TW * Domestic Violence * Death * (did I do this right?)

Prologue: 

This story takes place in the filming location for Big Little Lies. And it somewhat accurately reflects the drama that takes place here. Except the opening scene directionally is wrong.

Chapter 1: The beginning

I have a woman friend, newish, older, retired. Sweet. Bought a house after retirement, a sweet beach cottage with two large palm trees in the front standing like sentries and in front is an endless field. Peaceful.

She happens to be the Stepmother to the person I buy my special jade earrings from. Whos BM happens to be very well-known and very popular and quite simply is EVERYWHERE. Shes a director on this board, that board, etc. Shes a colorful character, and very crafty. Lets call her Cunning Connie

Chapter 2: The middle

My sweet friend, lets call her Sweet Sharon. Sharon related some of her history with me - she met and married her stepsons father, had a child with him, he became violent on drugs and alcohol and he beat her so badly one time that it put her in the hospital. She took out a restraining order to stop custody visitation, and divorced him. She hid herself and child from him. This man had never married Cunning Connie but he DID marry Sweet Sharon.

Years go by, and Sweet Sharon retires and buys her peaceful beach cottage, envisioning building her social circle and enjoying what the area has to offer - especially after the hectic high powered job shed had in the Big City. She plots her renovations. Her child has gone on to graduate college, shes a teacher in another beach community north of us. 

Enter Cunning Connie. Shes the jealous type, narcissistic, looks are important to her and as she has aged, all her photo ops are preplanned and cropped and filtered and approved, to keep that aura of COOL and CUTTING EDGE and ARTSY. Her social media accounts have not less that 1,600 "friends". She starts a social smear campaign against Sweet Sharon. Sweet Sharon tries to ignore it. 

Their array of mutual "friends" both socially and on social media, grows. Cunning Connie makes an explosive post telling folks who associate with thee "person" who abused her child to please not invite her to things. I get a text from Cunning Connie telling me that it is Sweet Sharon, who she was referring to, that Sweet Sharon had beaten her son, to "get back at " his dead father, and that she had police records to prove the truth of her accusations.

Since I know Sweet Sharon and am a bit familiar with some of the things from her past, I think hard before blindly believing she would abuse a child, any child, and certainly not while shes getting beaten herself. 

So, I call. Shes in the middle of making me a driftwood jewelry hanger. I ask her about the details, and tell her what is being said. She is in shock, and tells me "thats not possible, I was not around when Cunning Connies son was being beaten, it was his FATHER that was beating him. I had to run away and hide with my child. I have the restraining order and the court order to stop visitation!"

I am thoroughly disgusted. What the he!!. Why would Cunning Connie launch such a direct and bloody campaign against Sweet Sharon? Her own SON, who was sent to visit his father a KNOWN abuser, beaten by his father, not at all protected by his mother, and now accusing the STEPMOTHER, herself being beaten. The victims being Victimised over and over again.

Steps, this just happened, I kid you not. Keep detailed records of EVERYTHING if you can. Journals. Because even when its over, they grow up, they remarry, they die, it STILL comes back somehow.

Chapter 3: the end? Not by a longshot. Lawyers will be consulted with.