Page 10 of Taming a Menace

Once I was out of the house and headed to the parole office, my nerves went into overdrive.

It sucked for someone else to have my life in their hands.

I liked being the only one to control my life.

No one else knew what it took to be me. No one else could relate to my struggle to maintain control at all costs.

Franklin didn’t know shit about life or hardship. He had never taken a major loss or been hurt or abused by someone who was supposed to have their best interests in mind. All he knew was to go by that fucking book that told him to violate and take niggas’ freedom every chance he got.

By the time I made it to the office, I was furious.

It didn’t help that I hadn’t eaten a damn thing.

Being hungry only fueled my fire. I took a few deep breaths like they told me in those sessions before switching off my truck and getting out.

I said a silent prayer that I didn’t break my mom’s heart again as I walked through the door.

There was never a shortage of people standing behind the glass not doing a damn thing while there was a lobby full of people waiting.

I wasn’t surprised that there was a full house today.

It was nine forty-five. I was a little early, but I hoped to be out of there soon.

I didn’t play about time, so I was really irked that being late for my anger management sessions might be the cause of my freedom being snatched up again.

I stood at the counter for a full two minutes before one of the Bozos on the other side acknowledged my presence.

“How can I help you, sir?” a woman with a gray, braided bob asked.

“I have an appointment with Franklin Lemon at ten this morning.”

“Sign in,” she said, pointing at the clipboard half full of scribbled names.

After signing in on the eleventh line, I turned and scanned the room for an empty seat.

I crossed the room and plopped down in the first chair I came to.

Once I was seated, I pulled up my phone to check my email.

Kross had mentioned that I needed to start checking it.

I didn’t normally worry about emails and messages.

Anyone wanting to do business with me used to call.

I liked talking to a person to get clarity on their expectations and make sure that we were on the same page.

It took a second for me to remember the password to my email since it had been so long since I logged in.

Once I finally got in, my eyes bugged when I saw that I had at least three requests for consultations.

I guess it was a good thing that I checked.

I clicked on the oldest message first. It was from a week ago.

There was someone having a bridal shower.

She wanted catering for twenty-five. The shower was a little over a month away, which was just enough time to get things in order.

The lady was requesting a self-serve buffet style which was my favorite to do aside from one on one.

This would be a good start. I sent her a quick reply asking if she preferred to call or meet in person to work out the details.

As I typed, a man came out and called for everyone attending the drug class to follow him.

That was one more thing that I could be grateful for.

Aside from a little recreational use of marijuana, I had been able to remain drug free.

There were a lot of good dudes that I had known over the years that had fallen victim to the struggle.

I let out an audible sigh when most of the people occupying the seats in the lobby got up and followed the guy into the other room.

Not that I was glad the people had to take a drug class, but I was grateful that all of those damn people weren’t waiting ahead of me to see an officer.

Once they cleared the room, only me and one other dude sat there waiting.

I took my time reading over the next couple of emails wishing that I had something to write on. My favorite kind of client had reached out to me. Someone wanted a chef three days a week while she was dealing with a new diagnosis of diabetes.

While I wasn’t a dietician, I had enough knowledge to be able to help her go in the right direction.

Since she mentioned that she’d gotten my daily rates from my brother Kannon, I knew money wasn’t an issue.

She just wanted to improve her health. I was all too eager to help her make the necessary adjustments.

I glanced at the clock while I typed out the response to her message.

It was ten minutes after ten. So much for making sure I was on time.

Punctuality only mattered to the people on this side of the window.

Nobody behind the glass or back in those offices gave a damn about time.

By the time someone called my name, I had responded to five emails and beat two levels of my crossword puzzle.

I looked up to see Franklin’s bony nose leading the way.

“Glover, come with me,” he said, motioning with his head.

Counting backward from twenty, I glanced at the clock and shook my head. It was ten thirty-five.

“You forgot you asked me to come at ten?” I asked as I followed his scrawny ass down the hall to his office.

“I did not,” he clarified.

“I couldn’t tell. I been sitting out there since nine forty-five.”

“And now you’re about to sit here until we hash out what’s going on with your court mandated sessions,” he stated.

“The lady kicked me out,” I said, raising my shoulders.

“I’m aware. Have a seat, Mr. Glover.”

“Frankie, look. If you’re going to violate me, at least let me go get some pussy and eat breakfast first,” I said, never moving out of the doorway.

“Have a seat and let’s discuss our options,” he repeated.

“Oh I got options? Why didn’t you say that?” I laughed a little as I walked further into the office and sat down in the chair.

“Well you only have one option. Since the group settings don’t seem to be your thing, I spoke to my supervisor. She agreed that one on one therapy sessions is our next course of action. You will have to take thirty sessions to fulfill your requirements. The sessions will be?—”

“Wait a minute now. Therapy?” I asked cutting him off before he could go any further.

“Yes, therapy. Court mandated in fact.”

“I don’t need no therapy, Frankie.” I shook my head.

“That’s not for you or me to determine. Counseling was part of your sentence. You fucked up majorly on the anger management sessions. Her notes are filled with how you refused to participate and missed all the sessions that you weren’t late for.”

“I told you I was catching hell getting home at three in the morning and then trying to make it to her classes by nine.”

“Well now your window of time has opened up a little bit.”

“Y’all couldn’t find any other anger management classes to put me in?” I quizzed.

“Didn’t you tell me the classes weren’t working anyway?”

“Yeah, but that’s not why I wasn’t going though.”

“Well now it’s off the table altogether. Maybe therapy will be the thing that actually helps with your anger. Who knows?”

“I don’t need therapy, Franklin. I just need people to leave me the fuck alone.”

“Unfortunately, we have to share the world with other people. You have to learn to adapt to their presence.”

“I hear you.” I shook my head, knowing that there was no way around this shit.

“We are reaching out to a couple of the centers in the area that see our patients. I’ll have them give you a call to set up your appointments. You will see them twice a week for fifteen weeks, then we will go from there.”

“Cool, is that all?” I asked as I stood.

“This was a hail Mary, Glover. My supervisor feels like if you’re already messing up, then it’s only going to get worse.

Don’t make me look bad. Show up to those sessions on time.

I don’t want to violate you, but I’m not going to bat for you again until you can show me that you’re trying to stay on the straight and narrow. ”

“I got you,” I said as I left the room.

I would go to those sessions if that meant I could remain free. Laying on a couch for a while was a whole lot better than having to go back behind the wall. I would go to every single therapy session without putting up a fight, but that didn’t mean I had to talk.