A More Serious Note

I have a relative, the child of one of my first cousins. I'm not sure if that makes her my second cousin or my first cousin once removed. To keep things simple, I just call her my little cousin. I have quite a few little cousins, children of my first cousins who are 10 years or so older than me. These little cousins are all around 20-25 years of age. This particular one has a thing for punks. You know the sort - skinny white guys with tattoos who listen to rap music, walk with some kind of strange limp they think makes them look all gangsta when all it really does is make them look like George Jefferson. They wear backwards baseball caps, baggy pants and if they have a shirt on it's a wife-beater. They call women ho and bitch. You know, a classy guy with lots of potential. The kind of guy you'd be an idiot not to marry. Well, she showed everyone - she married him last year. He probably did it because he'd joined the Army and didn't want to be alone when he moved off. The only time he doesn't ignore her is when he wants something from her. He treats her like crap, takes the car and leaves her stranded at home all the time, drinks constantly, calls her names, even physically assaults her. This comes as a surprise only to the little cousin - everyone else knew he was a bad seed. Funny thing is, this macho man is really a mamma's boy, calling her every day, telling her how horrible his wife is. And is his life insurance beneficiary the military issues his wife? Nope, it's his mom. Seems my little cousin has finally come to her senses lately and is ready to leave him. Good for her, I say. I know people always say, "Don't get involved. If you say something bad and they go back to him, they'll hate you." Well, life's too short. She asked my opinion and I gave it to her. She whined about it being hard because she loves him, and I told her he obviously doesn't love her because he treats her so poorly. I gave her an example - "You know he loves his mother. Would he ever treat her like he treats you? Nope!" She had never actually thought of it that way before. I hope she stays strong and will find a way to get enough money to pack up her stuff and go back home to her Memaw, who really does love her and will take her in. If she stays, she may hate me for a while for being honest, but I really think if that's going to be the situation, then the next time he's a jerk she'll know she can turn to me. All I have to do is think about the way Jerry treats me and know that is how a man should treat a woman. He always wants me to be happy, and values my opinion, wants to spend time with me, and is concerned about how I feel. For whatever reason, so many women never know this kind of love, and it's heartbreaking.