Enjoy, but don't laugh, promise???

Skye's back was going to be killing her in the morning. That was no surprise. She'd been stiff and sore, each and every morning for the past 179 mornings. County-issue mattress and springs were not the stuff dreams are made on, that's for sure.

Six months. "You are hereby sentenced to spend six months in the Los Angeles County jail". Even tonight, the chill traveled down her spine as she recalled the judges words. She was a few hours from being on the other side of that sentence, and still she found it hard to believe all that had happened to get her here, on this back-wrecking cot, in the middle of this unbelievably long night.

All around her, her "roommates" slept. Their dormitory consisted of two sets of bunk beds, and a sink/toilet combo. Understated didn't begin to describe her surroundings. This was completely different from the room she had slept in with her husband, Clay, in their two-story colonial style home in Palos Verdes. No. She wasn't going to remember that now. If she started in on the home she would never be welcome in again, there would be no sleep at all. She would not be returning to that life after tonight. The last time she had seen her husband, the look on his face had made that much abundantly clear.

Just as she was attempting to re-adjust her thoughts, Mary, her upper-bunk cell mate, cried out in her sleep. Mary was always doing that. It would nearly give Skye a heart attack sometimes.

Mary was just passing through. Mary was awaiting sentencing after she had been convicted of killing her abusive husband in one of those "burning bed" situations. Oh, yeah. He beat her alright. Unfortunately for Mary, the jury was more or less unsympathetic towards the woman who ran him over repeatedly with their Chrysler Cordova. Still, Mary had her nightmares on a fairly regular basis.

Across the room, Skye saw Liz stir awake. "Jesus fucking Christ" Liz swore under her breath, and hunkered further down under the blanket. Skye didn't acknowledge that Liz had spoken. Even though the two women had managed to create a peaceful co-existence in such a small area, Liz made Skye nervous to this day.

Liz was what they like to call a "career criminal". Liz's reputation had become somewhat of a legend within the county jail system. According to the scuttlebut, Liz had robbed banks, was a gang member, trafficked heroin across the border, and, most impressive of all, had used her considerable connections to get her younger sister, Virginia, transferred into this very same facility, and into this very same cell. Liz was not a person Skye wanted to have as an enemy. She was happy to compromise and negotiate in order to avoid the legendary wrath of her cellmate, Liz.

And then there was poor Virginia. Liz was right in insuring her own supervision of her little sister. Virginia didn't seem to have the brains God gave a goose. She had been arrested and convicted of writing bad checks, in order to help her good for nothing boyfriend finance his fledgling dope selling business. The bad check charges were not the real problem. She really got screwed when the boyfriend convinced her to hold on to his stash of crack, just before the police raided his home. Virginia went down, believing the boyfriend would step forward and do his own time. Of course that never happened, and now she spends her days reading, and re-reading the love letters he mails to her. Virginia loves her boyfriend, but she's starting to doubt his sincerity. There had been rumors that a certain ex-girlfriend had been seen hanging around.

TO BE CONTINUED....

November 01, 2001

Be Afraid, People.... Really Afraid
September 01, 2008

One Last Bitchfest for the Road
August 24, 2008

Get the Popcorn Ready
July 17, 2008

I'm a Rich Ho-Bag
June 20, 2008