What I saw tonight

This one isn't pleasant or uplifting.

On the way home from church tonight I stopped at Sonic. While I was waiting, I heard screams -- nearby, but I dismissed them as kids driving on the expressway screaming at each other. After all, it is the season and the time of night was about right for cruisers.

Oh how I wish it had been.

As I was peering into the dark, trying to see anything that could explain the sound, when two young guys pulled up in an SUV and pounded on the windows of the kitchen. They were looking for someone with a phone to call the police.

As it turned out, the screams were coming from the house behind Sonic. What I overheard the guys saying was that someone was beating (the .... out of ) the woman.

A couple of the girls working at Sonic called police, and then said they had already been called and had cars on the way.

Then another car pulled up on the side street, and the SUV guys had a brief conversation with the people in that car. They then pulled out of Sonic, squealing their tires, and drove off into the darkness.

There were more screams, and the girls from Sonic started feeling brave enough to walk towards the fence. Something spooked them, though, and they ran back toward the kitchen. I told them to go inside and lock themselves in to stay safe.

I took my usual path home which happened to go right by the house anyway, so I did what I've been trained to do -- I rubbernecked, of course. The woman was still screaming in the yard, and wasn't able to stand still to talk to the officer. She kept backing away from him even though I could hear him saying to her that he just wanted to know what was happening. I could hear her screaming about the back bedroom.

And I peeked in the front door -- typical of the show "Cops" there was a guy sitting in there without a shirt on, with more officers inside.

I'm sure I'll never know all that happened in that house tonight, but I've heard those screams before, and all I can do is ask you to join me in praying.