TAQUELIA PENDLETON
At 23, Taquelia met a young man who was always nice and polite. He started out as the most caring man a lady could imagine or ask for, always helpful and doing nice things. He gave her everything she wanted. He performed like a knight in shining armor, helping with her four children. He courted her emotions, doing everything he could to win her heart and gain her trust. She fell deeply in love with him and thought he loved her.
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hen there was a sudden behavior change. One day, he came home distraught and frustrated. She asked what the problem was. Out of nowhere he answered her with a strike which dropped her to her knees in utter shock. She had never been hit in a relationship. Taquelia sought solace in her bible. When he saw her in the Word, he came to her saying he loved her, and apologized, stating that he had a lot going on, and he promised to never hurt her again. Shortly thereafter, he broke that promise and she saw more behavior that did not line up with his commitment of love. He would stay out all night, often gone for days at a time. One time, after he had been gone for 7 days, she came home and saw a young lady outside in the driveway sitting in the car waiting for him. When she asked what was going on, he lied saying this was his cousin with whom he would be staying that week. She questioned him further and again he assaulted her. Taquelia tolerated his lies and abuse because she had become comfortable in the home. After all, the bills were being paid and food put on the table. Days later, he returned home with the same apologies, adding a traumatic account of his troubled childhood where he witnessed his father abusing his mother. After he told her that story, sounding so sincere, she felt sorry for him and opted to stay thinking she could help him change. Taquelia had a friend who knew all that was going on and
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wanted to help. She begged her friend not to tell her family. One evening, her friend took her and the children home after a whole day of ignoring his repeated attempts to contact her. She arrived home expecting to be alone. After getting settled in, and putting the kids to bed, he emerged from the closet, beat her, busted her mouth, blacked both eyes and terrorized the kids. That was the worst she had experienced to that point. She hid from everyone who loved her, making excuses why she couldn’t see them. She felt that she should heal up first to keep this all a secret. She didn’t realize at that time she was enabling him. While trying to avoid this man, he would manipulate her friends and get them to call her to a location. While she was there, he would come out of nowhere and ambush her, going as far as climbing into the window of her vehicle as she attempted to escape. Taquelia moved onto her aunt’s property in the country. One day while asleep on the couch, she felt an eerie presence. When she awakened, she saw him standing over her head and staring directly into her face. She decided to give it another chance and they got back together again for a very short time. The last straw was when he stopped her from going to church accusing her of an affair with the pastor. She moved out and into the house with her sister during which time he stalked her and peeked through her windows, saying he
WOMAN TO WOMAN WITH JOANNE : THE MAGAZINE • Issue 33, October 2020
