***** Thursday August 5, Madeline picks up Jesus
In Folsom State prison parking lot there were two people sitting near the guardhouse, one in uniform and the other a boy in an orange outfit, like pajamas. She idled by the gate for almost three minutes unable to force herself to go in. On the drive up she had imagined she would be the property of a brutal gangster; three hundred pounds of muscle, tattooed black and blue. She almost drove into oncoming trucks twice on grounds that would be easier, but there was Alan to think of. This inmate looked nothing like her fears, though. He was latino, short and slender, small enough to be fourteen. With a sigh, she drove in, pulled up next to them and conferred with the officer.
The inmate was eighteen today, and he was here at Folsom transferring in from the Youth Authority. Mrs O'Hare signed the papers that testified she would provide a place for him to live in San Francisco and a job at her restaurant. Without her help he would be sent back for another four years, and this brightened her up considerably. The boy needed her. The officer gave her a copy and trudged back to the guardhouse.
Jesus opened the back door of the sedan, swung a duffle bag through the door and then climbed in beside it.
"Aren't you going to sit up front?" Madeline asked.
"No, Miss O'Hare. I'll just be back here. Let's go."
"Mrs O'Hare."
"Yes Ma'am, Mrs."
"A present from the Cook." She said, and handed a package back to him. The boy opened it, allowing her to watch. There was a knife in a sheath, no longer than six inches, a cord with plastic rings and a letter. He read the letter, slowly, mouthing the words, while she climbed in the driver's seat. She let him finish before starting the car. They pulled out of the prison parking lot and in the mirror she could see Jesus watch the guard at the gate as though afraid they would be stopped. They said nothing for a long time but eventually the urge to ask was overpowering. "Alan will be ok now?"
He ignored her question. "Pull over." He said. "Let's get this done."
"Here? On the highway?"
"Yeah. We need to now, before we go further. We need a contract, important shit and it can't be done on the road."
"No? The Cook already made a deal with me. I signed with the guard."
"You're owned now. You don't belong to Irving Street, you belong to me and I belong to the Street. I mean you pledge to me to be square with Irving." He was getting more fidgety, she could feel his leg jumping, pushing the back of her seat.
She pulled over on the gravel, wheels crunching. Cars whizzed by and Madeline tried to listen while anxiously watching the highway.
"So, your question," began Jesus, "Alan is not all right. Tonight he's turned out, punked, after a couple years as girlfriend, he's whacked out." He eyed her in the mirror. She looked scared and vulnerable.
"What have I gone through all this for?" She whined, her eyes teared up and she craned around to see Jesus in the back seat, "What do I do?"
"I gotta tell the Cook you pledged. And don't you ask me to lie. That shit would whack us both quick. I mean it would get us whacked. Please Mrs O'Hare, let's do this right."
"No, not if this is all for nothing." She replied, panic rising in her belly.