Prisons

by Rob Edwards

  Delton looked up at her.

  And Taysha looked over, mouth open in surprise.

  “I don’t want you to sit there and talk to me like Mrs. Williams’ trained parrot.” She looked over at Taysha. “In fact it would be good if you just left.”

  Taysha and Delton looked at each other nervously.

  Judith waved her out. “Go on. Get out.” She nodded to the mirror. You can stand behind the glass with God knows who else is back there, and let me talk with Delton alone.”

  “Ah…Miss Higgins,” Taysha said quietly. “Actually there’s supposed to be a representative of the correctional facility in this room with you at all times when you’re here with a prisoner.”

  “Okay.” Judith nodded. “Let me put it like this. If I don’t get some one-on-one time with Delton, I am out of this project for good. How clear is that for you?”

  Taysha stood. “I’ll just be right outside if either of you need anything.” She walked over and opened the door. A guard stood there blocking her way. She smacked him in the chest. “Move! Give these two some time.” She turned, smiled brightly, closing the door behind her.

  Delton looked back at Judith. She thought she saw trepidation in his eyes.

  “Now I want the truth,” She said. “How do you feel about taking care of my son?”

  “Oh.” Delton shrugged nervously. “I think it’ll be good.”

  “I’ll tell you how I feel,” Judith said. “I don’t want you anywhere near him.” She could read in Delton’s eyes that she’d struck a direct hit. “But it really isn’t about me or how I feel. It’s about my son, and how he feels.”

  Delton gave her a moment, then spoke. “Okay then. So you’re going to go on with the program?”

  “I will if you can be honest with me about how you feel about working with him.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Delton said. “I think it’ll be good.”

  “And I said cut the bullshit.” Judith said.

  Delton shook his head in frustration. “Look, lady. What do you want from me? I said I wanted to work with your child.”

  “And I don’t believe you for a second.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I know you’d rather be with your sister than with my son.”

  Delton stopped. His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think that part is any of your business.”

  “Mr. Hayes, let me explain this to you. I am about to trust you,” She pointed at him. “you, with the single most precious thing I’ll ever have in this life. I’m supposed to agree to hand over my very heart and soul to someone who has committed a crime, and is behind bars for it. Do you have any idea the stress that causes me?”

  Delton looked at the table.

  Judith continued. “There’s no way you do, because you have yet to have a child of your own. But if I’m going to do this, everything needs to become my business. Because I’ve witnessed, from past experience with you, that other things in your life can affect your attitude. And that frightens me where my son is concerned.”

  Delton put up a hand. “Okay. I see where you’re going with this, and I want to assure you….”

  “No.” Judith said. “Answer my fucking question. How do you feel about taking care of my son?”

  Delton nodded, put his arms on the table and looked Judith straight in the eye. “The truth is, it would not be my first decision of things to do. I have a sister outside of here that I worry about every day, and I thought I was going to get a chance to be with her again. But I was told I have to prove myself in this program before I get a shot at life outside the walls. So it’s not that I don’t want to take care of your son, I just felt that I shouldn’t have to jump through any more hoops. I’ve done my time for my crime.”

  Judith gave him a moment to see if he would say anything more. He stared sternly back at her, unflinching. She nodded. “Thank you for your honesty. Now let’s talk about my son.”

  “Yes, let’s talk about Noah Higgins,” Delton said. “Six years old, but has never spoken a real word. He attended Keener School for Special Needs for one year and Hanson Elementary for the last two and has seen little to no progress. He spends his days doing particularly autistic child things like stacking cans and pouring water from glass to glass. Playing with Legos is a favorite pastime. He gets overwhelmed with loud noises, does not do well with human contact, and is prone to meltdowns.”

  Judith sat back in her chair and looked at the young man across the table. He was no longer the cowed little boy he had been when he entered the room.

  Delton shrugged. “Yeah, I read the file. It’s what you do when something is important.”

  Judith looked away for a moment and then back at Delton. “Delton Hayes, I don’t like you. I think you are a cocky little prick.”

  Delton smiled. “Judith Higgins, I don’t like you either. I think you’re an up-tight control freak who thinks she’s the only one on the planet with the right answer for everything.”

  Judith’s eyes narrowed and she fought the urge to smile back.

  “So,” Delton said. “Are you in, or are you out?”

  Judith scratched the side of her head. “You going to do the best job you can?”

  “My best is all I know how to do. I don’t even know how to turn the dial back from that. Besides, it’s just as important for me and my sister’s future, as it is for you and your boy’s future.”

  Judith extended her hand. “Okay, I’ll let Dr. Fitzpatrick know we’re going ahead with this.”

  Delton smiled and shook her hand. “It’ll be good. I promise.”

  The door burst open and Taysha re-entered the room. “Thank God, that’s over.” She put her hand on her heart and appeared out of breath. “Working with you two is going to kill me from all the stress.”

  Chapter Twelve

  It felt odd not dressing in the usual orange jumpsuit. Delton was given a new uniform for the special needs program. He wore dark trousers, a bright blue long-sleeved t-shirt with the Marmont College Logo on it, and a gray jacket for the bus ride over to the facility. Everybody looked up at Hector and him when they walked into the cafeteria. He was happy that Hector was a part of the program too. Hector had always been a stand-up guy, and deserved to be involved.

  Delton felt proud in his new clothes, and wished he had the opportunity to show Danna what he looked like. He had not heard one word from her since she hung up on their phone call the previous week. She hadn’t even shown up at her usual visit time. Delton decided he couldn’t worry about it. She had to deal with it however she could. It was a disappointment to him as well, but he would show her how to deal with setbacks by standing up to the challenge, and not falling apart every time things didn’t go his way. Challenges were a part of life, and his response to them was what mattered most.

  Now that the cafeteria was clearing out and most of the inmates were headed off to their duties for the day, Delton could see who was in the program with him.

  Dwight Lawson walked up and fist-bumped him and Hector. “Man, you two is in this?”

  “Yeah, we are.” Hector said.

  Ken Miller, a white dude in his mid-thirties walked over and nodded at them. Delton knew him by name but never talked to him. The guy was always quiet and kept to himself pretty much.

  “Dude! We’re gettin’ outta here for the day!” Delton turned and saw Rick Simpson walking up. He had no hat and his hair was washed and slicked back. His hand was raised waiting for a high five.

  “How’d you get in this?” Delton asked him.

  Rick stopped in front of him, hand still held high. “It has been said that I show great potential for caring for others.”

  “Damn, man.” Delton said. “I didn’t even know you could take care of yourself.”

  Rick still had his hand up. “Don’t leave me hanging here, brother.”

  “I ain’t your brother.” But he slapped Rick’s hand anyway, to get him to move on more than anything else. Delton turned to Hector. �
�How did a hayseed like that get picked?”

  Hector shrugged. “Maybe they thought one of the kids could teach him something.” They both laughed.

  “So, what kind of kid you got?” Delton asked Hector.

  “Down Syndrome,”

  “Nervous?”

  Hector smiled and nodded. “I wish I could say no. But yeah. I am.”

  “No problem, man. Me too.”

  “All right. Listen up,” A guard named Jones said, walking up. “All of you line up against the wall here. We’re going to have a few words.” He was one of two armed guards. The other stood back a few feet behind him and watched all the inmates line up against the wall. When they were all in position, the guard continued. “You have all been given a golden opportunity here. You have the chance to make a difference in the life of a young person. It’s a pretty special thing and I hope you don’t fuck it up. I’m saying that to you, to keep you on track.” He started pacing back and forth in front of the men. “Since this program deals with kids, you need to be aware that there will be a zero-tolerance policy. There is to be no hitting of the kids. There is to be no shaking of the kids. There is to be no harsh language used. I don’t even want to hear that you raised your voice. Are we clear?”

  All of the men nodded.

  “Good. Because if I do hear of any of those behaviors, myself or Officer Gardener behind me will come in there, drag your ass out, and you will never go back again. That is what zero tolerance means. You don’t get two chances to fuck up. Just one. Got it?”

  Again all of the men nodded.

  Officer Jones nodded back and continued in a much softer voice. “All right, I got the business portion out of the way, now let me tell you how proud of you guys I am. This is a big challenge, and it takes guts to step up like this. I want you all to know that we’re really pulling for you here.” He looked back and forth across the line, then walked to a door to their left. “Okay. Outside this door is the bus. It will be here every morning. Today, we’re walking you through the process, but from now on after breakfast you have the go ahead to just come out this door and get on the bus.” He opened the door. “Follow me.”

  They filed out and Delton saw the large blue bus sitting there chugging loudly, with the words “Michigan Department of Corrections” written across the side. Climbing aboard, he saw that all the counselors were already seated and waiting for them. Each of the inmates located their counselor, and sat next to them. Delton found Taysha sitting right up front. “You ready?” She asked.

  “I think so?” He shrugged. “Are you gonna be on here every day too?”

  “No way.” Taysha said looking out. “I’m not interested in being bussed around. We just come today because it’s the first day and we wanted to talk you fools off the ledge if you felt you was about ready to jump.”

  Delton chuckled and sat back. “I can see that happening on the way back maybe. But right now we’re all too excited just to be going off the reservation.”

  Once everyone was seated, the doors closed, the driver shifted gears, and the bus lurched forward toward their new adventure.

  Arriving at the facility, Officer Jones stood up in front. “Listen up. You are to proceed out of this bus and straight in through those double doors. Do not take one step off the sidewalk. Your counselors will show you which room is yours. That will be your room every day for the next three months. Student assistants are already inside the rooms and ready to answer any questions you may have before the kids arrive. Are you ready to begin?”

  Delton gave a small nod and looked back at Hector who was doing the same.

  “All right. Let’s move, men.” Officer Jones stepped off the bus, and took up his position on one side of the short sidewalk. Officer Gardener was already in position on the other side.

  Delton stood and stepped aside letting Taysha take the lead. He followed her off the bus and put his foot down on a civilian sidewalk for the first time in five years. He took a deep breath. The air was cool and crisp and the sunlight seemed brighter here.

  “Keep it moving, Hayes,” Officer Gardener said.

  Delton walked the 15 feet from the bus to the building, his heart leaping with excitement. This was the path of a man with a job and he was going to do his damnedest to impress everyone involved. He followed Taysha through the steel double doors into the building. They went down a long carpeted hallway with numbered doors on either side. Next to each door was a clear plastic sign with a printed piece of paper slid into it with two last names. One on his left read, “Hall - Miller,” and one on his right read, “Lawton - Sanchez.” Taysha led him to the end of the hall, to room number five. She opened the door and walked in. The sign next to the door read, “Higgins - Hayes.” Delton smiled and touched it.

  “Delton, c’mon,” Taysha said waving him in. They passed through a small dark room with a large window, and a counter in front of it with big cushy barstools. Taysha walked straight through, into the room where Rena Blossom stood, looking as beautiful as ever. She smiled when she saw him. “Hello Delton,” she said, offering her hand. “Believe it or not we made it here.”

  Delton shook her hand. “I know it. I’m happy to be here.”

  Then Rena went instantly into business mode. “Okay, as you can see we have stocked the room with a few things. Unfortunately, due to the nature of getting the subject involved, we really didn’t have the chance to determine exactly what the favorite playthings were. So I had to make some calls here myself.”

  Delton quickly scanned the room. The walls were off-white, with two large beanbag chairs in one corner. In another corner was a small pile of stuffed animals. Along one wall was a low shelf with a various assortment of items including Legos, blocks, and cans of food. In the center of the room sat a table with two chairs on either side. Delton stared at it. That was his desk at this new job. He pulled out a chair and sat down. He swiveled back and forth while he listened to Rena speak.

  “I did see that he had Legos in his house so I made sure you were well stocked with those. He was playing with glasses of water when we made our initial visit so I have a couple of plastic glasses there too. If you need water, we can get you some.” Rena pointed to each of the items as she spoke. “There is a bin of blocks here and some Play Dough. There are also some books if he will allow you to read to him.” She gestured to the corner. “There are also a few stuffed animals there as well. I didn’t see those at his house but quite often they can be soothing to a child with autism.” She turned back to Delton. “Do you have any questions for me before the subject arrives?”

  “The subject?” Delton asked.

  Rena smiled. “I mean, Noah.”

  Delton wondered how they referred to him when he wasn’t there. He shook his head. “I don’t think I know enough yet to have any questions. I’ll probably have some before lunch though.”

  “Okay then,” She pointed to the mirror in the wall. “Mrs. Williams, another guard, and I will be right behind that glass the entire day. If anything comes up we will be available immediately to help.”

  “Sounds good,” Delton said.

  “Right now I have to leave you and go meet Miss Higgins out front. Noah should be in shortly,” She said with her bright white smile. She walked to the door and waited for Taysha.

  Taysha nudged his knee with hers. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks,” Delton said.

  They both walked out of the room and closed the door. Then Delton heard the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking in the door. A stern reminder that this was not really a job.

  Chapter Thirteen

  She could hear the Darth Vader theme coming from her purse. Judith looked in the rear-view mirror to check on her son. His head was leaning against the side of his carseat, staring blankly out the window. She pulled the phone out and tapped on the call. “Morning, Bernie.”

  “I just saw the email that says you won’t be in today.” Bernie sounded like he had been gargling with tacks again.

 
; “Right. The project with Marmont starts today, and they wanted the parents to be there on the first day.”

  “But you had canceled the time-off request last week.”

  “Well, I had another meeting this weekend and I decided to go ahead with the program. That’s why I sent the email.”

  “Sure you did,” Bernie said. “It gives you an opportunity to blow off work.”

  “What was that?” Judith couldn’t imagine someone being that snarky.

  “Nothing.”

  Judith held the phone out in front of her face. “You caught me red handed, Bernie. There’s nothing I like more than not coming in to work so I can take my autistic son to a special crazy-ass experimental program with guys from prison. Oh joy, the day I’ll have.” She put the phone back to her ear.

  There was a long pause before, “So, you’ll be in tomorrow then?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “See you then.” The call clicked dead.

  Judith tossed her phone onto the seat next to her. She knew Bernie would never let this drop. Somehow, he would make her pay for being so lippy with him. She looked in the rearview again. “Noah, Mommy needs to know when to keep her mouth shut, or she’s going to get herself in trouble.” Noah had not changed position. She’d always wondered what was going on behind those eyes. She had spent the weekend discussing with him how today would be different. He tended not to deal with change very well, so she at least had to make him aware how vastly different this was going to be. She wanted him to be prepared, but she knew it was still going to be difficult.

  She arrived at the address she was given. It was a long plain cement building in a well-established office park. The parking lot was full, and there was a good amount of activity outside. Pulling in, she noticed a large blue bus parked by the side of the building with the words, “Michigan Department of Corrections” on the side. Judith pointed at it. “Look Noah. Your new friend is already here.”