Soulful Strut Read online

  They walked out into the hallway again just as Jim set down Monette’s modest luggage, one suitcase and an overnight bag. Lucy gave Monette a goodbye peck on the cheek and went outside to wait for Jim on the porch. Jim put one hand on Monette’s elbow to guide her to the empty communal living room. Two large sofas and one smaller one were arranged to face a big-screen television. Other homey touches made the room attractive in a generic way. Jim cleared his throat as he glanced around.

  “Pretty nice place. Not what I expected. But then I didn’t know what to expect.” Jim smiled and lifted a shoulder.

  “Yeah, nice. I’ll just have to get used to tight-butt Trudy and her band of forty thieves,” Monette whispered with a grin.

  Jim squinted at her. His lanky, six-foot-three frame seemed to lean toward her like a disapproving school principal. ‘That is not the right attitude to start out with, Monette. Make this stay uneventful, even boring. Think you can do that?”

  “You know me, Jim. I’ve never been able to do boring. Stop worrying, cause I’m gonna be just fine. Don’t I always manage to land on my feet? With a little help from my friends, of course.” Monette grinned at him.

  He smiled. “Getting you released from prison has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done professionally. Helping you get a full pardon would be even better.”

  “I won’t screw up all your hard work. There is no way I can repay you, Jim,” Monette said. She put a hand on his forearm.

  Jim placed his large hand on top of hers. “I don’t expect or want anything from you. Just make the best of your life.”

  “Thanks.” Monette’s eyes filled with tears.

  Only a few people in her life had given freely without expecting something back from her. None of the men she’d known had been so generous. She swallowed hard and looked away. Monette wasn’t accustomed to tender moments.

  “Call me if you need anything,” he said quietly.

  “No news is good news.” Monette recovered her composure. She gave him a playful grin as she extricated her hand from his. “I’m gonna breeze through the next eighteen months. In fact, in six months my parole officer might even approve me getting my own place.”

  Jim nodded. “I hope so.”

  “And the way you helped me fill out that pardon application maybe I won’t even have to finish parole at all. Either way I’m sitting pretty”

  “Behave.” Jim gave her a quick paternal hug.

  “Tyeisha is going to show you to your bedroom so you can unpack,” Trudy said from the wide doorway. Though her face was blank, her blues eyes sparkled with displeasure. She pressed her lips into a thin, pale pink line as she gazed at Jim.

  Tyeisha blinked wide-eyed just over Trudy’s shoulder. “Uh, I took your bags up already so you could keep talkin’ to your lawyer”

  “Thanks, girl. Guess it’s time for me to get settled in.” Monette moved from Jim’s embrace. Still Jim kept one hand on the center of Monette’s back.

  “I’ll get going. Lucy must be pacing out there. You know how it is with these impatient hotshot young lawyers,” Jim said.

  “Better not keep her waiting any longer then. Goodbye,” Trudy said and pressed her lips together again.

  Jim seemed unaffected by her terse reply. He smiled at Monette. “I’ll be in touch if I hear anything.”

  “Okay,” Monette replied. She watched him leave, and then looked at the two women. “I’m all yours.”

  Trudy spun around and walked away, clearly expecting them to follow. They complied by following her to the stairway and up the steps to the second floor. “You’ll earn privileges based on your conduct and length of stay. You’ll share a bedroom with three other women. We have three single bedrooms for ladies with the best record of compliance and who will be leaving soon.”

  “I remember from reading the rules.” Monette looked into the open doors of three bedrooms. Only one was occupied. A Latino woman nodded to Monette as they went by.

  “Everybody else is at work. Lenore and me have the day off” Tyeisha said.

  They arrived at the largest of the three bedrooms. Two sets of bunk beds were pushed against opposite walls. Monette’s bags sat at the foot of one bottom bunk. She stepped inside and made a turn, taking in the room. The same bedspread in different colors neatly covered all the beds. Soft medium blue floral curtains framed two sets of windows. Pictures of children and adults, obviously family members of the women, were scattered on the walls in frames.

  “Tyeisha will show you the rest of the house. We’ll have a house meeting this evening when everyone is home. I have a part-time social worker, Sherrial Jones. She’ll be here tonight as well. Please make out a schedule of your activities, since your ‘career’ is so different.” Trudy rolled out the orders like a Marine sergeant.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Monette reverted back to her prison habit of obedience.

  “We’ll meet in the big living room downstairs at six-thirty. Look forward to helping you get back into society,” Trudy clipped. She took three paces around the room, taking in every detail, then left

  Tyeisha watched her leave. She didn’t speak until the sound of Trudy’s footsteps retreated down the stairs. “Trudy can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but she generally leaves us alone. Just don’t get on her crap list. Anyway, this is your bed. Sorry you have to take the lumpy mattress. Kristen is leaving in a few days though, so you can have a better bed.” She patted one of the top beds with a lavender coverlet.

  “I’ve slept in much worse places,” Monette quipped. She lifted the larger of her two bags onto the bed and started unpacking.

  “Me, too.” Tyeisha sat on a lower bed and folded her legs under her. “Saw you on television. That was somethin’ about the DA jackin’ you up. Ain’t that the way though? He’s livin’ large in a fancy condo in Florida while you go through hell. Men are real bastards.”

  “Not all of ’em, sugar. We just have a habit of pickin’ out the bad from the good.” Monette took out a large cosmetics bag and went to the small dresser closest to her bed. The drawers were empty. “Guess this one is mine?”

  “Yeah. Your lawyer looks like a pretty decent guy. They all want somethin’ from you sooner rather than later. Trust me, I know.” Tyeisha’s young voice sounded raspy from experiences, most of them unpleasant.

  Monette realized the older home had little closet space. She put her underwear in the second drawer. Next she unpacked the rest of her clothes. All she owned was three skirts, two pairs of jeans, four blouses, and one pair of sneakers. Still, she had a lot compared to most people who left prison.

  “What are you, twenty?” Monette said over her shoulder.

  “Twenty-three,” Tyeisha replied.

  “Baby, everybody wants something. Now when you meet a guy, don’t you want something from him?”

  “What do you mean?” Tyeisha cocked her head to one side. Her long dreadlocks cascaded over one shoulder.

  “Whether it’s love, sex, money or security, we all want something. The question is what are you willing to give in return?” Monette kicked off her navy blue pumps and unbuttoned the crop jacket that matched her skirt. The skirt came off next. In minutes she’d slipped into a pair of blue jeans. She took money and her phone card from her small purse and stuffed them in her jeans pocket

  “Deep. What’s your lawyer want outta helpin’ you?” Tyeisha asked.

  Monette grabbed one of her T-shirts. She pulled it over her head before answering. Tyeisha was obviously curious about Monette’s relationship with Jim. The young woman leaned forward in anticipation. “The reward of fighting for the underdog.”

  “Yeah, right,” Tyeisha said with a crooked grin. “I’m glad you’re here. Hey, I write poetry. Just started on a short story. Maybe you can help me.”

  “I’m still learning myself. Maybe we can help each other. This place got a computer and Internet access?” Monette sat down on her bed across from Tyeisha.

  “Yeah. Trudy put a block on the real interes
tin’ porno sites though.” Tyeisha let out a raucous laugh.

  “Nothing we both haven’t seen,” Monette teased back. “I was hopin’ to make that my new career. Build my own web cam site. It’s perfectly legal.” Tyeisha stood. She twirled, then did a bump and grind.

  “I’m guessing that ain’t what the good folks at New Beginnings mean when they say get a job.” Monette laughed harder than she had in a long time at the young woman’s antics.

  Tyeisha stopped her performance and gave a melodramatic sigh. “Oh well, bein’ a cashier at the Dollar O’Rama will have to do for now. Hey, I’m supposed to be givin’ you a tour. C’mon.”

  The Latino woman still lay across her bed reading a book. She seemed gripped by whatever was printed on the pages. Monette tapped on the doorframe. “Just wanted to say hello. I’m Monette Victor.”

  “She just moved in. This is Lenore Ruiz.” Tyeisha seemed not to notice the woman’s guarded expression. “Lenore has written some kick-ass stories. And talk about blowin’ when it comes to poetry slams. I keep tellin’ the girl she oughta enter some competitions.”

  Lenore smiled at Tyeisha. She gave Monette a brief nod. “Hi.”

  “Lenore shares a room with me and Rachelle.”

  “Nice meeting you.” Monette tugged on Tyeisha’s hand to signal they should leave.

  “Lenore is sweet, but she sorta keeps to herself most times.” Tyeisha continued her tour. “We’re lucky enough to have two bathrooms up here on either end of the hallway. This used to be some rich family’s house back in the day.” Monette glanced at two small paintings of country scenes in the hallway. The other bedroom had a lovely wool rug in deep purple, green and blue. One bathroom was decorated in mint green, the other soft blue and mint green.

  “Nice touches. Not bad for a halfway house,” Monette said.

  “We decorated it all ourselves,” Tyeisha said proudly. She pointed to a smaller narrow stairway leading up. “There’s an attic up there. It’s big enough to be another small bedroom, but we use it for storage. We’ll take your bags up there later.”

  They went downstairs. Monette followed Tyeisha, taking in all the details. The large foyer had a beautiful hardwood floor covered by a wool runner that matched the carpet in the living room. On the opposite side of the foyer was another room. Tyeisha led the way into it. Books filled the built-in shelves.

  “We have group counseling in here. You can entertain visitors here, too. That way everybody else don’t have to leave the living room when one of us has visitors, like our parole officer.”

  “Can’t wait to meet her,” Monette replied. She liked the room. A bay window faced east.

  “Who do you have?” Tyeisha kept going through the library and out another door.

  “Gwen Anderson. Haven’t talked to her yet.” Monette followed. She glanced in at a half bath across from the director’s office.

  “Yeah. A couple of the others are assigned to her, too. They pop up whenever to check on us. That’s Sherrial’s office. Used to be a pantry.” Tyeisha laughed as she pointed to a closed door.

  “She can barely turn around in there I’ll bet.”

  “Sherrial ain’t the most organized woman either. Here’s the kitchen and dining room. Nice, huh?”

  Monette let out a whistle. “This house is huge.” “Actually we got three floors. You probably couldn’t tell from the front, but this place is set on a hill. Two more bedrooms are downstairs. That’s the laundry room through there. Used to be a side porch, but they closed it in. Twelve women stay here when we’re full. Thirteen if the admission committee decides to take in somebody on emergency, but that don’t happen often.” Tyeisha led her through another small room.

  “Hey, Elaine. You met Monette?”

  The woman stood up and shook Monette’s hand. She appeared to be in her mid thirties. Her short hair was dyed a striking red. Freckles sprinkled her nose. “I’m the part-time secretary and sometime volunteer cook.”

  “Elaine can really work it in the kitchen. Her spaghetti sauce makes you wanna holler.” Tyeisha smacked her Ups.

  “Don’t even start, Ty. My husband is working the day shift for a change so I’m not staying late to cook.” Elaine arched her eyebrows at her.

  “They’re trying to get pregnant” Tyeisha said in a stage whisper.

  “We want a girl this time. We already have two boys, eleven and nine.” Elaine pointed to an array of photos. Her husband wore a fire captain’s uniform. The boys posed in sports uniforms, one with a soccer ball and the other in a football uniform.

  “Good luck.” Monette smiled at her.

  “Thanks,” Elaine replied. She was about to go on, but the phone on her desk rang. “New Beginnings. How may I help you?”

  “Let’s go,” Tyeisha said quietly and tugged on Monette’s arm. “Elaine stays pretty busy, but she still finds time to take an interest in us. You’ll meet the other staff later. We have what they call night counselors. Just one person on duty from eleven until seven in the morning. That’s about it.”

  “Thanks for showing me around.” Monette yawned and blinked hard.

  ‘Take a nap. You’ve had a long day. They won’t mind on your first day.” Tyeisha smiled at Monette warmly.

  “Thanks, girl. A nap is a great idea.”

  Monette went upstairs, feeling the pull of exhaustion on her limbs as she climbed the steps. Yet after ten minutes of staring at the walls, Monette was still awake. She glanced around at the family photos of children. The smiling faces opened up a familiar hollow feeling in her chest. Closing her eyes to force sleep didn’t help. Instead she kept thinking of her own family. After twenty minutes she gave up and went downstairs again to the living room. Daytime television had never held much interest for her, so she flipped through a women’s magazine.

  “I just spoke to your parole officer. She expects to hear from you soon,” Trudy said as she entered.

  “Okay. I want to call my family anyway, if that’s okay. I have a calling card.” Monette put the magazine back on the long cocktail table.

  “You’ve come with more than most of the women. A career in the spotlight, new clothes and money.” Trudy wore a tight smile.

  “Yeah, but I still belong to the Louisiana Department of Corrections,” Monette quipped. She heard the message beneath Trudy’s words.

  Trudy merely nodded at her comment and motioned for her to follow. “Long-distance calls are blocked. Call the operator and she can walk you through it.”

  “Incoming calls, too?” Monette followed her to an alcove that had been a hall closet. A beige phone sat on a small table inside with a chair next to it.

  “If they’re collect. We had ladies accepting collect calls from their boyfriends in prison. See you later this evening.” Trudy went to her office.

  Monette waited until Trudy closed her office door, and then dialed her mother’s number in Rougon. A scratchy answering machine recording came on. “Hey, Mama. Just calling to let you know I’m out and to see how you’re doing. Tell everybody I said hello. Y’all can call me here.”

  She hung up knowing they wouldn’t call. Not unless they thought there was something in it for them. Monette knew her oldest son, Karl, was at work, so she would call him later. She toyed with calling Talia at work in Washington, D.C., but changed her mind. Talia might not welcome a reminder that Monette was her mother after the drama that surrounded her release from prison. Not that Monette could blame her. She stared at the phone as though it would ring and supply answers about how she could fix her family problems.

  “You okay?” Tyeisha asked as she balanced a laundry basket on one hip.

  “Sure.” Monette put the phone card away and stood. “Let me help with some chores. I’m used to staying busy anyway.”

  For the rest of the afternoon Monette helped Tyeisha and Lenore do household tasks. The women were grateful and finished quickly. Then the three of them watched two court television shows, laughing at the trivial cases. They especially enjoyed D
ivorce Court.

  “Man, those two are messed up. Shoulda never been married.” Tyeisha shook her head and laughed during a commercial break.

  “Those women don’t have no problems. That last lady should have to put up with my man Ramone,” Lenore said in a softly accented voice. She waved a hand, dismissing the feuding couples, and muttered something in Spanish.

  “Let’s look at CNN. Maybe they’ll surprise us and report some good news,” Tyeisha joked as she tapped the remote buttons.

  The front door opened and closed. Minutes later a voice boomed from the doorway. “Damn, they let anybody in here.”

  Monette glanced up to find her former cellmate, Candi Lockhart, grinning at her. Candi had both hands on her hips. She wore a blue plaid shirt and jeans.“Hey, girl,” Monette laughed. “You looking old and all used up. You should have stayed inside if this is what the free world does to you.”

  “I can still whip your ass used up or not,” Candi tossed back.

  “You know better than to try, too.” Monette went to her. They hugged each other tightly. Candi’s clothes smelled faintly of onions and fried food. “How’re you doing?” “Been on my feet for ten hours cooking and making my boss rich. Otherwise I’m wonderful.” Candi let go of Monette. She went to a chair and fell down into it. “Lord have mercy, I’m glad this day is over.”

  “I’m getting hungry just smelling you. Now get in the kitchen and fix me something to eat.” Monette slapped Candi’s shoulder as she passed by and sat in another chair across from her.

  “You can forget that. Somebody else is going to feed me tonight. It’s not my turn.” Candi propped a foot on the coffee table. “Missed your interview this morning.”

  “I taped it,” Lenore said with a shy smile. “Some of the other ladies asked me to, since this was my day off. We got us a celebrity.”

  “Don’t get her started. I remember back when Monette first told me she’d been framed. I laughed in her face and said, ‘Honey, look around. Ain’t nobody in here guilty to let them tell it.’ You know this witch tried to beat me down?” Candi’s deep contralto laugh bounced off the walls.