Bobbi

With his hand held at his side, Perry swung his keys by the chain that connected them to his belt. As I alternated glances between my Kindle and the blur of spinning metal, I wondered what the chances were of the key ring coming off the chain and slamming into the glass.

“Whatcha reading?” he asked.

I wondered why he spent so much time staring into the cellblock. The inmates were locked in their cells, and there was never anything to look at but closed cell doors, and a polished concrete floor.

I wondered if he was mentally preparing for one of the men to pull an Andy Dufresne, dig his way out of the cell, and make a break for the fence.

“A book,” I responded without looking up.

“One of his?”

“Depends on who he is, I suppose.”

“You know who I’m talking about.”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

He glanced at me. “Him.”

Even though I’d been working with Perry only a short time, I’d grown tired of his attitude, his sense of superiority, and his unwarranted arrogance. I met his gaze and gave him a deadpan response. “Oh. Him. No, this is one of the other guy’s books.”

“Who?”

“The other guy.”

“What other guy?”

I glanced at my Kindle. “The guy that’s none of your business.”

He released the keys and spun around. “Excuse me?”

I didn’t bother responding.

He pressed his hands to his hips. “I asked you a question,” he seethed.

“It was rhetorical.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

He sounded like a five-year-old who was trying to settle an argument. I looked up and rolled my eyes. “You said, ‘excuse me’, indicating that you either didn’t hear me, or that you couldn’t believe my gall. Did you hear me? When I said, ‘the guy that’s none of your business’?”

He stared at me blankly for a moment while he processed what I asked. Upon understanding my explanation, he huffed out his response. “Yes.”

I sighed. “Then it was rhetoric.”

“You realize if you fraternize with him that you’re going to be fired? Lose your pension?”

I chuckled. “All thirty-five bucks that I’ve got in there?”

“So, you are seeing him?” He coughed out an ‘I told you so’ laugh. “I knew you would. I could tell. I’ve got a sixth sense.”

A sixth sense, six strands of hair, and six chins.

His attitude was grinding on my last nerve. I’d only had one official ‘date’ with Tate, but losing him due to a regulation at work wasn’t something I wanted to think about.

Or listen to.

“Who I see and what I’m reading is none of your business.”

He did the hands on the hips thing again. “It is if you’re not complying with rules and reg’s.”

“I’m reading on my lunch break. You’re not paying me for this hour, so you can’t control what I do. In fact, you’ve taken fifteen minutes of my time and made it yours. Is stealing mentioned in the rules and reg’s?” I asked, my tone sarcastic.

He nodded toward my Kindle. “Is that pornography? Pornography is prohibited in all forms.”

“It’s a romance novel. And, you didn’t answer my question regarding theft.”

“It’s smut,” he barked.

“That’s a matter of opinion.”

“Maybe we should get the warden to decide.”

For the last four months, I’d given him all the respect I could manage. I was done. Done listening to him, done dealing with him, and done having him tell me what I could and couldn’t do.

“Maybe we should,” I snapped back.

He stomped to his desk, picked up the phone, and pounded his finger against the buttons. He pressed the receiver to his ear, cocked his head to the side, and shot me a glare.

“Warden, this is Perry. No. Everything’s fine. Yes, Sir. No. they’re scheduled for this afternoon. Well, Madden and I have a few questions for you. Is there any chance you can stop by the observation station? No, Sir. Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.”

He hung up the phone and shot me a look. “He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“I can’t wait.”

My frustration with Perry soon changed to worry. I wondered, if threatened by the warden, just how I might react. Perry’s claim of my book being pornography was ludicrous at best, but the issue of me seeing Tate was real.

I didn’t do well with ultimatums, and I hoped the warden didn’t give me one.

After exchanging a few meaningful stares with Perry, the warden walked into the office. Perry straightened his stance as if her were in the presence of a superior military officer.

I stood. “Good afternoon, Sir.”

“Perry. Madden. What can I do to assist?”

“Sir, I believe CO Madden is reviewing pornography on her lunch break.”

The Warden looked at Perry. “Pornography?”

Perry nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

He shifted his eyes to me. “Well?”

“I’m reading a romance novel.”

He looked at Perry. “Is this why you called me here?”

“I also believe she’s intimate with an inmate.”

“That’s a serious accusation,” the warden said. He turned toward me. “Are you?”

“Not with an inmate in incarceration, no. I have spent some time with a former inmate, yes.”

“Who?’

“I don’t believe that’s relevant, Sir,” I said.

“I believe it is,” he said.

“I don’t see how it could be.”

“Reynolds,” Perry said. “She’s seeing Reynolds.”

The warden gave Perry a look. “Reynolds?”

“Tate Reynolds. 18 USC 922 (g). Felon in possession. He was released a few weeks ago, and then returned on a dope charge. Both charges were dropped.”

“But he’s a felon?”

Perry nodded. “He sure is. Penal Code 404.6 (a). Inciting a riot. He’s a biker.”

The warden looked at me. “The employment manual clearly states that no corrections officer ‘will willfully participate in forming a personal relationship with an inmate, parolee, probationer, or ex-offender.’ If you’re involved with whoever this ‘Reynolds’ is, you’re clearly in the wrong. If the relationship started while he was incarcerated, your actions were far more than contrary to policy, they were criminal.”

Tate Reynolds happened upon a group of people who were rioting, and was railroaded through the system for doing so. For anyone to tell me that I couldn’t see him because of his actions was to say that Reynolds was a substandard being.

I shot him a sideways look. “I’ll turn in my resignation at the end of this shift.”

His brow wrinkled. “I don’t know that your resignation is necessary. All we need to do is--”

“I’ll turn in my resignation at the end of this shift.”

He looked at Perry and then at me. “If that’s the way you want to resolve this, I can’t keep you from it.”

“It’s the only way to resolve this,” I said. “My decision’s final.”

I had no idea what my next career move would be, but I knew one thing: wherever I went, they weren’t going to be able to tell me who I could allow into my life.