A Good Mother

was just talking about his feelings and not asking for anything. And I felt like I could talk to him about some stuff, too. With Travis, it felt okay.’
“Eventually, Sergeant Hollis broke it off with Ms. Stedman and started dating Mrs. Rivera Hollis. She describes the first few months to me as, ‘good, he was sweet and romantic, but dealing with Jackie sucked because she was always trying to stir up drama.’”
Dr. Cartwright turns another page in her notebook. “I asked Mrs. Rivera Hollis if she felt threatened by Jackie and she laughed. ‘Why would I feel threatened by her? From Day One, it was obvious that Travis wanted to be with me, not her.’”
Will looks at Abby, as if to say, your turn. But Abby isn’t looking at him, and she isn’t looking at Dr. Cartwright, either. She’s staring fixedly out the large plate glass windows and fiddling with the locket on her necklace. The expression on her face, Will has come to learn, means she’s tuning everyone else out while she works through the problem on her own.
“When did Travis propose?” Will prompts.
“In March of 2005, shortly after he received his orders that he would be deployed to Germany, in preparation for a possible second tour in Iraq. They were married in April. The Hollis family flew out. Mrs. Rivera Hollis says she felt his parents, particularly Mrs. Hollis, were not happy about the marriage, both because she was of Mexican origin and because they had a close relationship with Ms. Stedman and had always assumed that Travis would marry her.”
Again, Will shifts uncomfortably, remembering his mother’s pleased expression and his father’s hearty slap on the back when he had made precisely the opposite decision. Will and Meredith had told them after church. They were sitting in the dining room, just finishing up his mother’s traditional Sunday lunch: pork roast, mashed potatoes, green peas, and plenty of sweet tea. Will had stood up to make the announcement, Meredith shyly joining him at his insistence. He hadn’t had the money to buy a ring at that point, had had to ask his father to lend him $900 while he paid off the rest in installments.
Dr. Cartwright is reading from her notes again. “Mrs. Rivera Hollis and Sergeant Hollis arrived in Germany in May 2005. It was a difficult adjustment. Mrs. Rivera Hollis reports feeling isolated. The other wives, she said, were unfriendly toward her. Many of them had young children. She was bored. When Sergeant Hollis was working nights patrolling the base, she would go out and have a few drinks, shoot pool with some of the enlisted guys, go out dancing. Sergeant Hollis didn’t like that, he got jealous, she said. They began fighting, yelling, name-calling, slamming doors, things like that.”
“Was the end result that she stopped going out as much?” Will can hear his voice go from irritated to pleading.
Dr. Cartwright shakes her head. “Most battered women eventually cut off their socializing completely, particularly if it involves other men. The abuser exerts tremendous psychological pressure on the woman he batters. He alienates those closest to her. He cuts off avenues of escape. Mrs. Rivera Hollis says she remained quite defiant and continued to engage in her social activities even though she knew it made Sergeant Hollis angry.”
Will shakes his head. “Why would she bring that on herself? There was that incident in August 2005 at the bar where Travis broke some dude’s nose in a barroom brawl after the guy made a comment about her—” He reddens.
“Juicy Latina ass,” Dr. Cartwright supplies. “Yes, she mentioned that incident, and also that Sergeant Hollis was written up for it and referred, I think, to some kind of anger management. It was at that point that the fighting between them began to escalate, often when he had been drinking heavily. Sergeant Hollis began to slap her, using his open palm so that it wouldn’t leave a mark. He would push her to the ground and get on top of her.”
“That’s a lot of weight,” Will says. “Travis was at least 260, and she’s not much bigger than—than you two.” He gestures awkwardly.
Dr. Cartwright waits a beat, then says, “Mrs. Rivera Hollis also said he would try to choke her, sometimes when he was on top of her and sometimes after he would push her up against a wall. Every time, she said, she would scratch him, rake her nails down his back and arms, pull his hair, spit at him, and he would get off her.”
For the first time that morning, Will is starting to feel better. “So he was abusive,” he says, trying and failing to stifle the note of triumph. He looks pointedly at Abby, who has returned her gaze to Dr. Cartwright and is still refusing to look at him.
Dr. Cartwright takes off her glasses, polishes them, and puts them back on. “Even if I were to take every report of domestic violence by Mrs. Rivera Hollis as the absolute truth, none of it comes close to the level of severity experienced by battered women who kill their abusers. We are talking about chronic, horrific abuse in which the woman’s life is threatened and she experiences intense fear and helplessness, usually on a daily basis. I would advise you to look at the metrics used by Dr. Barbara Bowen in her 2004 study—”
Will interrupts, “We understand, but things got worse over time.”
“Yes, and then again, no.” Dr. Cartwright makes a weighing motion with her small hands, lifting them up and down, then level with each other. “Mrs. Rivera Hollis reports that the relationship deteriorated further after Sergeant Hollis’s father died unexpectedly and he returned to the States for the funeral. Apparently, they were so estranged that Mrs. Rivera Hollis elected not to go.”
Will considers pointing out that Travis took that opportunity to impregnate Jackie, but takes another look at Dr. Cartwright and decides to stay quiet.
Dr. Cartwright pauses. “It is also worth pointing out that nearly all