Tree (eBook)

In Life Seasons Do Change

Calvin Denson (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017 | 1. Auflage
202 Seiten
Yorkshire Publishing (Verlag)
9781947825710 (ISBN)

Infos

Torrance Wingate Jr. aka Tree, is a man after Audumn's heart. Tree loves Audumn but his poor decision making has always tested their love throughout the years. It isn't until he receives a letter from Audumn in the Texas Department of Criminal Justices (TDCJ) that he realizes he is about to lose the one person that has always put a smile on his face. Change is evident as he sits behind bars examining his short comings from the time he started to stray o the path in which his parents have laid out for him. Along his journey to nd himself, Tree encounters people from all backgrounds who speak positive words over his life. Even though he is his own man, the people on the negative side of the fence seem to always attract him. His time is running short and Tree feels with the help of prayer and God on his side he can make it in a working society when released. Something he is not accustomed too by far. Will he make it or will the love for the streets cause him to return to hustling when faced with adversity? Whatever his choice may be; Tree knows he must make the right decisions or lose his freedom and what matters most to him, Audumn.

Textauszug

1

“Rec time! Whoever’s going to the rec yard needs to be at the door in two minutes!”

“Two minutes. These laws be tripping with these strange time schedules that they only know about.” Tree is just getting out of the shower and drying his feet when the officer calls for rec.

Sliding his feet into his shower shoes, Tree stands and quickly falls to the back of the line for rec. More then half the tank has decided to go today, so the hour outside is cut short because it started when the guard said they had two minutes to get to the door.

The sun is setting as the inmates enjoy what’s left of their time of recreation. Basketball, handball, and volleyball is being played on the overcrowded rec yard, and each race plays its own sport to keep confusion down. Blacks played basketball, Hispanics played handball, and the Caucasians played volleyball. All games were open for anyone to play, but no one ever participated in them unless it was only a few people on the rec yard.

Man Pooh’s pod is next door, so he had to speak to Tree through the barbwire fence that separated the two tanks. Tree was there first, so he knew his friend had a lot on his mind.

“What’s up, Tree? What’s the gossip for the day?” Pooh asks.

“Gossip! Men don’t gossip,” Tree replied in a deep voice.

“We gossip if I say we gossip.”

Seeing that the conversation is a dead end with no way out, Tree quickly changes the subject to what is on his mind. “Man Pooh, why is it that these females feel like they can just do or talk to us any kind of way while we are in here?”

“I guess it’s because of all the bullshit we put them through while we were in the free world.”

Reflecting on the past, Tree sees everything he’s done to the love of his life as if it was yesterday. “You’re right, Man Pooh, I did put her through a lot of bullshit,” he said with a small chuckle.

“I already know. We all do, Tree.”

Tree and his hood friend give each other the daily scoop until the whistle is blown and the rec yard lights begin to shut off one by one. Man Pooh gave his advice on Tree’s situation, and Tree took it for what it is because his boy never steered him in the wrong direction.

“Don’t stress behind her. Do your time and keep your letters to her respectful, and she’ll come back to you.”

“We’ll see, and you’re right about doing this time because I don’t see nobody stepping up to do it for me. I hate that I got to go back to the county on another charge.”

“Hey, you two by the fence, rec time is over unless you want to stay out here for the rest of the night!” a guard yells, walking on the outside of the fence.

“I’ma get up with you later before I tell these want-to-be police officers about themselves.” Man Pooh stares at the CO through the fence.

“All right, Pooh, I guess I’ll get at you tomorrow morning in the law library.”

The dayroom is packed when Tree came in from his everyday meeting with Man Pooh. Tonight, no one is in their bunk, so all the seats are taken underneath the two televisions sitting high on the opposite sides of the tank. Standing behind a row of seats, he tries to block out all his worries and enjoy tonight’s game. The clock is ticking, and he can hear each time a hand moves in it because tomorrow morning is the day Harris County comes for all inmates with charges pending.

With his fingers crossed, he says a silent prayer for another week of researching his case in the law library.

Roars and boos began to sound from the four rows of seats and bring him back to the jungle he’s living in. Shaking the dreadful thoughts from his head, he focuses on the football game that he made a bet with Bubblehead the night before. If it wasn’t for the bet, he couldn’t care less on who won or lost the game because none of the teams were from Houston.

“What’s up, Tree? You eating tonight, or are you going to watch Bubblehead take your money?”

“You already know I’m spreading tonight, Phat Fat. Do I ever miss a meal?”

“You show right about that. I don’t know why I even asked that question.”

“Are you cooking or am I?”

“I got it tonight because I know you got to watch your money.”

“Thanks, Phat, I owe you one. Get whatever you need out of my locker.”

“Count time! Count time! Everyone in their bunks!” Officer Briggs shouts, entering the dayroom with a woman officer named Ms. Williams.

All the inmates hustle back to their bunks as fast as possible so they can get their seats back underneath the TV. It’s game night, and the guards know it because fifty-four men are not hard to count, but tonight it’s difficult for some reason. Anger begins to fill the room as the lady officer counts for the third time.

“Count’s clear, y’all can get up! I want towels out of the dayroom and the television volume down!” Officer Williams exclaims.

“Yes, ma’am, and please come back and visit us sometime!” a man yells from the shower covered in soap.

Laughter and muffled words of foul language come from the tank as the officers exit because a quarter of the game has passed, and the tension is higher than usual. Going back to their seats, everyone wishes they can see the guards that are not cool on the other side of the gates. But the offenders know that it’s very rare for this to happen, so all of their eyes are once again glued to the two boxes that join the free world to the penitentiary.

The aroma from the noodles, seasoning, and meat packs causes Tree’s stomach to growl. Phat Fat is in line for hot water, and he’s two men behind. Two minutes are left in the game, and Tree is on the short end of stick on the bet he has made with Bubblehead. He knows that there’s no hope in winning, so he takes his loss like a man and places twelve packs of noodles and a chili meat pack on his bunkmate’s bed. With his locker open, he grabs a Snickers candy bar to satisfy him until Phat is ready to bless the small meal he’s put together.

“Say, Tree, you eating or what?”

“Call me when it’s ready because I’m thinking about something.”

“Fool, it is ready! Now get your ass over here so we can eat!”

“I got your fool,” Tree replied jokingly as he approached the table.

Everything Phat made was good, and tonight he has put together a chicken and cheese dinner. It’s very seldom for them to have this meal because the chicken came from the kitchen on the random days they served it. Tree knew somebody who worked in the kitchen that didn’t mind taking the risk in getting it back to the tank.

As they took their seats, Tree grabs his boy’s hand and bows his head. “Thank you, Jesus, for this food we are about to receive. Amen.”

A few minutes pass, and Tree’s bowl is almost empty. After he takes his last bite, he laughs to himself because 70 percent of the time he manages to get Phat Fat to cook.

“What you smiling about?” Phat asks.

“If I told you, I’ll have to kill you.”

“Whatever, Tree. I cooked, so you have to wash the dishes.”

“I know the rules. You don’t have to remind me.” Tree stacks the two bowls on the table to be washed.

“Act like it then and get to work.”

Tree stood up and bumps into a Hispanic guy by accident. In the penitentiary, you can’t show any weakness, so he looks down on him without saying “Excuse me.” The Hispanic guy’s name is Blake, and he runs half of the transfer facility unit they are on. Tree doesn’t know him because he moved into the tank when he was in the recreation yard with Man Pooh.

“Say, voto, can you say excuse me?” Tree asks with a slight nudge from his shoulder.

“Excuse me for what? You bumped into me, homeboy.”

“I don’t care who bumped into who. But what I do care about is you giving me some respect.”

“I got your respect, Mr. Tree, but I don’t think you want it.”

“We gon’ see about that, loco, when the lights go off.”

“We can see about it right now.”

“I got too much on the line to smash on you in front the police. Meet me in the corner after last count.”

“You ain’t said nothing, homeboy, that I haven’t heard before. Let the lights be the bell then.”

Washing the bowls, Tree thinks about what his pride has gotten him into because deep down inside, he is a nice guy, but his circumstances wouldn’t allow him to display it in jail. Usually his height and his weight made other inmates stay out of his way, but tonight, things didn’t play out the way he wanted it to.

After drying the spoons, he leaves the wash area wondering how the new Hispanic guy knew his name.

The dayroom lights shut off at exactly 11:00 p.m....

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.10.2017
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 9781947825710 / 9781947825710