The Decks and the Road
book 1- Freeborn
Chapter 20
Derek- I hadn’t
gotten up the nerve to ask again. It
stayed on my heart, but it didn’t really seem to affect our progress. I’d called one evening—well it was past
evening—and I never left. The first
three months I’d stayed with Jeff and Ketly.
I didn’t have anything lined up, but with my background and savings I
didn’t feel the pressure. Jeff and I had
become quite a team. Actually, Jeff,
Sam, and I were quite the team. It was a
gift to come to know Sam. He wasn’t my
typical kind of buddy, and he was much older than both of us, but it
worked. I had enjoyed getting to know
the place through his eyes and many of his contacts. Actually, he had become quite the mentor to
me. It wasn’t anything I’d sought after,
but he continued to open my mind to all the possibilities for me in Miami. I’d eventually found something with a pretty
well-known development firm, but after ten months, I left. I was now working on my own, and finding my
way pretty well. I’d easily gotten the
job to work with Tony on Sax Banquet Hall, and the project had proven to be
bigger than I’d expected. I hadn’t
realized how connected he was. One job
and opportunity always seemed to lead to another, and between Sam, Tony, and
Jen, my phone kept ringing.
Tonight, we
were hanging out; celebrating my second year in Miami. I wasn’t really big on dates, but there was
something about this particular move than always seemed to warrant
celebrating. Sam and I had already been
there an hour before Jeff showed up. It
wasn’t a huge deal. He was known for
keeping his own time. Sam had been
eyeing a certain lady the whole hour, and trying to carry on our conversation
at the same time. It was amusing to
me. I was waiting to see which would be
the first to move. She was alone. It was not exactly the place where women came
alone, but I assumed she must have been waiting for her party. She was very alluring and her presence was
bold and menacing. Several guys had
approached her table, but they never stayed longer than a minute or so. She didn’t seem to be interested. Yet, she had caught Sam’s many glimpses and
had begun to flirt with him. He was
divorced, and I hadn’t gotten to know his type.
I was no doubt caught off guard by his interest. Her hair was heavy with curls and falling to
one shoulder. Her lips were pink. She wore a black dress that clinged to her,
and her shoes were also pink. She seemed
to be more about my age than Sam’s. He
was just about fifty, but with his personality, he could always pass for a
younger person. His style always helped
as well. Anyway, I’d begun looking at
the game that was playing on the television across the room. When Jeff showed up, he went on greeting
almost all the staff. It was his
thing. Being around people, and making
his presence known that is. I myself was
just the opposite. I always came and sat
more or less in the same corner, and ordered my drink. As soon as Sam noticed Jeff, he surely made
his way over to the lady in black. This
time the introduction seemed to last more than a minute, and he eventually sat
down. I couldn’t help but smile. It was good to see him take one for the team. Jeff eventually approached Sam, and gave what
I could bet was his usual introduction to Sam’s companion. She looked please to meet Jeff. He then whispered a few words in Sam’s ear
and patted him on the back. Suddenly we all
looked to be celebrating an unforeseen victory.
I couldn’t wait to see where it would all go, but for now it looked like
a win.
We stayed
until almost 1 a.m. and eventually we’d brought three of the high top tables
together. It had certainly turned into a
thing. When I got in, Jennifer was dead
asleep. She had become quite the mom,
and I could hardly get her to stay up past ten.
We always connected on matters with work, and of course with the kids,
but sometimes more and more I could see that we were not sure what else there
was. I had a great sense that we would
make it, but I couldn’t seem to figure out how to get us pass the hole we’d
come up out of. It was almost as if we
were at times still looking at it, or as if we’d set up a memorial which we
just had to visit every now and again.
We didn’t talk about it. We only
went there in our minds, and remembered.
Whatever thoughts came up while we were there, we seemed to hide them
from each other. We shared the site
where the memorial was, but we hadn’t shared the experience of getting up. It had been done worlds apart, and besides I
would always be the one who’d dug the hole.
I did appreciate that she never brought it up, but most nights I wished
she had. I was certain it would be the
difference between lukewarm and hot.
Yet, I was happy for lukewarm because it was lukewarm with her. I kissed her lips, and went on to take a
shower, and while I did, I found myself back at the very spot. I stayed there just a bit longer hoping to
rinse it away.
Chapter 21
Dr. Kat Shepherd- It was my
second meeting with Veronica; the prisoner.
She’d demanded I call her by her first name. I obliged.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the severity of her story. It was so out there for me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever met a murderer
before. And she was such a peaceful
person. That was for me the biggest
hurdle. I didn’t feel fit for the
task. I was certain I wasn’t fit for the
task, but I didn’t dare back down. She
was somewhat familiar to me, but I couldn’t determine how. She sat with perfect posture. She was
attentive, and always seemingly forthcoming.
Her eyes were beautiful. Her lashes
were long and more straight than curled.
Her nose was narrow, and her hair appeared like silk. She kept it pulled into a low ponytail, and
there were only a few noticeable strands of white, but she was very dark
skinned. She had a rich, deepest brown
complexion that also shined. It made her pores seemingly invisible. It always took me just a few extra minutes to
capture my senses once in her presence.
She was extremely quiet while I fumbled around in my work bag and tried
to gather myself. She never spoke unless
I asked her a question, though she sometimes appeared to have many
curiosities. The first time I’d met with
her, I’d reached across pretty strongly with the question, “Do you think of
yourself as a murderer?” I was surprised
by her answer. “I know I am.” I’d expected a yes or a no, or an elaborate
deflection, but I hadn’t thought of, “I know I am.” It was as though she was making some kind of
separation or distinction without really making one. I don’t know… it just took me. Today, I was hoping to see what had driven
her to the point, and I wanted to know if she’d thought of any other ways she
could have responded. It’s funny, after
more than fifteen years in prison; this was still a question that could be
answered with a no. If the answer was
no, then my job would be done. She would
be completely outside the realm of what I do.
For her sake, I’d hope she would say yes.
It was a
complicated case. She’d claimed it was
self-defense, but there had been no proof that she was being attacked. There’d been no history of domestic
abuse. She’d didn’t have a single cut or
bruise, and yet she had murdered her boyfriend.
She also never changed her story.
I suspected she wasn’t about to now; not with just a few years left to
go, but I was hoping to find some reason.
I began again with some of my lighter questions, and a few I’d reworded
as a crosscheck, and then I found my way around to the day it all happened. It wasn’t the way I’d planned it. It wasn’t supposed to be like an
interrogation, but it was. I needed to
understand what was going through her mind.
I needed to know what kind of day she was having. I tried to reset the place and time in hopes
that she could take me there emotionally.
She followed willingly, and answered promptly. She wasn’t thinking and that was good, but
the argument she recounted seemed to have a few missing pieces. I’d decided that was the place I needed to
open up. Yet, it would take more time
than I’d been given. I figured the worst
case scenario she would have to live out the entire sentence, and so I thought
maybe I could help her in a more significant way. It would require some risks, but something
kept saying, “Take the risk”. I decided
to hold off on my target question, and press for more time with her. I wanted to chart a completely new course
with her; one I knew had more arteries, but she was intelligent and I would
have to find a way to operate without triggering her intellect. That would take time, and study, and a
god-like execution, but I’d have to do it rather quickly. I certainly was up for the challenge. I finished the session with a few more
questions that came rapidly off the top of my head. They were important questions too. I could tell that fate was on my side, and
the enablement I needed was present.
Throughout all of these changes and considerations, Veronica remained
poised and unbothered. She studied me,
and I studied her. She even smiled a few
times when I hadn’t thought she would. I
got the feeling she liked me, but then again she came across as the type of
person that couldn’t fully hate anyone.
And that did help her case.
When I
exited the building and returned to my car, I had a text from my sister. When I saw her name, I got butterflies
because I knew what had happened with Tayeton, and I also knew how intuitive
she was. I wasn’t ready for the
reprimand. I opened the message: “It won’t
be as complicated as you think. Take the
risk.” I sat there still. It was always puzzling to me how she did
that. I didn’t bother to respond. She didn’t require it. I wasn’t sure if she was referring to
Veronica or Tayeton, but it had brought him to mind. I hadn’t checked in on the blog in almost a
week. I was trying not to like him so
much, and the blog didn’t help.
Suddenly, I was tempted to take a peek.
I did, and I was again sucked into his vortex. It didn’t help that several of his notes
started with “she”, and that I could identify that she was me. I didn’t send my usual feedback, but I could
tell that he also didn’t require my response.
I was moved, but not moved to call.
I hadn’t been able to see past the complexities, and although I welcomed
it in my work, I usually didn’t welcome it in my personal life. It wasn’t the Kat life. My life was easy going. It was full of peace and probably more
certainty than recommended, but it was my way, and it would probably take an
earth shaking for me to see it another way.
So, I thought I’d resume checking in on the blog, but that was all. Those were the cards as I saw them.
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Freeborn, a novel
Freeborn
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Copyright © 2017
by Natisha Renee Williams
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