My Prison Pen Pal

Chapter 2

The next day I am sitting in the pediatric clinic break room, eating my lunch of a turkey and cheese sandwich when my email dings. I see it's from prisonpenpal.com, and I immediately smile. My finger presses on the app and I scroll down to the email. As soon as I click on it, a photo of the inmate I am paired with pops up. His piercing dark eyes instantly draw me in. They are framed with straight dark brown brows, and his cheekbones pop, making him have a deep contour and a sharp jawline. His hair is slightly wavy and it is in a thick tousled style on his head.

Braden Valencia.

My stomach bursts with butterflies, and I can feel my cheeks go a little pink. Wow, he is hot. I cannot believe I was paired with probably the hottest inmate in the history of inmates. What the hell am I going to write to him! I can't just write anything, he's too hot.

I take a deep breath. What am I thinking? He is probably a nice person that's lonely and needs a friend. It doesn't matter what I send him as long as it's from the heart. I look over at the clock on the wall and jolt out of my seat. Shit! I am five minutes late from my break. I pack my leftover lunch into my small bag and put it in the fridge. Then, I walk out of the break room and walk up to the front counter. Grabbing the clipboard of patients waiting, I read out the name of the child that's next and take them back. I'll worry about what I'm going to write to Braden later.

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Later that day I am sitting at my kitchen counter, writing out what I am going to say to Braden. I had printed out his picture and put it next to my phono on the counter so the letter felt more intimate. At first it was challenging to write but after a few minutes I got into the groove.

Dear Braden,

Hello, my name is Lucy and I am your new pen pal. I have never done this before, nor do I know all the details of this program, so I will be learning as I go. A little bit about me, I am 23 years old and I am a pediatric nurse. I graduated from nursing school a year and a half ago and got a job at a clinic near my home in Seattle. So far, I really enjoy what I do. Kids are the funniest humans, and they make everyday fresh and exciting. I live with my puppy Rufus, who is the cutest german shepherd you will ever meet. He is my guard dog and my cuddle buddy all in one. I have attached a photo of him just in case you want to see his cute face. When I am not working, I like to hang out with my best friend Kiera and her girlfriend Michelle, play with Rufus, read my books, and I paint a little. Currently, Kiera is at a convention for women engineers in Atlanta so I am figuring out other things to do while she is away. Where are you located? Are you near Seattle or in another state? I don't know if they paired us up by location or just randomly. Anyway, what do you like to do? Also, what is prison like? I have never been in one or talked to anyone who has been, so I don't know anything more than what is shown on Orange is the New Black. I hope you have a good day Braden.

Talk to you soon,

Lucy :)

I place the letter and picture of Rufus in an envelope and lick it shut. Then, I tie my pink silk robe close to my body, slip on my fuzzy white slippers by the door and walk out of my apartment. At the end of the hall there is a mail shoot, so I place the letter in there. As I walk back into my apartment I wonder about Braden. I wonder how long he has been in prison? What if he did something really bad to be in there? Hopefully he is nice, I am just trying to make a new friend and hopefully help him out. I shake my hands trying to get all the anxiety out that is coursing through my body. After Kyle cheated on me, I found it really hard to meet and trust new people. Every time I would get close to a new person, I would pull away before they had the opportunity of hurting me. I am definitely getting better though as time goes on. I think that my job gets me out of my comfort skills, and it helps me face that fear of mine because I meet and talk to new patients everyday. It is still nerve racking though, opening up to a new person that I have never met.

I sit on the floor and pet Rufus's head. I still have a couple errands to do this Friday night. I need to go grocery shopping and since it's the first of the month I have to try to call my brother. Maybe I'll call him first and get it out of the way. I take out my phone, dial his number and wait a few seconds. Then, the sound of his familiar voicemail chimes through the phone. I speak the memorized words of the voicemail while it plays. My heart sinks a little, but at this point I am used to it. No use dwelling over a person who has made it plenty clear that he wants nothing to do with me. Next up tonight, grocery shopping.

I get up off the floor and walk into my bedroom. I take off the robe and slippers I'm wearing and slip on some mom jeans, a black turtleneck, and a white crew neck sweatshirt on top. I pull on my nike crew socks, put on my air forces, and turn the light off. I grab my black shoulder bag from the kitchen counter and lock the front door. On my way out I wave at the doorman Kenny. He is a teenage boy who works here during evenings to earn some extra cash. He is super friendly and is the best because he always makes sure that I am the first to receive packages and letters in the building. Trader Joe's is only a block away from my apartment complex and I am only buying enough food for half a week, so I don't need to bring my car and waste gas. Usually, I walk to the store in the daylight, but currently it is dusk.

As I enter Trader Joes, a few guys are smoking and leaning against the entrance. They turn to look at me, and immediately start whistling and calling me names. I roll my eyes and send them the scariest death glare I can manage. As soon as I send them my killer glare they stop laughing and try to disguise their giggling with coughing. Believe me, this situation is not new. Growing up in Seattle, I am used to guy's catcalling me or following me around simply because I am a woman. Around 16 I learned that if you send them a scary, killer look, they will stop going after you because you are no longer an easy target. But unfortunately that is not always the case.

In the grocery store I take out the list that I tucked in my purse and scan the isles for the items I need. I grab everything I need, pay at the register and walk my two bags of groceries home. I am excited to hear from Braden. I wonder when I will get a letter from him.