nickel thin pillow. Enclosed was a photo of the young lady. He swallowed a time or two, then dared himself to look at it again, more closely this time, as he gripped it between two fingers…
There’s my little angel…
He couldn’t help but break out in an ear-to-ear smile as he looked at her almost white, platinum blond hair, just like her mother’s. The girl’s eyes were the color of Robin bird eggs and her skin porcelain with a slight peachy glow along the cheeks, just like a doll.
Another letter was enclosed, folded up inside the note. The words inside, he knew, would swallow the beauty of the instant, eat away at all that was noble in the world and leave only the picked-clean skeletal remains of a ‘feel-good’ moment. On a sigh, he unfolded and read the thing…
Aaron,
Now that you’re back in prison, we have no money. How the fuck are we supposed to keep a roof over our heads and eat? My husband is out of work and you know this. He can’t find a job and we’re struggling. I didn’t know you were going to do what you did or I wouldn’t have ever let Laura see you the day before. That was just stupid. Why in the hell would you kick that nigger’s butt in front of a crowd? You taught us to be discreet. What type of example are you setting? Just because you and I aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean I don’t see how important you are to the movement. They need you out on the frontlines, not in prison! How disappointing. You better get your act together.
Sarah
He hissed like freshly launched spit hitting a hot grill as he balled the damn slip of paper up tightly in his hand; so tight, his fist shook as if he were gripping a ball of electricity birthed from a head on collision of a lightning bolt and flames of glory. Shooting up from his lying position, he raced towards his toilet and tossed the correspondence in the john, flushing before it barely hit the gray, stinking water. Alice in Chains crooned ‘Rooster’ as he moved about the tiny space. A warm rage pulsated and grew hotter as it seared through his chest like relentless heartburn. He marched back over to his bed and slumped on it, blurting, “Bitch!” as he hit the side of the wall with a commanding pound. The side of his palm stung from the impact, but all he could do was lie there and slowly place his hand across his forehead, then closed his eyes in an attempt to lure himself into a state of calm.
I’ve been taking care of her too, while her bum of a husband sits around not doing anything but making things harder for everyone. I went to prison for fighting for our people! He went to jail for being a goddamn loser! She has that son of a bitch around my daughter… I don’t know what he’s doing… what he’s up to. Laura doesn’t like him but won’t tell me why… Now Sarah talks about examples? What kind of example is he? He ain’t no role model. I can tell my daughter the truth… I was in prison because I’m a damn freedom fighter. This last situation was self-defense. There’s no shame in that; that’s honor!
Trying to keep the courts out of our business… paying cash, paying their bills, putting food on the table so that Laura has a stable environment… trash! Fucking whore! Not once did I speak badly about her to my daughter… never said a bad word about her mother but she talks shit about me to Laura all the time. She even tried to sleep with me again right after she got married. I should’ve told him, let him know he is married to a goddamn slut. But no, I kept it to myself, didn’t want to mess up Laura’s home life. She’s been through enough…
His thoughts about his daughter, missing her so much, caused his gut to turn at that instance. As he’d been locked up and away in this newly started stint, it appeared at times his brain was playing cruel tricks on him. Maybe he was totally crazy, out of his goddamn mind just like Sarah had always accused… It hurt him, though he hated to admit that his best friend
There’s my little angel…
He couldn’t help but break out in an ear-to-ear smile as he looked at her almost white, platinum blond hair, just like her mother’s. The girl’s eyes were the color of Robin bird eggs and her skin porcelain with a slight peachy glow along the cheeks, just like a doll.
Another letter was enclosed, folded up inside the note. The words inside, he knew, would swallow the beauty of the instant, eat away at all that was noble in the world and leave only the picked-clean skeletal remains of a ‘feel-good’ moment. On a sigh, he unfolded and read the thing…
Aaron,
Now that you’re back in prison, we have no money. How the fuck are we supposed to keep a roof over our heads and eat? My husband is out of work and you know this. He can’t find a job and we’re struggling. I didn’t know you were going to do what you did or I wouldn’t have ever let Laura see you the day before. That was just stupid. Why in the hell would you kick that nigger’s butt in front of a crowd? You taught us to be discreet. What type of example are you setting? Just because you and I aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean I don’t see how important you are to the movement. They need you out on the frontlines, not in prison! How disappointing. You better get your act together.
Sarah
He hissed like freshly launched spit hitting a hot grill as he balled the damn slip of paper up tightly in his hand; so tight, his fist shook as if he were gripping a ball of electricity birthed from a head on collision of a lightning bolt and flames of glory. Shooting up from his lying position, he raced towards his toilet and tossed the correspondence in the john, flushing before it barely hit the gray, stinking water. Alice in Chains crooned ‘Rooster’ as he moved about the tiny space. A warm rage pulsated and grew hotter as it seared through his chest like relentless heartburn. He marched back over to his bed and slumped on it, blurting, “Bitch!” as he hit the side of the wall with a commanding pound. The side of his palm stung from the impact, but all he could do was lie there and slowly place his hand across his forehead, then closed his eyes in an attempt to lure himself into a state of calm.
I’ve been taking care of her too, while her bum of a husband sits around not doing anything but making things harder for everyone. I went to prison for fighting for our people! He went to jail for being a goddamn loser! She has that son of a bitch around my daughter… I don’t know what he’s doing… what he’s up to. Laura doesn’t like him but won’t tell me why… Now Sarah talks about examples? What kind of example is he? He ain’t no role model. I can tell my daughter the truth… I was in prison because I’m a damn freedom fighter. This last situation was self-defense. There’s no shame in that; that’s honor!
Trying to keep the courts out of our business… paying cash, paying their bills, putting food on the table so that Laura has a stable environment… trash! Fucking whore! Not once did I speak badly about her to my daughter… never said a bad word about her mother but she talks shit about me to Laura all the time. She even tried to sleep with me again right after she got married. I should’ve told him, let him know he is married to a goddamn slut. But no, I kept it to myself, didn’t want to mess up Laura’s home life. She’s been through enough…
His thoughts about his daughter, missing her so much, caused his gut to turn at that instance. As he’d been locked up and away in this newly started stint, it appeared at times his brain was playing cruel tricks on him. Maybe he was totally crazy, out of his goddamn mind just like Sarah had always accused… It hurt him, though he hated to admit that his best friend
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