by White, Walt
HALF-WAY HOUSE
AS STONE WALKED up to the half-way house, his mind did a run over Dallas. He entered the old house and walked to the counter, doing a scan of his environment. The girl at the front desk was goofy and dirty looking. She had a tight Mickey Mouse shirt on, and her hair had purple dye in it. It was bright and had an irritating effect on the eye of the beholder. She did not care; it was fashion and trendy.
"I am here to check in; I just got released from the Federal Prison in Dallas, Texas." He said.
"Let me get an intake sheet, and I will process you in; just have a seat over there and fill out this paperwork," She said.
She was smacking the gum in her mouth. She made a show of blowing it up and bursting it too.
Stone found himself a chair and sat down. After, he saw what was around him. He could see that the half-way house had divisions into different sections.
"What is the purpose of the different sections?" He asked.
"Female Housing and Separate State and Federal Housing," She replied.
Oh! You mean that this place is co-ed? He thought.
It gave him a pleasure to know it was so. Maybe a hot girl would catch his fancy during his stay. He filled out the paperwork. The girl told him he must have a drug and breath test first thing after filling out all the paperwork. Ok, he thought to himself. His hands were full of the papers when the girl puts a wand in his face for him to blow his breath.
"It is all good. You haven’t been drinking tonight, have you?" She said.
She expected no response as she instructed him.
"Now, let us get that urine test sorted."
“Ok,” Stone said.
She took him into the bathroom.
"Drop your drawers dude." She said.
It was odd to him, a woman giving a urine test to a male.
"Ok, no problem," He said.
He went ahead as she said. She held the cup out and told him to go ahead.
Thinking to himself, he thought it could land him in real trouble, but here it comes.
He pissed in the cup she held out when she talked about her problems with the people in the Facility like he cared.
"Man! You had to go their big boy," She said.
"Now, pull up your pants, and I will get your bedding."
She inserted a strip in the urine to test it and confirmed that no drug traces were in his piss. "Building three room ten is your new home for now. Find the empty bunk in that room and go to sleep. Breakfast is at 6 a.m. The morning guy will help you get familiar with our procedures here." She said.
Stone made his way through the atrium to building three room ten. It was about eleven at night, and everyone was fast asleep. As he opened the door to the dorm, he could see one empty bunk against the back wall. Thank heavens it was a bottom bunk, he thought to himself. He placed his stuff next to the bunk, makes his bed and tries to rest. Sleep eluded him because it was a new location. He was about to doze off when a guy shouted.
"Count, Count, Count!"
Damn it! He thought.
He could not believe they had counts here too.
Fuck, Fuck, Counts!
He got surprised to see nobody getting up for the count. It was a worker counting everyone in their sleep. The fucker liked shouting during the night to wake everyone up. What a sadistic fucker, he thought and drifted off to sleep.
After a few hours, Stone woke up and followed the crowd of souls out to the lobby again. Everyone was filling out sheets from a filing cabinet to leave for breakfast. The café across the street was a Greek restaurant that had a contract signed with the State of Oklahoma and the Federal government to feed the people housed at the half-way house. They had cereal laid out for all the guys to eat. Stone tried to find a place to sit. Here too, the Whites rolled with the Whites. He noticed a group of guys that looked cool and sat with them.
"Where are you coming from fella?" A guy said.
"Feds in Texas." He said.
"You will hate this fucking place. It is worse than being in Prison I swear.” The guy said.
"How is that?" Stone said.
He was curious to know the reason for that sentence.
"You will see…" He said.
He devoured his cereal and headed back to the half-way house. Everyone had gathered in the lobby again.
A tall Black man shouted a roll call.
"Morning jobs. Morning assignments."
He pulled out a clipboard and assigned various duties to them.
Trash, this person, and floors, that person, and break room…
The roll call list went on and on for the time.
After everyone had gotten a duty, Stone remained, awaiting what next to do.
"You are the new arrival. Aren’t you?” He said.
He did not bother to answer as the man did not wait for his response.
“You are on bathroom duty this week," he said and left him.
Toilets! What the hell. He thought.
It was like starting Prison all over again. He got plastic gloves and headed to the bathroom in his building. Everyone cleaned like crazy for about thirty minutes. Some angry guys muttered the "F" word and went back to their beds. Stone did his job and then followed a crowd of people out to a park area with a fence around it. He could decipher it was the smoking area. Most people smoked like hell. About one hundred and fifty smokers sat in a group, dragging on their cigarettes like zombies. He got tempted to join them. Despite loving the smell of the cigarettes, he knew one drag would throw him back to where he left. Before he went into the Camp, his usual was two pack of cigarettes a day. Therefore, he declined when someone offered him one.
"Count, Count!" A guy said.
The whole crowd headed back to their rooms.
He was on his way anyway because any longer stay with the smokers could cause an undesirable effect. He did not want that to happen. He went back to his room and sat on his bed. His Bunkie, the guy above him, introduced himself to Stone as JJ. He asked Stone his name, and he supplied it.
"Your locker is right their man."
He pointed to a set of lockers against one wall.
"Don’t leave it unlocked or your shit will disappear. There are lots of damned thieves in this damn place. I am off to my new job. I work at the Hobby Lobby warehouse, the single job I could find. I will talk to you later." He said.
A small knock sounded at the door of the room, and a small woman with glasses and a clipboard let herself inside the dorm.
She walked up to him.
"You are Mr. Sharp, right?"
He nodded in the affirmative.
"Come with me, please will you? I need to inquire about your plans for securing a job while you stay here." She said.
She was the Social Worker/Counselor attached to the Facility. When they got to her office in the same building, she asked him if he had arranged a job for himself. He told her No, but he could try and call a few friends to ask for a new job.
"Make sure you find one soon," She said.
She asked Stone to take a written test, and he discovered it was a bullshit personality test.
The questions included stuff like;
"Are you suicidal, are you depressed and so on?"
When she was done testing him, she advised him not to cause trouble in the Facility, or he would go right back to where he left. He nodded his okay and left for his room. On his back, he strolled outside the atrium into the courtyard for some fresh air. He saw a structure like a barn beside the courtyard from which came noise. He walked over and check to see what was going on. His eyes did not adjust at first to the darkness inside, but it soon did.
Two half-way house residents were inside having a hard go at it. The guy was standing while the girl rode him with her back pushed against the barn side. She looked at his entrance and smiled in a mischievous way. They continued with their thing like no one ever entered or was present. Stone left them in peace and walked away.
It reminded him of his sta
te. At first, after his wife left him, he had gone celibate. He still frequented a few nice restaurants with bars, but no lady caught his fancy. Then, the fraud issue happened, and he went into the Prison where he could not have such pleasures even if he wanted. Once out of here, he would set his records straight and get a nice new girl, someone sweet.
Stone kept walking until he came to a small area landscaped and had a fountain. There were droves of birds washing in the water at the top of the waterfall. It was beautiful, and he sat down to enjoy the serenity when he heard shouts of counts again. It was fucking annoying. How many counts did they have per day, anyway? He soon discovered that they had double of whatever applied in Prison. He promised himself to return to the place. Back in his room again, another guy came to him for introductions. He was known as Viber. He told him some essential things.
"We have four murderers, two pimps, two drug dealers and a rocket fuel bandit in this room, what is your deal?" He said.
"Bad business deal man; wouldn’t snitch on my friend and got conspiracy," He said.
"White collar buff, huh?" He said.
"Yeah, that is me," Stone said.
"They combine state and Federal offenses in here. It is all mixed up which gets fucked up you know. I am heading to Colorado right after they let me out of here. You know the wacky weed is legal there right now?" He said.
To show he was following Stone nodded.
"Yes, I heard about that."
"It is okay with me. Nobody ever gets hurt smoking a small amount of weed. I have a job at a dispensary when I get there." He said.
In Stone's opinion, he did not think the dispensary would work legally as no one ever wants to hire a felon. He, however, let him ride on the joy of excitement for the time.
"It is time for lunch, let’s go eat Stone," He said.
He stood up from where he sat and followed him.
After lunch, a small Black girl walked up to Stone and asked if he had done his drug test to which he replied in the affirmative.
"I will give you another test," The small girl said.
Ah, shit! He thought.
He would have to piss for another nasty girl again was all he had in his mind. She had a badge, so Stone had no option but to follow her. He got into the bathroom where the drug test got administered, and the girl passed him the cup. The small girl sat a small mirror in front of the toilet so she could see Stone's package. He could feel the dirty-minded rat eyeing him. When she could not hold back anymore...
"You are a big guy, Stone. Are you up for anything kinky". She said.
"No thanks, I don’t think so," Stone said.
He finished his business and pulled up his pants.
The girl threatened him.
"You know I could say your piss was dirty if you don’t comply with my requests. You would go right back to where you were." She said.
I can’t believe this shit; this girl is threatening me? He thought.
"Go Fuck yourself, woman," Stone said.
Stone walked out of the room back to his room.
The next day he heard the FBI came around and arrested the girl for what she was doing to halfway house residents. Someone had squealed on her, but it was not Stone. Stone wanted to slap the shit out of her. If she had insisted, he would have done just that the previous day.
He had change left with and called a good friend to ask for a job he could manage for a short duration. The reply was negative with an excuse there was no money to pay him for the job. Stone knew it was all a lie with no iota of truth in it. It was plain he did not want to associate with Stone anymore. He thought the FBI would investigate him and his company if he hired Stone.
It was a common misconception by people who have not done anytime or been in trouble. Stone placed several other calls, but he got turned down again and again. He became upset realizing they were never real friends. They were people who rode with you when the going is good and hightails when it gets rough and bumpy. The social worker lady would ride his ass for a job if he did nothing soon.
He decided to bullshit it and stay at the facility the entire holding time. It was just two months, and he would keep doing exercise and ride it out till he got free from the counts and damns of the half-way house staff. Stone got permission to walk to three or four job interviews, he was not serious about getting hired he just wanted out of the building.
How could anyone keep a job working from this horrible place anyway?
He got to see the city on his walks, and it felt good. He remembered the nice fountain. He could also go there and keep his sanity. Maybe read a book or two.
RETURN
IT WOULD BE FIFTY-TWO DAYS in the half-way house for Stone. The day of his first release would be bittersweet. Two weeks before he was to be released he could go home for one night. They released him to home arrest for the last two weeks, or so he thought. He installed a land line in his home for calls from the half-way house phone system. He got home and got to sleep in his bed one night.
The next day he answered the phone as instructed.
“Where are you Stone? You are supposed to check in at 8:00 a.m. every day.”
The Half-way House worker said.
“I thought I was only to answer the phone at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day.” Stone said.
“No, you have to check in at the counter every day on home arrest plus answer the phone when we call.” He said.
This never got explained to Stone, or he would have stayed the two weeks.
Who will drive thirty miles each day twice to check into a halfway house, anyway? He thought.
So, after not checking in that day, the social worker violated Stone, and he got ordered to spend the last two weeks of his sentence back at the half-way house.
After, release he had to go straight to the Federal Probation Officer at the Federal Court House in downtown Oklahoma City. He took a new personality test and got ordered to take a drug test. All the necessary documents got completed in thirty minutes. After all the formalities, he could go home. As soon as he stepped out of the Federal Court House, he saw his father. He hugged Stone, and they walked to the car. There Stone could see his same old White car which he had before going to Prison. Sitting in the car with his dad felt wonderful.
“I love you Dad. You’re a good man.” Stone said.
When Stone got home, there was his daughter waiting for him with a big lemon cake with lemon icing. He was so excited to be at home with her. Stone was a loving dad, and his daughter always melted his heart. She followed him around like a small puppy for years. His first trip to the grocery store after his Prison sentence was a feeling he would never forget. He would walk up and down the aisles and stare at all the fresh fruit and vegetables.
He felt good in his clothes, in his skin, he was a new man. He was drug-free, alcohol-free, and cigarette free. He could breathe good, touch his toes, and his mind was clear. The grass was greener, the sky bluer, and the laughter of his daughter sweeter.
Stone was still getting used to freedom despite being released a few days. After getting released, he would pursue his life goals. During his imprisonment, he had worked in educating himself in new fields and had built a support network for the possibility of starting a new career. Things had changed after his release.
He applied to different jobs, and he found one at a local golf course. He worked five days a week in the clubhouse behind the counter helping golfers get started with their tee times. Other than work he spent his time with his daughter playing around and telling stories. During his professional career, he had to immerse himself in technology. Now he could sit back and look at the lush green golf course every day.
Stone made a trip to the church he had attended before he entered Prison. A beautiful blonde haired, blue-eyed woman was in the pew in front of him. She was with her grandmother. She reached back and offered peace to Stone during the service. She was about thirty years old and had no wedding ring on. Stone felt he had a connection with her as sh
e smiled at him. He found out she was an emergency room doctor at a local hospital, single and recently graduated from medical school. Stone had a few new true friends and his family. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and Stone had found his spot in life. He knew everything would be okay.
One evening Stone visited a local lake beach for fun activities with his daughter. He was wearing a blue swimsuit with a teal t-shirt. As he walked towards the lake, he could see his daughter jumping in excitement and rushing towards the water. Stone was happy to see the joy in his daughter’s eyes. He had come to the beach to enjoy the view and relax in the sand.
He took off his shirt and sat down near the lake waves. His body was mesmerizing with large pecs and six pack abs. He could smell the mist from the water and hear the waves. The waves kept crashing onto the lakeshore. His daughter made sand castles. Stone looked at the birds flying above the water. The cool breeze of the lake was nice, and the clouds had now blocked the harmful sun rays from coming down.
“Can I play in the water?” His daughter said.
She had huge blue eyes that Stone loved gazing upon.
It was getting darker, and she was his one precious treasure. He could not deny her because it would break her heart.
“Okay, my sweet girl but you will have to hold my hand in the water.”
“Make sure you don’t go too deep,” Stone said.
She got excited and held his Pinky Finger while they moved around the beach, and she jumped over the water. She collected shells by the lakeshore, and soon the lake whisked, the birds screamed, and the pressure of the wind increased. Stone could not hear what his daughter was saying since the wind was blowing near his ear.
“Dad, I am hungry,” His child said.
“Okay, let’s get ice-cream,” Stone said.
“Yay, I love ice-cream, please hurry I am starving.”
The night was approaching, and they could see nothing while walking.
Stone could not remember scolding or shouting at his daughter ever. Last time she got criticized by him in a teasing manner, was when she mixed salt instead of sugar in his lemonade.