My Prison Pen Pal

Chapter 5

POV Braden

1 month. 30 days. 720 hours. 43200 seconds until I am released from Washington State Correctional Facility, and I am so excited. Prison has been rough. I never expected to end up here, but one thing led to another and here I am. At the beginning of my sentence I signed up for the pen pal program here, never expecting to be chosen because only one in fifty inmates get assigned one. Usually, they are people who have gone through the judicial system and know the unfairness that we experience everyday. 

These pen pals are coveted by any inmate. To have the opportunity to make a friend that is outside these walls and are not weighed down by the heaviness of the system, it is a real treat. I never thought I would get one, until a month ago when I received a letter. I opened it up to find a note written by the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. 

She wrote about her passion for nursing, her puppy Rufus, and her best friends and I couldn't get enough. Something about hearing a person be so excited and interested in something other than beating the line in the cafeteria and who is on guard tonight was a breath of fresh air. Being in here can be draining, but hearing her talk is so refreshing. The picture though was what got me. 

Lucy was leaning against a bar with a martini and a shiny dress that clung to her curves in ways that made me feel small butterflies in my stomach. She has the most genuine and kind smile plastered on her face, and it made me remember that there's people out there that genuinely enjoy and live every moment of their life. Now, every time we get mail on Wednesday mornings I am the first one in line. Just hearing her talk about her work and her week were enough for me to push through this last month.

Maybe when I am out I can take her out to lunch. Will I even have enough money to afford that? That is another problem, with a criminal record, it will be challenging to find a job after I am released. I have just enough money to support myself for a month until I am broke. Hopefully I can find some sort of income before that happens. The programs for released inmates are horrible, they do not provide any sort of aid or transition back into outside life. I have a parole officer I have meetings with once a month, but that is it.

The last letter I sent to Lucy asked her if she wanted to come visit me here during my visiting hours. I would never expect her to come, but I had to ask. She is so smart, kind, and joyful, I would regret meeting her in person. I have another set of visiting hours, Mondays from 4-6, but that is when a few of the sex offenders have their visitation hours and I do not want them to have any eyes on Lucy. There have been instances where visitors are harassed by inmates during their hours, and I would kill them if they lay a hand on Lucy. Saturday's visiting hours, the ones I told to Lucy, are when most of the drug convicts have their hours. Most of them are spacey and wouldn't hurt a fly. I am near the end of my sentence and I am in good John, the guard who helps schedule visiting hours, so I have two available times.

It is Wednesday morning, mail day, so I line up by the door and wait for my letter from Lucy. I am excited to see how she responds to come meet me during my visitor hours. Most of me is expecting a no, but a sliver of my mind has hope.

"Hey brother, you waiting for that little lady's letter?"

Gerald Heptic, a convicted sex offender and overall creep slides down the stair railing and saunters over to me. I resist the urge to punch his brains out for talking about Lucy and instead settle on a death glare and a clenched fist. It's my fault that Gerald knows about her. We were crossing paths in the cafeteria, and the photo of her that was tucked into my diary fell onto the ground in front of him. After that day, he has had no shame about bringing her up every time he sees me.

"Gerald, I am not your brother. Leave. I'm just waiting for the mail like I do every week."

I turn my head away and try to ignore him.

"You're pretty lucky, ya know, I have 4 years left, maybe i'll be paired up with a girl that is that sexy as yours. Agh, it's too long to wait, maybe I'll just share yours, huh?"

Gerald says with a disgusting smirk on his lips. He knows he is angering me, and it is working. I turn around, grab him by the throat and shove him up the wall.

"Never talk about Lucy like that again. She is a kind person that does not deserve your disrespect."

I let go of him before any guards notice and he drops to the ground on his ass. I shake out my hand and give him another death stare. Before Gerald could get another word in, a guard slams the door open and brings in the mail. I walk over to the guard, tell him my name, and receive the letter addressed from Lucy. Her handwriting is so curvy and lovely, it's so interesting. Once I am back on my bed, I tear open the envelope and start to read her note.

Hi Braden,

Good to hear from you again. Receiving your letters is one of the best parts of my week! Speaking of this week, so many things have gone down. Kiera got a promotion, so we are celebrating this Friday by going to dinner at The Pink Door in downtown Seattle. Have you been? Michelle has been once on a work outing. She is a lawyer and told me that they have great live music. They apparently also have great ravioli! Not only that, but that weird guy that broke into the clinic a few weeks ago was sneaking around outside again. I called security and they are putting in an updated security system and more cameras. Thought you would want to know since you like to hear about all the workplace drama. I usually close the clinic with Ryan and he is trained in martial arts, so I feel safe. As for your question about Ryan, he is not my boyfriend, I do not have one at the moment. Honestly, I really haven't dated in a while, my last boyfriend left me heartbroken and I haven't had the chance to meet a lot of new people recently. On another note, I am so glad to hear you are enjoying my copy of To Kill A Mockingbird and that you like my little notes. Some of them are from middle school so hopefully they aren't too embarrassing. As for your visiting hours this Saturday, I would love to come. I have never been to a correctional facility before, so I don't really know what to expect! My shift at the clinic starts at 11 so I can only come for an hour, but I would really like to meet you. I will fill out the visitor form online by this weekend so I can come!

Great to hear from you again,

Lucy

Hearing her talk about her exciting week and how she cannot wait to go to The Pink Door, one of my favorite restaurants, is so cute. I wonder if she would wear that sparkly cowl neck dress that she has on in the photo. The way it hugged her breasts and was cut at her upper thigh would make any man fall to his knees, including me. If I ever see her in that dress, it will be hard to keep my hands to myself. Just the thought of slowly pushing the hem of that sparkly dress up her thighs and sucking on the exposed parts of her breasts against the wall is enough to make me have to adjust myself on my bed.

Lucy writing about that man creeping around the clinic made me feel worried. Men can be dangerous in this world, and I'm sure some of them would easily target Lucy in her pink work scrubs and her genuine smile. It calms me to know that they are putting in a new security system, and that Ryan knows martial arts. It calms me even more to hear that she is not dating anyone right now. Whoever that guy was that broke her heart, I will go after him if he ever tries to hurt Lucy again. Her letter surprised me the most when she said she was coming to visit me this Saturday. I wonder what she will be like in person. Will she be quiet? Super outgoing? Nervous? Beautiful? I take a deep breath. I cannot wait for this Saturday. 

Hope you all had a good week!