Chapter 12

They sat across from each other, wordlessly. The sounds of her sobbing were the only sounds. Well they were for some time, but then she spoke.

“Does he hate me? Did he say that he hated me?” she said.

“No, he didn’t say anything, not really, after I got done telling him, well, what I told him.

She sobbed some more.

“Did you mention to him that we’d be taking care of him when he got out and as much as possible even while he is in that awful place?” she said.

“Yes, I let him know that he was going to be a millionaire when he got out. But that didn’t seem to register with him, not while I was there. I guess the shock was just too much for him; I can tell you it would have been for me for damn sure,” he said.

“And, Candace?” she said.

“I just mentioned that we had a child. He didn’t react to that either. All he seemed to care about was you, or maybe your marriage to me. He sees it as you dumping him, and he’s hurt. Bad hurt,” said Blake.

“I did not dump him, not the way those words sound. I still love the man on some level. How could I not?” she said.

“Yes, and that goes for me too. And, as you said a minute ago, we will be there for him not only when he gets out, but as much as possible while he is inside too. Jacob has his marching orders. I know we can’t get him out early. But I have seen to it that he no longer has to share a cell with any of the scum that are in that place. And, Jacob is trying to see if he can get him rotated to a less strict unit in the prison. That Kaibab unit is bad, very bad.

“I gotta tell you, Ava, I hated telling my brother the truth today, even if it wasn’t the whole truth: I mean about Candace and such. It is the toughest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life,” he said. She nodded.

“I know. Do you think that maybe at Thanksgiving we could go up together and maybe see about assuaging his pain? Maybe even tell him about Candace. I mean what do you think?” she said.

“I don’t know. He probably thinks that we won’t be visiting him now because we have outed ourselves. So, visiting him, or trying to, could be good or it could be bad. I mean even Candace doesn’t know the truth about her birth,” he said.

“And that raises the question of whether or not we should inform her before we went up there. I mean if we do,” she said.

“Yes,” he said. “And Thanksgiving is still a ways off. I think I might send him a letter, or maybe you could. The look he gave me when I left the visitation hall—despair...” She was nodding.

“Okay, you went up there and faced him. I guess I can at least write a letter begging his forgiveness and letting him know that we would like to visit him,” she said.

“Yes, especially that; I mean the visiting thing,” he said. “That might get him to thinking that it would be good to have us come up if only so he could vent. He’s sure as hell entitled to do a little of that.”

“You mean a lot of that!” she said, and the tears came again.

“Yes,” he said. “I am going to do my best to find out exactly what he is going through and to mitigate anything that I can. The Governor will be running again, and so will be his lieutenant governor. I’m going to be making big donations to their campaigns.

“Okay,” she said. “Good. That’ll help our man, right?”

“Maybe, hopefully,” he said.

I was the only occupant of my cell, a fact which pleased me, especially now that I had been abandoned by my family. But while I was the only occupant of my cell; I was not the only occupant of the prison, or of the Kaibab. The worst of the worst were in level four, my level. Yes, there is a level five, but those inmates aren’t really alive anymore and actually have no hope whatsoever. I am in for maybe twenty-five years, but there is a likely end at that point barring anything else seriously bad happening to me. So, no, the Kaibab is the worst for all intents and purposes.

But like I say, I may be in a single occupant cell, but I still had to interact with other inmates at various times, like in showers and at meals.

Then it was the end of August, a few days after Blake’s visit.

I’d knew to keep my mouth shut especially after my trouble with Mister Brown, but my self-control was not the best after my meeting with Blake Willis my ex-brother. I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone else while I was in the mental state that I was in. But Juan Miranda decided he wanted to bother me.

I knew him. He was a gang leader, not the number one guy, but he had torque as they say. There was always a coterie of bad guys following his somewhat plump ass around. And today he was looking for entertainment, personal entertainment: he chose me.

“Willis, you’re mine today, and maybe some of my boys here,” he said. I just kept walking across the yard. He and his followed me back into the block. I had to walk by other cells to get to mine, and they were open for our little one-hour recreation period. As I passed 309 the inmate tripped me—on purpose.

I hit the floor face down and one of the bad guys dragged me inside. Then two of the three guys following behind their leader crowded inside with me, him, and the occupant of 309.

“Pants the little shit,” said Juan to his boys. They did so. I wasn’t getting out of it and screaming for a guard could get me killed. They flipped me over and Mister Miranda situated himself on top of me. One of his boys lubed me up with something, and then he did me. Another one mounted me after his boss did. This was bad. I knew I’d be bleeding all over the place if they all did me.