There's one aspect of Sally's abuse that's frequently overlooked, and I understand why because it's fucking disgusting but I also can't stop thinking about it.
Sally and Gabe were married. Did she have to do, you know, married people things with him? Or if not, how hard was it to get out of it? Did he push?
I've read most of Why Does He Do That? (amazing book about the psychology of abusers) and one of the things mentioned is that a lot of abusive men are actually pretty good in bed, because of possessiveness or pride or what have you - which is why, I think, sexual trauma is not necessarily part of the 'usual/expected' profile of a battered woman. But Gabe is, uh, repulsive, so that's right out.
I like to think, personally, that his dick just didn't work very well, and his drive wasn't high enough to push the issue. He wanted other things out of her, you know? He wanted her to cook and clean and work, and maybe sex just wasn't a priority for him.
Still, the possibility is there, and it would affect Sally pretty strongly and in a lot of ways, some of them conspicuous to someone as close to her as Percy. So I wonder.
