I sighed, too mellow to have a tiff, even a light-hearted one.

Joe kissed my neck and then he pulled out. We settled in our usual position, the one with my head in his chest, and his fingertips roamed my ass and hip while I listened to his heartbeat and fell asleep.

* * * * *

I didn’t have the nightmare that night either.

* * * * *

Thursday I got home from work and barely got inside the door before Joe and the girls hustled me right back out.

Back to school shopping.

I didn’t ask why Joe came with us, I was just glad he did.

We had dinner at a restaurant outside the mall then we went inside the mall and the girls bought some new outfits for school; they bought Joe his new shirt (which he didn’t try on but luckily it fit him); and I bought gifts for Bea and Gary, some new frames to replace the ones I broke and a few little nothings to send up to Mel in an effort to brighten her day.

Joe didn’t pay for the shirt or the gifts for Bea, Gary and Mel but he paid for some of the girls’ clothes and the frames even though I tried to pay. We had words right in front of the clerks in four different stores. Each time my fearless Keira waded in, twice taking my credit card and handing it to the clerk, twice taking Joe’s. Neither Joe nor I could protest because this was Keira, what could we say?

While we were walking to the car, Joe used his arm around my shoulders to pull me close as he said in my ear. “Keirry’s a natural diplomat.”

He sounded proud, so proud I couldn’t stop myself from turning my head and kissing his neck. He gave me a squeeze in return.

When we got home, inexplicably, Joe slowed as we drove in front of the house then he stopped on the street.

I looked at him and his head was turned toward the house.

“Joe, what –”

I stopped when I looked at the house too, saw my yard and gasped in outrage. In now dead grass, the word “bitch” could clearly be seen. I hadn’t driven in front of the house that day or the day before for that matter and obviously Joe nor the girls had seen it.

Then Joe exploded, “That f**kin’ cunt!”

Both girls gasped, I jumped and Joe accelerated the Mustang off the street and into our drive so fast I knew he was beyond pissed and it probably wasn’t the time to inform him that the c-word in front of the girls was an absolute forbidden.

Joe stopped the car, killed the ignition, opened his door and surged out of the car, stalking straight to Tina’s.

I realized at this juncture that I should probably have taken her some cupcakes.

I turned to the girls and ordered, “Go into the house.”

“Mom –” Keira started.

“House!” I demanded and then opened my door, got out and ran to Tina’s, hoping my girls would obey (Kate would, Keira, it was a crapshoot).

As I jumped the fence, Joe stopped pounding on the door, turned to look at Tina’s sporty, red Corvette in the drive then he turned away and stalked down her steps.

As he got close to me, I assured him, “I’ll talk to her.”

Joe didn’t look at me, he kept walking and I watched as he put a hand to the fence, threw his legs over it, landed on the other side, walked straight to his house, around it and then he disappeared, going to his garage.

I didn’t know what Joe had in his garage, except his Bullitt car, the hood of which I knew intimately. But I didn’t figure Joe going there was a good sign.

I also saw my girls didn’t obey, not even Kate. They were standing in the yard. Kate was staring at the grass, looking pissed. Keira was staring after Joe, looking worried.

I jogged to Tina’s door and knocked, shouting, “Tina, really, you need to open up, we need to talk before Joe gets back.”

She didn’t open the door. I knocked and called again. She still didn’t open the door. I was knocking again when Joe was suddenly there.

He pushed me to the side and went into a squat. Then he did something with little tools at her lock, the door opened, he straightened and strode right in.

I stood in stupefied silence not only because my boyfriend knew how to pick a lock but would and did until I heard Tina screech, “What the f**k? You can’t just walk into my house! I’m callin’ the cops!”

“Call ‘em, I’ll wait,” Joe replied and I rushed in to see Tina at the mouth of her hall, Joe standing in the living room in his scary as shit, sinister, arms-crossed-on-chest, badass, alpha male stance.

“You broke in!” Tina shrieked.

“Yep,” Joe agreed.

“What the f**k!” Tina repeated.

“Okay, everyone just –” I started.

Joe cut me off by ordering Tina, “Write a check. Five hundred dollars. Made out to Violet Winters and do it now.”

“You’re f**kin’ crazy?” Tina screeched.

“You do it, this is done, no more,” Joe stated. “You don’t, I’m in this war and, trust me woman, you do not want me in this war. I’m done with you, you’ll move to the next f**kin’ county.”

“Are you threatening me?” Tina snapped, leaning forward, clearly having a death wish.

“Yep,” Joe replied, calm as could be.

“You can’t break in my house and threaten me!” Tina yelled.

Joe looked around then back at Tina. “Pay attention, bitch, I just did.”

Oh Lord.

I walked across the room and got close to Joe, wrapping my hands around his bicep which was usually firm but now it was flexed and it felt like steel.

“Joe, honey, go home. I’ll talk with Tina.”

He twisted his neck and looked down at me. “Gave you that chance, buddy. I told you she f**ks with your yard, we got problems.”

“But, Joe –”

“She f**ked with your yard, we got problems.”

“She toilet papered my yard!” Tina shouted. “It took me hours to clean that shit up.”

Joe looked back at Tina and I could only see his profile and it scared me. She got the full face and shrank back.

“She didn’t do that to your yard, woman, she was in bed with me. You shit where you live, pissin’ people off, you gotta expect retribution. And you make a habit of shittin’ where you live. Who f**kin’ knows who did that to your yard? All I know is, it wasn’t Vi. You retaliated against the wrong person that person is my woman and your retaliation crossed a line. She can’t clean that shit up without it costin’ her and you’re gonna f**kin’ pay for it.”

“Fuck you!” Tina shouted and Joe shrugged, dropped his arms and turned away.