hand on my mum.
Its not as if they don't quarrel? But beat?
Never.
What could have pushed him to it.
In my opinion he deserved to be jailed.
Surely this was an human rights violation.
My mind spun in different directions.
Should I call the police, contact a lawyer (I can't take her case cos I already have a job and it forbids you doing any other work), or contact an human right activist, one of whom would definitely fight on her behalf?
To my surprise she didn't want any interference. All she wanted to know was her chances of getting the kids if it came to a divorce.
Sadly, I had to tell her the truth. That the court always considered the kids. Not the father or the mother but the kids in the issue of custody. That is,who would benefit the kids the most.
In her case a lot of things stood against her.
She was not working, her husband had a much better job, and the kids were grown. When the kids are very young the Court usually awards custody to the mother. But in her case she needed to be prepared for the worst.
I could sense her desperation over the phone.
I didn't hear from her again for a while.
Then she sent me a message that her mother in law intervened and things were better.
Toh!
I minded my business.
Then a couple of days later I saw 'her' online.
I ignored her admonitions to always wait for her to call or start a chat and sent her a couple of messages in the line of
"Hi,
Its good things are better,but please try and avoid the issues that led to the previous fights. Also get something doing for yourself,start a programme, a course or something even if it's part time so you can be self sufficient.
Lastly pray,pray and pray for your home."

I noticed that the prayers were monosyllables which was unlike Viv. But I persisted.
I almost wrote "Report your husband to the police the next time he beats you"
But something stopped me in time.
Thank God!
Cos I had been chatting to her husband and I didn't know.
All h*ll broke loose apparently.

Watch out for the concluding Part.
What's your take?
Post a comment and let me know below.