Naples is a Never

 Last month, I had a brief hospitalization due to a doctor's misdiagnosis.  It was terrifying.  A form of sepsis was the culprit.  Treatment alone was brutal as antibiotic IV's came with their own side effects.  But I survived it and am feeling so much better today.

When I returned home, a friend told me I needed a vacation.  I have not been on a vacation since my 2013 trip to Israel with my synagogue community.  My first thought to my friend's conversation wasn't that it would be a welcome distraction.  Oh, no.  My first thought was that I did not want to leave my precious pup.

And to my surprise, my friend offered a solution.

She and her husband have a condo in Florida.  She suggested I go down for a few days and bring my dog.  I did not know where in Florida her condo was, but seeing palm trees again would have been wonderful.  Then, within a matter of seconds, her offer was invalid in my eyes.

I asked her, "Where in Florida?"

Naples, Florida.

Immediately my skin began to crawl.  Goosebumps appeared on my flesh.

Naples, Florida.

There are some things that I know.  Some things that are not just my opinion.  And one such knowledge includes the fact that real monsters exist and they are disguised as humans.

A monster lives in Naples, Florida - Robert.  My abusive ex-husband.

There is something known as body memories.  Victims of trauma can actually feel the results of the abuse years later.  I was triggered just thinking of his existence.  The town that he now calls a place to live.

Robert still has his hand in his business of Foodirect in the Hunts Point Market of the Bronx, checking in sometimes physically and mostly virtually; always putting in his two cents and controlling our adult sons who work there. But he has made his main residence Naples, Florida.

Naples will never see me.  I live my life doing safety assessments.  Anywhere he is, is not safe!  Robert sold our property at 11 Piping Brook Lane in Bedford last year - and even though he still owes me my half of it from a divorce so many years ago, I got zero dollars.  That's what happens when I couldn't afford a lawyer and he has a team of them to drown me.  He brags to everyone about that.  He relocated to Naples, Florida. And that town will never be safe as long as the monster abides there.  

If you live in Naples, Florida, it should come with a warning.  

So much for my little get away - but I am more than content where I am.  Home with my beloved dog.