A local woman missing- Mary Kubica

I think of all the things that she could say in reply. She could tell
me that yes, he hurt her. That he hit her. That he has a temper. That
he screams and throws things.
But abuse isn’t always physical. It can be emotional, too. Namecalling,
throwing insults, controlling her behavior, monitoring her
whereabouts at all times, asserting financial control. Shelby used to
work. She no longer does. She no longer has her own source of
income. We think that victims of abuse should leave their spouses.
We judge them for not leaving but choosing to stay in abusive
relationships. But with no job and a baby on the way, what are
women like Shelby to do? She’s reliant on Jason.
Physical abuse worries me more than emotional abuse. But the
fact that Shelby doesn’t reply is most disconcerting of all.
I think the worst: that he saw her texting and now he’s mad.
Is everything okay, Shelby? I ask.
When again she doesn’t reply, I consider going to her house to
see if she’s all right. The Tebows’ address is on the contract. They
don’t live far. They live quite close actually, in our neighborhood. It
might be how Shelby heard of me.
Now that I think of it, I don’t know how Shelby heard of me.
Sometimes OBGYNs recommend me. But Shelby’s is leery of
doulas. I haven’t worked with him before, but his reputation precedes
him. He wouldn’t have recommended me or anyone else in my line
of work.
I have a website. There is a database of doulas where she could
have found me. The fact that I can walk to her house may only be
coincidental.
But it would be rash for me to go to the Tebow house now, by
myself. It’s the middle of the night. And what would I do when I got
there? Just knock on the front door? If her husband isn’t mad now—
if he doesn’t know what Shelby told me—he would be.
Besides, how am I to know he wouldn’t answer the door with a
shotgun? People have them. I am a mother. I have my own kids. I
can’t put myself in harm’s way for Shelby’s sake.
I could call the police then, ask them to do a welfare check. But
what if that would only make things worse for her? Her husband