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sixty-five f

One More Visit

O ne Tuesday afternoon not long after Lee’s visit, my friend Diana stopped over for coffee. I busied myself in the kitchen, while she relaxed on the balcony.

“Ava, come here, quick!”

I took a step onto the balcony.

“Stop right there,” she said.

“What—”

“I think Mike’s in the parking lot!”

Diana had never met Mike, but I’d shown her photos. She had to be mistaken.

“Mike’s in prison,” I said.

“You tell me.” Diana stepped aside to give me a clear view.

“It is Mike!” I stumbled back inside but not quickly enough.

“Hey, Ava!” Mike called.

“I’ll tell him you don’t want to see him,” Diana said.

“That’ll only piss him off. I’ll meet him in the parking lot. If anything happens, call the cops.”

With Diana watching from above, I went outside to meet Mike.

“Ava! Great to see ya.” Mike moved to hug me.

I stepped back and crossed my arms in front of me. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m a free man. Out on parole.”

“I thought parole meant you couldn’t cross state lines.”

“I don’t know nothin’ about that,” he said. “I missed ya.”

My neighbor’s four-year-old daughter rode past on her tricycle. “Hi, Miss Ava.”

I waved and smiled, grateful for the distraction.

“Sorry the guards didn’t let ya in to see me.”

“Excuse me?”

“The day you were supposed to come visit. Sons a bitches kept you away from me.”

“I didn’t—” Mike thought the guards wouldn’t allow me to visit him in prison. I couldn’t tell him I’d never made it to Allenwood.

“Didn’t what?”

“Um—I couldn’t get in,” I lied.

“That’s all gonna change now.” He took a step toward me.

“Stay away from me, Mike.”

His “charming” smile turned bitter. I felt rage stream from his body.

“Nobody says no to me.”

“I just did.” The sun hid behind a cloud. I wished for my own cloud.

“I know where ya live,” he threatened. “I got your phone number.”

“If you don’t leave now, my friend’s gonna call the cops.”

“You’ll come around. We got a history.”

“That’s right. A history. A past, not a future.” I started walking away.

“I’ll be back.”

That’s what I’m afraid of.

My bravado was fading. I needed to get to the relative safety of my home.

I expected Mike to lunge at me, grab me, drag me to his car, and rape me. Instead, he planted himself between me and the door. I smelled the summer sweat on his skin.

“You go in that door, and we’re done.”

“Goodbye, Mike.”

I hurried past him, unlocked the door to my building, and slipped inside. Once I knew I was safe, I crumbled to the floor and sobbed until my ribs ached.

Diana met me where I sat.

“I think he’s gone,” she said. “Are you gonna call the cops?”

“If he comes back.”

Once I convinced Diana I was okay, she left for her four o’clock shift at Dream Girls. My shift began at six o’clock, which gave me two hours to take care of business.

That business was to contact Agent Miller from the DEA. He listened to my story and promised to intervene.

Agent Miller kept his word. He called me two days later.

“I got in touch with Mike’s parole officer,” he began. “I told him Mike frightened and threatened you.”

I wished he hadn’t used the word “frightened.” It made me feel like more of a victim than I already was. But Agent Miller had come to my rescue and gone out of his way to ensure my safety.

“He won’t bother you again.”

“How can you be so sure? Mike doesn’t believe the rules apply to him.”

“His parole officer said to call him immediately if you see or hear from Mike. If he contacts you once more, he’s going back to prison.”

I actually have someone in my corner.

“One more thing,” Agent Miller said, after he gave me Mike’s parole officer’s name and number. “If I were you, I’d change my phone number, make it private. You don’t want him harassing you from pay phones.”

“Should I get a new apartment?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary.”

I wasn’t sure I agreed but decided to trust his judgment.

“Thank you,” I said. “You didn’t have to go out of your way for me.”

“You put yourself out on a limb for us. Just repaying the favor.”