The Unfortunate Incident - Part Two

"What bothers me most is that just because I've been raped once, I'm not immune. It can happen again." Diane said.

Not surprisingly, our life was completely focused on Diane's rape. Referred to "The Unfortunate Incident" by our older, staid Nurse Manager. we facetiously adopted the term.

There was a time when opening a window on a pretty spring day was a reflex action, inviting a date to come into our apartment and/or allowing the front door to remain unlocked from time to time was commonplace. Our world had dramatically changed. Security was paramount.

In our search for peace and understanding, we educated ourselves by attending lectures and workshops on self defense and assault prevention. Interestingly, we learned that an overwhelming number of assault victims  report seeing their attacker prior to the assault and feeling uncomfortable in their presence. Lesson learned.

In the months that followed "The Unfortunate Incident", Diane changed jobs, starting seeing (and soon broke up with) a Dallas police officer, sought counseling and eventually moved back home to San Antonio.

It was a year later, when Diane called. She had been contacted by the Dallas Police following the arrest of a man attempting to rape a woman at White Rock Lake. Fortunately, the woman's assault was interrupted by two men nearby who had heard her cry for help.

Diane was asked to identify her assailant in a photo line up of five men by signing the back of the photo that she knew to be her rapist. She got him.

The trial lasted only a few days. The "Wino & Winette" who had helped Diane were sober when they testified.

Diane's rapist received life imprisonment.

I never heard from her again.