Chapter IV - A Phone Call From Jail

The main character, Samantha, gets a call from her incarcerated brother.

The phone rang, disturbing my already disturbed sleep.

"Hello?"

An electronic voice greeted me. 

"This call originates from a correctional facility.  To accept, dial "1"."  I closed my eyes and dialed by feel.

"Ritchie?"

"Hey, sis.  You sleepin'?"

"Yeah, it's ok.  What time is it?"  I tried to grab the alarm clock to take a look and knocked it off my bedside table, along with a half empty beer can.

"It's 2:00.  Late night?"

"Yeah, I guess.  What's up, buddy?"

"Just checking in.  Haven't seen your face for a while."

"I know, honey, I'm sorry.  Things have been a little nuts and I haven't been able to get out there.  Been keeping the shop open seven days a week now."

"Is that because business is good, or bad?"

"Pretty good.  Got a new piercing guy and we can hardly keep up with the kids coming in for new holes in their heads.  I'm thinking of adding a tattoo room, doing ink."  I lit a cigarette and tried to open my eyes.

"Well, good.  I can't wait to see the new shop." 

"It's nice, Jenji helped me paint a few weeks ago and it looks really good." 

"Who's Jenji?  New guy?"

S**t. 

"No, just a new friend. Jenji is a girl." 

"Any word from Daniel?"

Ouch.  Daniel.  I don't like to think about him when I'm this sober.

"No, he's gone.  You know how I like to chase the good ones away."  I tried to sound nonchalant but Ritchie's always known me better than that.

"He'll be back, sis.  That guy is retarded for you, it's actually a little sickening."

"I don't know, whatever.  How are you?"

"Doin'.  Five months, one week and three days.  You'd better cook me something good my first night back, the s**t they serve us here could make a man miss even your cooking."

"Yeah, thanks.  Five months, really?"

"Five months, big sis.  And I'll tell you something, too, I'm going to get my s**t together out there.  Go to meetings, get a job.  You still got that extra room?"

"Um, kinda.  But Jenji's staying in it.  You know you always have a place here, though, baby."

"Jenji, huh?  She hot?" 

Ewww.

"Not your type, really." 

"Yeah, well, I'm not looking for love and flowers, honey.  I'm looking for a little -"  Beeeeep.

F*****g Department of Corrections.  Usually I'm devestated when they cut our calls, but today was a little close to the Jenji issue for comfort.  How do you tell a guy that his sister has vacated the premises, leaving a s****y, coked up red-head in her place?  Jenji doesn't seem to connect to the fact that Ritchie is her brother, too, anymore.  When I bring him up she just nods, and shrugs if I suggest that she come with me to visit him.

Ritchie was already in Somers Prison when Kayleigh died, doing time for possesion and resisting arrest.  He led the cops on a five town chase in an unregistered vehicle when they tried to pull him over for running a stop sign.  He only had a bit of H on him at the time, but it was his second bust and his lawyer could only do so much.  We're a really put together bunch, us Reynolds kids.  Mom and Dad would be so proud, if Mom was alive and Dad weren't just as fucked up as the rest of us.  It was Dad who introduced Ritchie to heroin in the first place, when Rich caught him shooting up one day in the bathroom.  Poor Ritchie.  Always wanted to walk in Dad's footsteps, be a big tough guy.  Dad could handle herion, never really got hooked.  He was just a chipper.  But Ritchie had always taken things a step beyond, and was hooked right from the start.  God, I love my family.