Day Fourteen
In prison, I learned, life goes on. Whatever happens you cannot hide under a duvet all day, or escape with a bottle of wine in front of the telly. Slopping-out has to be done, breakfast has to be eaten, and shaving inspections undergone. Mostly I hated these compulsory activities: but after what had happened the previous day, they offered a kind of normality, the comfort of routine. Seeing the other women with their buckets, chattering in the corridor -- even opening my legs for Bradley and Clark to poke around -- these reassured me that the world had not come to an end overnight. The sight of Rose masturbating confirmed that life could and must go on.
Which meant life without Prana. How was I to survive five days? Well, it was four and a half days now, but still. Not only that: how was I going to ensure I had chocolate to pay her with? I had hoped to earn something at Exercise, or at least get some pledge for earning in the showers. Now there was no guarantee. I couldn't, I wouldn't, go to her without payment. But equally, bearing in mind Rose's advice, I would not promise something I did not yet have.
Then there was the emery board. I had promised that to Prana: the Andrews Sisters were to give it to me at Exercise. Would they still have it next week? Would it have been spent or promised elsewhere?
I was worried. I was also getting randy again: it was three days since I'd had sex with Prana in the showers, and I hadn't touched myself since. I fought a battle with my hand, touching myself, stopping, touching myself again, and when it was clear my hand was getting the better of things I decided to do some more exercises.
This time I took off all my clothes for ease of movement, and lay a folded blanket on the floor to protect my skin from the cold concrete. I went through various sit-ups, press-ups, and bicycling. Then I stood with my back to the wall at the foot of my bed, and did stretching, running on the spot, and leg kicking. I finished off by standing on my head.
All the time Rose was watching me. At first, knowing now that she was getting turned on, I felt self-conscious; then, as I warmed to the task, this passed and I focussed solely on the exercise. Finally, watching her beaver away between her legs with such a rapt look on her face, I started to feel flattered by her enjoyment, and to perform a little, extending each leg in turn then rotating it outwards and downwards, giving her a full-on view of my pussy -- until she brought herself off with a heaving, groaning climax.
"Rose," I said -- it was hard to know which of us was more breathless: "How many times a week do you come?"
"Not as many as you think," said Rose. "Just because I play with myself all the time doesn't mean I'm always coming off."
"I think I'm going to make you start exercising," I said. "How long is it since you even touched your toes?"
"Toes?" said Rose. "I would Chloe -- but every time I try my hand stops half way."
We both laughed.
I felt better for exercising, and pleased that I'd got through another hour without masturbating. I was warm and sweaty, and did my best to dab cold water under my armpits and spread it around with the towel, then lay on my bed to cool down. Presently the lunch trolley arrived with Mrs Tiggywinkle and Raymond, who seemed to be in a good mood, and showed no signs of being affected by the events of the previous afternoon. As well as some bread and peanut butter she had brought in two apples. They weren't the freshest or firmest looking, but my mouth watered at the sight.
Before they left, Raymond spoke to Rose:
"I come to visit you this afternoon, yes?"
"That will be nice," Rose replied.
We ate our apples slowly, savouring every bite, nibbling around the core and leaving nothing that could not be eaten.
Rose said:
"You heard Raymond: she wants to spend some time with me this afternoon. Usually when that happens the cellmate is told to go and sweep the corridors for an hour or so."
"That's fine by me," I said. And as I lay absorbing this information, a new idea came to me. If I was to sweep the corridors, that meant I would get to look at the names on the cell doors. If I went in the right direction I would be able to decipher the enigmatic Zs and Cs and Ws which comprised the name of Prana's cell mate. And as I reflected on this a further notion came to me, which set my pulse racing and my heart pounding: if I could sweep outside Prana's door, and whoever was detailed to watch me was not too close -- I could tap on the door -- maybe call out to Prana -- and maybe whisper a few words to her.
I thought of the surprise it would give her, to hear me outside her door. I though of the pleasure it would give. The notion turned from an idea into something of a plan. If I could I would deliberately sweep my way towards Prana's door. I would sweep all the dust there from one direction, then again from another, so that it gathered there, so that I would spend more time there, maybe sweeping it into a pan, emptying the pan and returning. The more I visualised this, the more excited I grew. I would speak to Prana. I would hear her voice. I would be within inches of her. My pussy had begun to throb: just the thought of being so close to her had me hot and wet again.
"What's up with you?" Rose asked. "Your face is all flushed. I've never seen anyone look so excited about sweeping the corridors before."
I told Rose.
"God, you've still got it bad," she said. "Just be very careful."
I waited, full of nervous anticipation. I wasn't sure which Warden I hoped would be monitoring me, as long as it wasn't Hardiman or Dawes, but in the event it was Mrs Tiggywinkle who followed Raymond into our cell.
"Mason and I spend some time alone," Raymond said to me. "You please go with Officer Causer and sweep the corridors."
Of all the Wardens I had had dealings with, Mrs Tiggywinkle was the most enigmatic. Short, round-faced, well-padded, with her ridiculous spiky would-be-punk haircut, she always seemed to remain in the background, to occupy a junior position even with Officers many years younger. I guessed she was just one of those women destined never to rise in their profession: someone lacking in drive or aptitude or the necessary intelligence, forced to watch as junior colleagues are promoted ahead of them.
I followed her into the corridor, and was slightly surprised to see she had no broom with her.
"Follow me: we'll go to the broom cupboard," she said.
We walked down the corridor: to my delight we were heading towards the Exercise Yard: each cell we passed bore a lower number: we were already nearing Prana's cell. However, before we could get there, Mrs Tigywinkle stopped opposite a pair of double doors, leafed through the jangling bunch of keys on her belt, and pushed one into the lock. The doors opened onto a gloomy interior: Mrs Tiggywingle stepped inside and switched on a light.
"Come in," she said.
I followed her: for a cupboard the room was remarkably large, more of a store room really. I could see brooms, buckets, ladders, bowls and all manner of cleaning utensils. There were cardboard boxes, some piled quite high, bearing the names of products: some seemed to contain household materials, some dried foodstuffs, others stationary and office accessories. There were boxes of razors, boxes of soap, and boxes of light bulbs. I saw, with a shudder, that this was also the storage home of the whipping horse, now resting innocently behind a stack of boxes. Behind it I could also make out another piece of equipment that looked as though it belonged in a gym, a sort of vaulting horse, but wedge-shaped, wide at the base and narrowing to a ridge at the apex.
I was aware of the door being shut behind me, and a key turning. I suddenly felt uneasy.
"Which broom shall I use Sir?" I asked, going over to a row of brooms which were leaning against the wall.
Mrs Tiggywinkle ignored my question. She had taken a seat on a cardboard box, her short fat legs barely touching the floor. She indicated a similar box close to her.
"Sit down," she said.
I sat down cautiously.
For a moment there was silence. Mrs Tiggywinkle peered at me.
"Were you ever pinched as a child?" she asked abruptly.
"Pinched?" I asked in astonishment.
"Pinched," she repeated. "By your parents."
"No," I answered, so puzzled I forgot to say Sir, though Mrs Tiggywinkle did not seem to bother.