Revelation

Her husband had not been on the scene, but he immediately shut her out and, man-to-man, took charge of the situation, giving the policeman his own version of what had happened. The cop seemed startled, but had no choice but to to go along with Husband, just as she knew it was best not to press it.
   But Husband was wrong. The stranger who had stopped in front of the house while she was tending to the plants was not interested in the beagle pups they were selling, but in her.
   It had seemed odd the way the way he walked toward the front door although she was visible in the side yard, but she thought maybe he was reading their front-yard sign advertising the puppies.
   "Did you want to see the dogs?" she called out.
   The man paused as if he hadn't considered it, then said "yes," in a soft, calm voice, so she ushered him through the house into the back yard.
   Strangely enough, the man seemed to be afraid of the dogs, even the puppies, but he wasn't in the least afraid of her. Turning to her, and in that same soft, calm voice, he said, "You're not wearing a bra, are you?"
   Panic flooded through her, but she laughed and kept on walking, holding the back-porch door open a second too long so the adult dogs could accompany her into the house. On the way through the kitchen, she picked up a knife.
   "Please put the knife down," the man said in that same soft, calm voice.
   She looked at the the knife as if she hadn't noticed it was there, smiled, and laid it down within easy reach.
   As soon as he was out the door, she called Husband and the police. She'd like to think it was her knife that had persuaded the man to leave, but it was probably the beagles, who wouldn't leave him alone. 
    The policeman arrived first, and she was telling him what had happened when her husband got home and rewrote the script.
   "You can leave now, officer. I'll handle the situation," he said, then explained it was probably a fraternity prank or someone stopping at the wrong address.
     But Wife knew it was neither of those, and also  knew she that she'd learned something about her husband that she didn't want to know.

   
  
   
     
  
  


 that the man who stopped in front of her house while she was outside tending to the plantscame into her house and 
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Smooth, as usual.

I may have told the huy that my husband wd be home any minute now. I think he asked for a drink of water.

In effect, I was told to forget it--and I did. His goal was to take over and define the sitautaion.   Perhaps he was taught that that is the way one handles bad stuff--redefine it. Also, he does not like police in general and might have wante dto get rid of the guy.


He wasn't interested in the dogs--he was interested in me