Marriage Mayhem

by Samuel L. Hair

  Once their lovemaking session had ended, Maria initiated a conversation.

  “Listen, baby, I’m here for you, but you must realize that now is now, and yesterday and last month is gone. We can’t pick up spilt milk. I sympathize with you for the things you went through with your husband, but now that you’re here you have to chalk him up as part of your past. I’m the one that’s been taking care of your needs and wants and desires. I hope you recognize that. I’m the one who buys your cigarettes, sweets, stamps, and envelopes, and I’m also the one who make it possible for you to make calls when you need them. Your husband has not sent you not one copper penny since you’ve been here, and actually I don’t think he will,” stated Maria, while caressing Karen’s buttocks and thighs.

  Karen thought for a few seconds and then eased away.

  “Regardless of your thoughts, Jermaine is a good man and I’m more than sure that he still loves me. I’m confident that in due time he’ll send me whatever I ask him for.”

  “You sure have lots of certainty for a man that hasn’t sent you a damn thing since you’ve been incarcerated.”

  “Like I said, he’s a good man and I know that he’ll come through. It was my stupidity, my ignorance, and my big mouth that’s causing him to ignore me while I’m here, but like I said, he’s not the type of man that holds grudges and I know that he’ll soon come through for me. Hell, I can’t blame him for any of this; I’ve got to blame myself.” Then she began crying.

  “It’s okay, honey, it’s okay,” assured Maria, caressing her lover.

  “I was a super bitch toward him and it wasn’t even necessary. I cheated on him, I talked disrespectful to him just about every day, I physically fought him, and I even pulled a knife on him. He’s been there for me and the kids since day one, but I had to fuck up. He’s the best man I’ve ever had, and . . .”

  “Okay, honey, you’ve said enough. I feel you baby, I really feel you,” Maria said, while kissing and caressing Karen.

  A few hours later the gates opened for dayroom time. Karen and Maria had finally decided to go out and mingle with the other inmates. They played a few games of spades as partners, winning five games straight before finally losing. Afterward, they sat among other inmates watching The Jerry Springer Show. The topic was about gays who had recently come out of the closet. They were being confronted by spouses, relatives, and long-term friends.

  Suddenly a black inmate approached Karen and stood silently staring at her with a mean look. The woman was accompanied by two manly looking females. Karen and Maria ignored them and continued watching television.

  Suddenly, the woman spoke, directing her words at Karen.

  “Bitch, don’t I know you from somewhere?” asked the inmate, staring hard and thoughtfully.

  “Do you have a problem with my girl, bitch?” responded Maria, springing up from her seat, aggressively.

  Inmates quickly diverted their attention from The Jerry Springer Show to the jailhouse drama. Karen was now standing face-to-face with the angry woman. She had not taken her medication since being incarcerated, meaning that she was like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off for any reason. The fact of Karen being four-two and the woman standing at least five feet nine did not put any fear in Karen’s heart.

  “You better stay out of my business and take your beaneatin’ ass back to Mexico, bitch!” responded the angry woman, directing her words to Maria.

  Out of the blue Karen rushed the woman with a series of connecting punches. Maria joined in and took swings at the woman’s associates, but by her being double-teamed she instantly got her ass kicked. Karen took charge and began dancing around like Muhammad Ali connecting severe punches to each of the unknown women as if she’d been training for this.

  Suddenly the guards stormed in, spraying pepper-spray and swinging their batons, taking complete control of the situation. All of the involved inmates were cuffed and escorted to the hole.

  “I’m gonna kill you, bitch!” screamed the woman who had initiated the episode.

  “You’ve been fucking my husband, and you fucked up my marriage! Watch your back, bitch! If it means losing my release date, I swear, I’m gonna fuck you up!”

  “Bring it on, bitch, I’ll be waiting for you!” responded Karen. She then blew Maria a kiss and gave her thumbs-up.

  The hole consisted of a row of cells designed for two inmates, but each cell was only occupied by one inmate. If the hole began to fill with inmates then arrangements would be made according to the seriousness of the case to house two inmates in one cell.

  A few minutes after the inmates who were involved in the brawl were placed in the hole, the black woman who initiated things started directing threats toward Karen and Maria.

  “Just wait until y’all bitches go back to GP! Y’all gonna get fucked up, and that’s a promise!” Her name was Sassy, and she was housed in cell twelve.

  “Shut the fuck up you stupid, black bitch!” yelled Maria, from cell eight.

  “Wait a goddamn minute,” shouted a voice from cell six. “Bitch, you’re out of line calling one of my sisters a black bitch! You’re trying to start some racial shit up in this muthafucka!”

  “Whatever,” replied Maria.

  “Be cool, Maria, calm down, baby,” advised Karen, from cell two.

  “I ain’t scared of those bitches! Whatever they want to do, they can bring it on. And like I said, fuck you, you ugly black, manly-looking bitch. I ain’t biting my tongue for none of you hoes. East L.A. in the muthafuckin’ house, bitches! That’s right, East L.A. in the muthafuckin’ house!” yelled Maria, boldly.

  “You illegal bean-eating wannabe Americanized, bitch! I’m from Compton, and I got crew from all over the muthafuckin’ globe, ho! When we get through with you, you’re gonna wish you were back in Mexico standing on a corner selling peanuts and oranges!” screamed Sassy.

  It was considered to be disrespect when another race called you out of your name. It was okay for someone your own race to call you a name, but not someone that was another race. Maria had just crossed that line and Karen was fully aware of it. They both knew that it was a matter of time before they would be forced to deal with the consequences.

  After the trustees had delivered chow, Sassy began mouthing off, which instantly set off an instant verbal riot.

  “Yeah, bitch, it’s goin’ down! Talk your shit now! You’ve fucked with the wrong bitch, Julietta! I’ve got more juice than Minute-Maid up in this muthafucka, and soon you’re gonna find out, bitch!” threatened Sassy.

  “Bitch, you don’t scare me! You’re only talking shit because you’re inside that damn cell. You’re nothing but a fucking cell soldier, bitch!” yelled Maria.

  “Chill out, Maria, chill out!” Karen yelled, not wanting her lover to bury herself into deeper shit.

  “Black, ugly, gorilla-looking bitch,” shouted Maria, and then laid across her bunk.

  “I ain’t finished with you yet! I’m gonna take out all my frustrations, all my past bad luck, and my being locked up on you! You’ll think twice before fucking around with someone else’s husband, bitch!”

  “First of all, I’m not your bitch, bitch, and secondly, who in the fuck is your husband?” asked Karen, with an attitude, standing at the cell gate.

  “Warren Brown, you know ’im, bitch!”

  “You mean Warren that works at the shipyard, and drive a dark blue raggedy Cadillac?”

  “Yeah, I’m talking about Warren who works at the shipyard and drive a blue Cadillac. I knew that was you. Are you going to deny fucking ’im and sucking ’im?”

  “Let me tell you something, girl; your husband was, and still is the biggest trick in Antelope Valley. Every ho in Palmdale, Lancaster, Rosemond, and Acton knows your trick husband. He has a dick the size of a baby’s finger, and always trying to pay somebody to suck it. Don’t be mad at me, girlfriend; hell, he was just another trick to me. I did what I had to do to get my money on, and your husband just happened to cross my path
. What I wanna know is how can you blame me for fucking up your marriage when Warren was fucking every ho on the stroll?”

  “Because I caught you with him, that’s why!”

  “If you caught me with him, why didn’t you confront me then?”

  “Because my mind was so fucked-up at that time, and I was so hurt that all I could do was run away crying. I couldn’t believe that he would turn to a ho for sex when I was giving him all that he wanted. I should’ve killed both of y’all mutha fuckas, that’s what I should’ve done! Back to the situation at hand, bitch, I’m still fuckin’ you and your bitch up,” Sassy assured.

  “Like I said earlier, bring it on, no fear,” said Karen.

  Immediately afterward, the black inmates began passing notes, plotting not only against Maria, but against the entire Mexican population as well. They knew that if they made a move on Maria that her race was going to defend her without question.

  The blacks in the hole outnumbered the Mexicans two-to-one, and outnumbered them in GP almost three-to-one.

  The white race only populated a small percentage and did not pose a threat to anyone at all.

  Two weeks later, Karen and the inmates that were involved in the scrap were released back into general population. Word had spread from the hole about Maria’s racial remarks toward Sassy, and now Sassy planned to deal with it.

  Sassy wasted no time prompting the black inmates on how and when it was going down. The fact of her release date nearing did not make a difference to her. After being locked up for close to five years, a few extra months would not hurt her. She could accept an ass-whipping if that’s what it came to, but she refused to tolerate any form of disrespect, especially from another race.

  The chow hall was packed for the Sunday morning breakfast, but Sassy and 98 percent of the black inmates’ minds were far from eating at the moment.

  After throwing a hard look at Maria, Sassy then whistled loudly, and then suddenly the blacks begin attacking the Mexican inmates, catching them completely off guard. Several black inmates used jail-made sharpened metal objects to assault their victims, while others attacked with forks and stainless-steel cups. The riot was total chaos and too much for the seven assigned guards to handle.

  Sassy instantly rushed Maria, and stabbed her several times in the neck, chest, and in her lower body. Even though Maria was lying helplessly on the floor, Sassy continued stomping her and spitting on her.

  “You fucked with the wrong bitch, Julietta! I don’t give a fuck about a release date! Nobody disrespects me, nobody, bitch!”

  Karen wanted to help Maria, but knew that since this had transformed into a racial thing and that if she joined forces with the other race, she could possibly end up dead. She also knew that by not participating in a racial riot would result in her being disciplined by her race, but that was the decision she chose.

  Minutes later several guards stormed in wearing riot gear, swinging batons, and spraying pepper spray at the aggressors, soon having the situation under control.

  The majority of the blacks were taken to the hole, while a large percentage of the Hispanics were taken to the infirmary, including Maria.

  Luckily for Karen, because she did not have any bruises or blood on her, and had been standing alone in a corner when the guards stormed in, she did not get escorted to the hole.

  Karen spent the rest of her days alone in her cell with mixed emotions. She was in love with both Jermaine and Maria but neither of them were in her presence. At night she longed for Maria’s touch, but she settled for the orgasms caused by her memories of Tyrone and Maria. Those memories were the only thing that gave her comfort.

  A few weeks later Karen caught the chain to Chowchilla State Prison for Women located in Central Valley, California. The bus ride to prison was long and boring for Karen. She sat silently staring out the window, entertaining thoughts of Maria, Jermaine, her two youngest kids, her past, and her future. There were several loud, wild women talking openly and unashamedly about things that occur in everyday street life. Karen did not feel like listening to any of it but had no choice.

  The inmate Karen was handcuffed to suddenly began making small talk.

  “What are you in for?” asked the woman.

  “Doing some stupid shit that I regret the hell out of,” Karen replied, staring out the window.

  “I know what you’re talking about, girlfriend. The shit I’m in here for was unnecessary as hell, and believe me, I regret it like hell too. By the way, I’m Michelle, but everybody calls me Chelle.” She offered a handshake.

  “I’m Karen. Sorry we had to meet under such unfortunate circumstances.”

  Karen discovered that Chelle had four children, who were all living in different foster homes due to her lifestyle. Chelle had been caught attempting to cash bad checks at a bank and this was her fifth prison term. She was raised in Los Angeles and had been on drugs since the age of nineteen. Her arrest recorded consisted of prostitution, fraud, possession of a controlled substance, and robbery. By her appearance you would never believe that she was capable of indulging in any form of wrongdoing, but never judge a book by its cover.

  Karen felt at ease talking to Chelle. They clicked from the beginning and related to one another very well.

  After thirty minutes of conversing and sharing deep secrets, Chelle suddenly felt the necessity to clarify something with Karen.

  “I’m strictly dickly, okay? I don’t fuck around with women.”

  “What made you say that?” asked Karen, puzzled.

  “I’m just letting you know before you get any crazy thoughts.”

  “I’m cool with that. I told you I’m a married woman with kids,” replied Karen, not wanting to acknowledge her divorce.

  “From what I’ve seen, there’s lots of married women who go both ways, you know what I mean, and I ain’t down with that kind of shit.”

  Being from the hood and having lots of street knowledge and wits, Chelle was just the kind of associate that Karen needed in prison.

  After four and a half boring hours, the bus finally made it to Chowchilla. The females were ordered off in twos and were then instructed to walk in a straight line to the inmate reception center. Once inside a male guard gestured for them to halt.

  “My name is Lieutenant Jordan!” he yelled, darting his eyes from inmate to inmate.

  “Most of you have met me before, and for those of you who haven’t, I can be like your best friend, or I can be you worst nightmare! I’m your mama, your daddy, and your God up in here. Do you understand?”

  A few inmates nodded, but none of them responded verbally.

  “I said, do y’all understand who’s in charge around here!” yelled Lieutenant Jordan.

  “Yes, sir!” shouted the inmates in unison.

  “That’s better! Y’all better recognize!” he yelled, and then began walking slowly, giving each inmate a hard look.

  Lieutenant Jordan had been head of operations under the warden’s supervision for the past fourteen years at Chowchilla.

  During Lieutenant Jordan’s reign he had gotten forty-nine inmates pregnant and had sex with over 95 percent of the population. Most inmates gave him sex at his request, and he raped the few who did not want to cooperate, then threw them in the hole for a few weeks.

  The lieutenant was a six feet two, muscular, dark-complexioned black man with a clean-shaved head. His eyes were small and beady, and his voice was loud and powerful. Whenever the Lieutenant spoke everyone listened, including the corrupt warden.

  After the Lieutenant Jordan speech, three female guards and three male guards began separating the inmates, placing ten in each cell.

  Minutes later, another guard began calling the inmates by last name to step out and take prison IDs. Afterward, they were examined by a doctor.

  After that procedure, the inmates were instructed to take showers, which was Lieutenant Jordan’s preferred moment.

  After showering, they were escorted through the yard and on t
o their assigned dorms or cells.

  Chapter 17

  Jermaine’s time and energy was now spent on making real estate deals and writing. He was now employed by RE/MAX as an agent. Being the intelligent, motivated and persuasive man that he was, Jermaine sold five houses in his first two months with RE/MAX.

  Because Jewell and Bobby always bitched about not having money to provide for Karen’s kids, Jermaine made it a point to deposit one thousand dollars on the first of each month for them into an account. The money was supposed to be split among Karen’s kids, but because of Bobby’s greed, that never happened. Even though Jewell received a check for Marvin each month, Jermaine did not exclude him.

  Each weekend, Jermaine made it his business to pick up Stevie and Alexus to spend some quality time with them. They picnicked at parks, rented go-carts and dirt bikes to ride in the desert, went to the movies often, and had even gone to Disneyland on a couple occasions.

  Regardless of him and Karen being divorced, Jermaine still felt obligated to spend time with the kids. It was not their fault that they were caught in the middle of this unfortunate situation. They were totally innocent and had nothing to do with what happened between Karen and himself.

  Jermaine began receiving letters from Karen like clockwork. They wrote sex letters to one another; Jermaine masturbated to her letters, while she masturbated, fantasizing about Tyrone’s penis and Maria’s lips and tongue licking her all over. She tried hard to get off reading Jermaine’s letters, but found it impossible to do.

  In their letters they made plans to get remarried and live a brighter and more peaceful family-oriented life; a future filled with happiness, togetherness, love, understanding, and sincerity. They admitted their faults and agreed to work on their flaws. They agreed to produce more love toward one another and to listen to what the other had to say. Karen had also promised to practice on her self-control; in the past she had abused Jermaine verbally so much that it was amazing that he had not left her sooner. Karen’s lack of self-control had gotten her into so much shit that it was a miracle that she was still living.