Page 9

Brian Porter

It was Sunday morning, the last day of the Olympic games and the day of the Olympic game celebration.

Brian was fuming inside.

After two weeks in Paris, he would miss the celebration with his peers.

In his mind, the owner of the NBA should personally put a medal on him.

He believed he was superior to all the players in the league even though he couldn’t keep his spot on the team.

The thought of everyone learning about his arrest upset him more.

He took his fist and hit the wall with anger.

“Man, can you chill out! The guards should be letting us out for the yard soon. We usually play basketball, you can take all your frustrations out on the court against the guys,” spoke Bourbon.

“Oh, yes. Do you think a professional basketball player should play against some dummy criminals? You sound crazy. I’m not putting myself in a game with losers. I’ll lift some weights and have you spot me.”

“News flash… You aren’t any better than us. We all in jail, so I guess you’re a dummy criminal too. Yeah, I’ll spot you with the weights after our basketball game. You’re participating in the game, young blood. Do you hear me?” Bourbon chuckled.

“Maybe the exercise from the game will allow you to get some sleep.” He chuckled louder.

Brian looked away to avoid eye contact with Bourbon.

He wasn’t used to another man telling him how to live.

He wasn’t scared of Bourbon, but he had to live in the same cell with him.

After Bourbon told him about all the murders he’d committed inside and outside the jail, Brian decided not to get on his bad side.

He killed his previous cell mate over a disagreement about religion.

The guards assumed the cellmate died peacefully in his sleep until an autopsy was done.

Bourbon strangled the cellmate with his bare hands.

He heard rumors the autopsy report showed signs of struggle since the victim had many scratches and abrasion on the neck.

The story spooked Brian after he heard it, and he feared sleeping at night in the cell.

In fact, he hadn’t slept for 4 hours.

When he dozed off, the image of Bourbon standing over him strangling him woke him up.

He’d lay awake all night until a guard announced breakfast at five a.

m.

Brian could feel the tension in the air, so he decided to lighten the mood.

With a half-smile he leaned back on his bed and asked casually, “So, how do you maintain your mental health in here? Do you have any women come to see you I don’t see how you’ve been without good loving from a woman. I’ve got to have some tender loving from one of my tenders. How do you do it man?” He figured getting to know his cellmate better might make things a little less hostile.

“Only married prisoners can have conjugal visits. I have pull in this prison, so the guards bend the rules for me. Bourbon stuck out his tongue after bragging. “I set up conjugal visits with one of the guards.

I mess around with some of the female guards from time to time.

I’ve been here over ten years with a lifetime to go.

I can get away with anything.

You’ll just have to lift weights to relieve pressure until you out of jail.

” Bourbon threw up his arms.

Brian Porter was used to having any woman he wanted.

He took his pick on any given night.

His need for love and belonging were at odds now.

Women made him happy, especially his girlfriend Bella.

When he was away for games he would enjoy time with other women.

When Bella would make him mad, he would cope by having sex with another woman.

In jail he couldn’t use a woman to help with his needs.

He began to have obsessive thoughts about Kybella spending time with Adonis.

Imagining his girlfriend with Adonis caused him pain.

He didn’t want her to share his love with anyone else.

Now he feared he would never have it again.

Everybody needed love, even a man like Brian Porter.

“Snap out of it, young blood. The guards will do a quick security search on our cell and then us. Then the guards will let us go to the yard. Come on, let’s get ready to go.” Bourbon announced as he snapped his finger in front of Brian.

“Say, how is the order I put in?” Brian asked quietly.

“My lady told me the money was transferred to your canteen successfully.”

“It’s in motion young blood. Don’t worry about it. Right now, it’s time to worry about me beating you in this basketball game.”

The guards released the handcuffs on each prisoner once they made it to the prison yard.

Brian inhaled deeply to take in the fresh air.

He hadn’t taken a whiff of fresh air in twenty four hours.

The yard was crammed with over one hundred men standing around in tan dickie suits.

It was nothing to see but one basketball goal without a net.

A white concrete prison yard, without vegetation enclosed with barbwire fencing.

In one corner was a weightlifting bench.

Brian followed Bourbon.

“What’s up? Do y’all want to form teams of five for a game? I got him on my team.” Bourbon announced as he pointed to Brian.

The other men formed teams, and Brian checked the ball in.

An older prisoner took his position as the referee.

The prison guards watched the game like hawks, clutching their guns tightly.

Each player was big and tough.

So tough they passed the ball around with great force.

The rough ball handling was beginning to aggravate Brian.

He played with a chip on his shoulder and dunked the ball over one of the other prisoner’s head.

“Oh, I see you’re showing out Mr. NBA player!” Victor, a player on the opposing team shouted.

Then Victor elbowed Brian abruptly.

Brian didn’t appreciate the elbow, so he fouled him back.

He fouled him so hard that the guy fell on the court.

They began to squabble, and a huge fight broke out among the two teams.

The prisoner acting as the referee shouted to break it up.

It didn’t work and the men fought each other harder.

Several French prison guards broke up the fight by spraying pepper spray at those involved.

Other guards used their batons to isolate the other prisoners gathered around the fight.

The guards close by grabbed Brian and the prisoner he was fighting and put them in handcuffs.

“Victor, you know better than fighting during rec-time. You’ll have to miss rec-time for the next month. Mr. NBA player it looks like this assault can cause the judge to add more time to your sentence if you’re found guilty of this assault.” The guard announced as he walked them back into the jail.

“Man, what am I supposed to do? This man picked a fight with me. I wasn’t going to let him beat me up. My lawyer will get me out soon. I’m not worried about anything.”

The chaplain walked by and heard the commotion.

He looked at his watch and stopped in his tracks.

After the guard secured the inmates involved, he began to document the incident.

“Guard I know the protocol is to put inmates in the hole for confinement. I request special permission to take these two men with me to group therapy. The Warden gave me these privileges as a part of my calling here.”

“Yes, sir. I don’t see any problem with it, Chaplain Jones.” The guard responded as he instructed them to follow him.

He led them to the small jail chapel.

It was about one thousand square feet.

The small chapel held an altar, a small pew, podium, and a small gathering area.

A small bulletin board listed meeting times for Sunday services.

It also listed names of prisoners who’d joined the prison church.

Along with the prisoners who were up for the upcoming baptismal.

“I’m Chaplain Jerrell Jones. Welcome to Chapelle des Girondins. Many of our prisoners visit for Sunday services. When prisoners join the chapel services, they participate in prayer, worship, and listen to messages of rehabilitation. We have fellowship together and share testimonies about how God saved them. They also confess their sins and give their lives to God through baptismal.”

“Why are you in here, sir?” Chaplain Jones asked Brian.

“I was trying to get my girl back. They’re charging me with kidnapping and aggravated assault.

“So, did you hold your girlfriend against her will and assault her?

”

Brian looked around before he answered Chaplain Jones, he didn’t want anyone to hear him.

“I may have held her against her will, but I needed her to see everything my way. She shouldn’t have run out of our hotel room into the lobby. She started talking crazy to me. She said she found someone that made her happy. I slapped her for saying it. I wanted her to tell me she missed me. I wanted her to come back to me. Instead, she spoke to me in a way that suggested her feelings about me had changed.”

“It sounds like you just wanted her love. God forgives your mistakes Brian. God’s love is greater than any love a woman can offer. His love is unfailing, unconditional, and eternal because you are his priority, and his love should be the one that defines your worth. You didn’t care how your actions impacted others. I’ve seen you play basketball on the television. God gave you a gift. You didn’t use your gift of playing basketball to uplift others; instead, you misused it for the wrong purposes. Tell me about a time in your life that made you unhappy.”

“When my father went to prison for abusing my mother. My father had been in and out of prison most of my life. All I can remember is him drinking until he was drunk and hitting on my mama. I didn’t like to see it or hear my mama cry. I couldn’t shake the memory-it kept replaying in my mind. The most devasting time was when I was seventeen. My dad cut a piece of my mom’s ear for not listening to him. She screamed so loudly the neighbors called the police. Once the police got there it was so much blood on the floor he was handcuffed immediately.” Brian held his head down in disappointment,a tear falling from his eye.

Chaplain Jones walked towards him and gave him a brotherly hug.

“I want you to know that your Father is proud of your accomplishments. The best is yet to come for you, Brian. I want you to hug yourself and say you’re fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Brian looked off to play it cool.

He took a deep breath and followed the Chaplain’s command.

“I’m fearfully and wonderfully made.”

“Now I want both of y’all to repeat after me. “I am the head and not the tail.

I am above and not beneath.

”

Brian and Victor looked at each other.

After contemplating, they both repeated the affirmation given by Chaplain Jones.

“I know it’s probably too much to ask y’all to give each other a hug but give each other a handshake. I know it’s rough in jail, but y’all need to change. You can’t stay the same version of yourselves if you want to be released.”

Brian took the lead and gave Victor a handshake.

“God is pleased.” Chaplain Jones smiled, his gold teeth glistening.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to pray for you both.” The guys both nodded their heads in agreement.

“Bow your heads please. Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, O Lord, could we ever survive? We ask that you forgive our sins and help us forgive anyone we’re holding a grudge against. Lord, we lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, we have sinned and rebelled. We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devasted, and ruined. Lord, we ask that you set these men among me free. Fill their heart and spirts with love. In Jesus name, Amen!

“Amen.

” the men said in unison.

“I’ll speak to the guard about forgiving this fight. Since this jail is where prisoners are housed before trial, I’m sure your awaiting your trial date. I will discuss the implications of the altercation with the correctional officer. I need you to do me a favor and help someone else.”

“Thank you, Chaplain Jones . I’ll help someone else. I also want to serve in the chapel. The emptiness I’d been feeling left my body in the brief time I’ve been in here. I feel lighthearted.” Brian smiled.

“Seems like the prayer helped. God’s Holy Spirt filled the gaps. The best is yet to come.” Chaplain Jones walked off and approached a prisoner that walked into the Chapel.

Brian took a seat and continued to pray.

As he prayed, he heard God’s voice.

Brian, I need you to do this for me.

Follow my commandments.

Brian raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Darkness was cast out.

He no longer wanted to seek revenge on anyone.

He understood what he needed to do but he hoped it wasn’t too late.

Instead of continuously revisiting the trauma of his mother’s abuse, he began focusing on healing and moving forward with his life.

He kept hearing the Chaplain say, the best is yet to come .

The guilt of the murder for hire was weighing heavily on his conscious.

He paced the chapel back and forth, contemplating stopping it.

One part of his conscious believed since he wasn’t the killer that the blood wasn’t on him.

The other part of his conscious believed if Adonis was killed it would be his fault since he’d ordered the hit.

Brian took the palm of his hand and hit his head.

Then he asked the guard to take him back to his cell.

Once he made it, the guard unlocked his handcuffs.

“Have a good night. Oh, I forgot you don’t even sleep at night. Don’t let the bed bug’s bite.” The guard announced with a chuckle.

As he walked into his cell, he noticed Bourbon was busy reading a book.

He didn’t even look up to speak to him.

So, he cleared his throat to get Bourbon’s attention, causing him to look up.

“Hey, Bourbon. I was thinking about calling the hit off. Can you cancel it? I changed my mind.”

Bourbon looked at Brian with a blank stare.

“Are you crazy? I told you that once the hit was set up with my guy that there were no cancellations. You can’t forgive and forget now. It’s too late. I told you yesterday the hit was already in motion.. My hitter has already caught a flight here to look for Adonis. He’s already been paid half of his fee for the job, He will be paid the other half after the job is completed.” Bourbon chuckled loudly and went back to reading his book.

Brian prayed to God that the plan to kill Adonis was unsuccessful, even though Bourbon told him that Joey had a ninety five percent success rate.

Hopefully, this time Joey failed at his job.

If Bella were to find out that he had Adonis killed, then he would never win her back.