No ‘Moore’ Mess- Chapter Eight (Serial Version)
Chapter Eight- Mary Moore Goes To The Webb House For Women
Helen’s life was looking up. After she received tenure, the university awarded her a sabbatical to write a new book. The paid time off was welcomed. It allowed Helen more time to spend at home with Erica, Pastor Andrew, and Nancy.
Everyone went to an elegant French restaurant to celebrate. It was a fantastic time. At the same moment, Mary was signing papers to get out of the Poling Clinic on the other side of town.
“If you’ll just sign here, you’ll be all finished.”
“Thank you for everything, Frank.”
“You’re welcome. Best of luck to you, Mary. One day at a time. Okay?”
“Right!”
Mary took full advantage of the state’s drug rehabilitation program. The government recognized it was cheaper to help people quit drugs than to lock them up. It was a long two years. Mary recalled first entering the program as she got on the city bus.
The Poling Clinic staff set up housing and employment for Mary. She was grateful for the support. The Webb House for Women offered Mary a place to sleep and access to follow-up treatment and counselling. The taxi dropped Mary at the front gate.
Mary pulled some crumpled bills from her wallet and paid the fare. She yanked two black trash bags out of the trunk of the taxi. It was all she had in the world.
“Welcome to The Webb House for Women. How may I help you?”
The voice coming from the gate’s intercom system startled her. Mary decided in drug rehab to make a clean break from her old life. She went back to using her maiden name, but she sometimes slipped up on occasion.
“Yes, I’m Mary Neeley. Sorry, Mary Moore.”
“We were expecting you, Ms. Moore.”
Mary entered the Webb House. She spent 30 minutes filling out more paperwork. The staff gave her some extra clothes to wear. The shirt was a ghastly shade of orange and the pants were two sizes too big. The staff showed her around the place and to her room.
“This is where you’ll be sleeping. Breakfast is at 6:45 a.m. Sleep well, Mary.”
The room was small. Mary sat down on the bed. Something jumped up and bit her in the backside as a dark figure walked in the room.
“Ow!”
“Careful! There are all kinds of bugs and vermin in this place.”
“Who are you?”
“Name’s Jamie Lansing.”
“Mary Moore.”
Jamie was a lanky woman. She was a former drug mule for a local gang. Tattoos covered her face, arms, and legs. Mary stared at them, but Jamie was used to it.
“Don’t worry. The government is helping me to get rid of my ink.”
It relieved Mary Jamie took her staring in stride. The women over the next few weeks shared much more about their lives with each other. Jamie’s story like Mary’s was a miserable one.
Jamie was a former beauty queen. She was second runner-up in the state beauty contest some years ago. Jamie found life hard after the pomp and circumstance of her pageant days was over. She got heavy into drugs and with bad people.
“I was looking to be loved for something other than my pretty face.”
Jamie thought she found love with a woman named Briana. They got into a dispute over the last of some drugs late one evening. Jamie beat Briana with a baseball bat. The woman spent weeks in intensive care.
Briana vowed revenge, but she was sentenced to several years in prison on drug charges before she could exact it. Jamie took full responsibility for her actions. She knew she made a mistake.
“What can I say? I was a young woman. And I had a lot of anger issues especially with people I was involved with.”
Jamie was sentenced to ten years in the state penitentiary for her crimes. She caught a break. The state offered inmates with good behavior the opportunity to enter a diversion program. She was a model inmate in the program.
It got her released after four years. She had been at the Webb House for Women for 18 months. Mary and Jamie became fast friends. They spent their free time together. They worked side by side at the same international food packing company.
Many of the residents of the Webb House were employed there. The job paid a good wage. The money allowed the women to save money while living for free at the Webb House. Jamie talked about the future and her dreams with Mary during their lunch breaks.
“I’d like to go back to school and get into education. I applied to a graduate school a while back. I’m hoping to hear from them soon.”
Mary thought Jamie would make a wonderful teacher. Jamie had a way with people. She knew the right thing to say to anyone with problems. Mary wished she had met her years ago.
“You could have saved me a lot of heartache and pain. That’s for sure.”
Jamie was humble about it. She grew up in a well-to-do family. Her father was a long time state congressman and her mother a former child TV star. They disowned her after her legal trouble. It was an incredible fall from grace for her family.
“My father, he stopped talking to me after I was arrested. And my mother was too prim and proper to love me anymore. Can you imagine a family who didn’t want to be around you?”
“As a matter a fact, I can. I really can.”
Life went on the same for the pair for about six months. Jamie’s time at the Webb House was up. The Webb House program had a two-year limit. After that, the women in the program were sent on their merry ways.
Jamie came running in the common living area to tell Mary some big news one afternoon. She looked like she won the lottery. Mary waited for the announcement.
“I got in! They gave me a full ride.”
“That’s great! Congratulations!”
It was a prestigious private college. Mary knew Jamie’s life was going to be okay. Jamie was not so sure.
“I’m terrified, Mary. Things are going so well. I’m worried I might or something might, you know?”
“Screw it up?”
“Yep.”
“Have a little faith. God loves you.”
“I hope so.”
It shocked Mary that she brought up God. She had not set foot inside a church in more than a decade. The pair left the common area to go to the factory for their shifts. Jamie had only a few days of work to go. Mary knew what this would mean for their friendship.
“Jamie, just don’t forget me, okay?”
“Never. We are friends until the end.”
“Thanks.”
The days passed, and soon it was the last afternoon of work for Jamie. Mary and the other co-workers pooled their money, and bought Mary a cake. They had a little impromptu party in the break room.
“Speech! Come on, Jamie.”
Jamie moved to the front of the room. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. Jamie’s words shot straight into the hearts of everyone.
“Thank you. Thank you. It’s been a tough road for me. I know my poor choices didn’t make my life easy. I have learned to make better ones in my life. And I look forward to putting my life back together.”
“Amen, sister.”
The women all had stories of poor choices and difficult lives. It gave them a measure of hope to see one of their own ready to move on to better things. The final tick of the factory time clock signaled the end of Jamie’s employment. Jamie was full of energy. She felt as if she could accomplish anything.
“Mary, let’s walk to the Webb House, okay?”
“It’s far, isn’t it? But today I feel like I can do anything.”
“All Right! Let me get my coat.”
“Hurry up! It’s pizza night.”
“Boy, we sure would not want to miss that.”
The pair headed out the door laughing and chatting like old women. They walked through a dangerous part of town. They were almost to the Webb House when a rusted, green and white car pulled beside them.
“Hello, Jamie, long time, no see.”
“Briana. Oh God.”
It was Jamie’s old girlfriend, Briana. She was the last person Jamie expected to see. She thought Briana was locked up out of state.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were in — ”
“The pen?”
“I heard — ”
“Out on parole, baby. And I’ve been looking for you.”
Jamie tried to send Mary on her way as the situation grew tense. She gave Mary a gentle nudge to leave. Mary took a step towards the street as she pulled Jamie by the arm.
“Mary you go on back to the Webb House. I got this.”
“You got this?”
“No doubt.”
“What you’ve got is a problem, lover. Both of you, ladies.”
Briana jumped from the car. She stood face to face with Jamie in the middle of the street. They were going to play this game to its end.
“Go on, Mary. Get on outta here.”
“No I’m not going anywhere without you. Let’s go together, Jamie. Please.”
“Nobody is going anywhere. Get her girls.”
Three other tattooed-covered figures leapt out of the car. They held Mary by the arms. Mary broke free for a second, she screamed for help. But no knight in shining armor was coming.
“Help! Somebody help us!”
“Someone shut her up.”
The large woman behind Mary cracked her in the head with his fist. Mary fell to the ground in a daze. Jamie pleaded for the men to stop their assault.
“That’s my friend. Leave her alone. This is between you and me.”
Jamie stepped towards Briana, and she pushed her hard in the chest with the palms of her hands. Briana stumbled backward. She regained her balance, and Briana went nose to nose with Jamie.
“You ready for Round Two?”
“Bring it on, you piece of trash.”
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Playtime is over.”
Briana pulled a gun. She pointed it in the middle of Jamie’s forehead. Briana stared at Jamie as she pressed the gun hard against her skull.
“Not so tough without your bat now, are you lover?”
“F you! You don’t have the balls.”
Briana laughed. She put the gun to her former lover’s right temple. Jamie didn’t move.
“Baby but I do. Big balls. Really, big, f-ing balls. Cut ’em right off a man just this morning. I put ’em on the dash of my ride. Snip, snip!”
“Mary — ”
Briana pulled the trigger. A loud boom echoed on the street as Jamie’s limp body fell to the ground. Mary panicked. Briana turned and fired two more shots at Mary before speeding off in her car. Both bullets missed Mary. She clambered to Jamie’s motionless body.
“Jamie? Oh God. Help! Somebody help us.”
The police and ambulance arrived 40 minutes later. It was too late for them to be of use to Jamie. Based on Mary’s statement, the police tracked down Briana in the next state two days later. She was killed in a fiery car crash as she escaped down Interstate 75.
Jamie’s funeral was held the following Saturday afternoon. It was a sad day. Everyone from the Webb House and the food packing factory came to the cemetery, so did Jamie’s parents.
Her father said nothing as her mother cried in a silk pink and white handkerchief. Mary gave a short but moving eulogy. Everyone was in tears as she spoke.
“Jamie was a bright and beautiful person. Her young life was full of potential. She made mistakes, but she paid her dues. Her whole life was in front of her. I pray that God has mercy on her soul, so she may find the peace that eluded her in this life. Amen.”
Mary walked alone to the Webb House. It was raining hard. She thought it was a fortuitous thing since the rain hid her tears. She recalled the fantastic times she and Jamie shared. She was lost in thought when a voice from an alley called to her.
“I got what you need, baby.”
The shady figure held out a familiar-looking bottle. Mary stopped, and she opened her purse. She knew the drill.
“How much?”
“$20.”
Mary worked so hard to get off drugs. The stress of the events over the last few days wore on her. She pulled an Andrew Jackson from her wallet.
“Here. Take it.”
“And here you go. Enjoy.”
Mary took the bottle, and she opened it. Mary poured it right on the ground. She offered some friendly advice to the young woman.
“Here’s another ten. Go buy yourself an umbrella before you catch a cold.”
Mary knew she had turned a corner in her life where drugs were concerned. The rain stopped. A little rainbow popped up in the sky.
“Thanks, Jamie.”
Right on cue, a familiar voice in the wind whispered back.
“You’re welcome.”
