by Doris Miller
Another 5 months has passed. Dana is being released from prison. Her family, relatives and friends all come and wait for her at the jail where she will be sent and released to them! As Dana's family, relatives and friends sit and wait for her arrival at the jail, she finally shows up to them. They all see her. They become excited and happily approach Dana! Christine, who had come back from Jamaica with her family, is the first to grab Dana and start hugging and kissing all over her. David then starts to hug and kiss all over Dana. Next, the entire family starts hugging and kissing all over Dana! They all grab Dana and put their arms all around her! Tony starts to hug and squeeze on Dana very tightly. He seems to be the happiest man in the world.
After everyone finishes hugging and kissing all over Dana, Christine gives one last big hug to Dana. She tries to lift Dana up. Gracy happily says, "Oh Christine! You're trying to lift Dana up like you used to when she was a little girl!"
"I know! Oh what the heck, she's still my little girl," Christine happily says as she tries to lift Dana up again. Everyone happily laughs. Dana's back is towards her family and friends as she and her mother hug tightly on to one another. Christine looks at all the family and friends with a great big smile on her face, but Sammy standing on the side notices that Dana secretly has a look of anger on her face as she looks straight ahead away from everybody else. No one else notices the anger on Dana's face. Sammy nervously smiles and says to everybody, "Hey come on everybody! Let's hurry up and get Dana home, shall we?"
Everyone excitingly agrees! They all take Dana to the several cars that they have with them! Dana gets into one of the cars! She and her family are off on their way home!
Dana is sent into her family's custody. She is put on a year's probation! She has to do community services for a year. She has to work at the Community Center on the weekends. She has to start working at the Community Center within a month.
Later on that evening, everyone is at Gracy and Mike's house, including Dana. Everyone is there for a family dinner, celebrating Dana's home coming. They celebrate for a while.
While the family is celebrating, Sammy pulls his mother Christine to the side. He brings her to an upstairs bedroom. He closes the door and says, "You know Mom, Dana doesn't appear to be happy."
Christine looks at her son, puzzled, and asks, "What are you talking about Sammy? What do you mean Dana doesn't appear to be happy?"
"She's not happy Mom! I keep noticing the look on her face! Mom, Dana is not happy!"
"No?"
"No!"
"Well Sammy do you think something could be troubling her? What do you think could be troubling her?"
"I don't know Mom! All I know is that I'm very worried about her!"
"Oh yeah? Well of course Dana might not be happy Sammy! She has to do probation for a year! I mean who would be happy with that?"
"Mom, I don't know if it's just that!"
"What do you mean you don't know if it's just that?"
"Mom, I'm afraid that Dana didn't get over the fact of Kathy and Kathy's friends beating and ganging up on Missy! And I don't think that Dana has gotten over the fact of herself being sent to prison for it! Mom, Dana doesn't appear to be happy, she appears to be real angry inside. And I think she's trying to hide it and not show it! But I could see she is very angry inside. Mom, we all know that Dana has a violent temper, right? I'm afraid that if Dana holds her anger inside, her mind is going to snap and she's gonna really explode!"
"Oh no! I didn't notice anything! I didn't notice that Dana appears unhappy! I guess I was so happy and excited to have my baby come back home, that I didn't notice anything else!" Christine worriedly looks at Sammy and says, "Oh Sammy I'm gonna have to have a talk with Dana! I want her to talk to me and tell me her problems before she could have any chance to explode!"
"Yeah? Well when do you think you'll be able to talk to her Mom?"
"Well it's going to have to wait until I can get her alone. The whole family is still gathered around her. I might not be able to talk to her until tomorrow."
Sammy worriedly puts his arm around his mother and says, "Okay Mom. But if you or Dana need me for anything at all, just let me know alright? I'll be here for both of you!"
"Oh thanks Sammy. Thanks for letting me know about Dana seeming unhappy. I'm sorry I didn't notice it."
"That's okay Mom. I just wanted to let you know. I don't know if anybody else notice Dana's face, but if they do, they're not saying anything. All I know is that I'm worried about her. Dana is my sister and I'm gonna lookout for her."
"I know Sammy. We're all gonna lookout for Dana. Come on. Let's go back and join everybody."
Sammy smiles and leads his mother towards the bedroom door. They both walk out the room.
Dana stays with her family at her grandparents' home for the next few weeks. Tony stops by Dana's grandparents' home almost every day to visit her.
Two weeks later, Christine and her family members start to head back to Jamaica. They all arrive to Kennedy Airport with David and the children, including Dana. David and all the children walk Christine and her family members to the departure gate. Christine then hugs and kisses all of her children goodbye. She hugs and kisses David as her family members hug and kiss her children. Christine then goes back to Dana. She holds on to Dana's arms and asks her, "Now do you remember what we talked about Dana?"
"Yeah, I remember Mom."
"Good. I'm gonna call you when I get home okay?"
"Okay Mom."
Christine then gives Dana one final hug and kiss. After she finishes, she turns around towards the departure gate with her family members. They all go through the departure gate. Christine and her family members wave goodbye to David and the children. David and the children wave back. They continue to watch Christine and her family members as they walk down the corridor.
After another week, Dana moves back in with Tony. Another week passes and Dana starts her duty at the Community Center.
It is now the weekend. Dana is working at the Community Center. She works in an office around a lot of computers and copy machines again. Her family and friends stop by the office to visit her, to see how she is doing and to see how she is coping. Dana's family and friends all sit inside the office with her for the last few hours.
It is soon time for Dana to get ready to leave and go home. She gets her belongings ready. She soon walks out of the office door with her family and friends.
It is a month later now. Dana goes back to her old job with Teresa. They drive back to the stockroom together. Teresa is happy to have Dana back as her chauffeur!
When Dana and Teresa arrive to work, they stop at the back desk near the back door where Kenneth is sitting. Everyone in the stockroom looks towards the backdoor. They are all amazed to see Dana! Dana and Teresa start to walk towards the stockroom. Anne excitingly approaches Dana in the hallway. She smiles and says, "Hi Dana! How are you? How've you been?"
"I've been alright."
"Yeah? So how is everything going? What's going on with you?"
"Nothing much."
"So what are you doing with yourself right now Dana?"
"I'm gonna try to get this job back, then I'll see what happens from here."
"Yeah? Well good then!"
Anne pulls Dana to the side. She then asks, "So Dana? What happened at that fight you had? I heard that one of the people you had a fight with was killed. A woman named Rose, right? What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it Anne."
"No?"
"No."
"Well why not?"
"I just don't want to talk about it, alright?" Dana firmly says.
"Alright then," Anne nervously says.
Then without saying another word, Dana suddenly turns away from Anne and walks away towards the stockroom. Anne is left standing there as she stares, puzzled, at Dana. Teresa soon follows behind Dana towards the stockroom.
When Dana enters the stockroom, another employee, a male white around his early 40's named Jay app
roaches Dana. He says, "Hey Dana! Nice to see you again!"
"Thanks."
"So how are you doing Dana?" Jay asks. "What's happening with you?"
"Nothing much. I'm just trying to get this job back, that's all."
"Yeah? That's good Dana! I hope you're able to come back!"
"Yeah, me too."
Jay then pulls Dana to the side. He asks her, "Hey Dana, when you had that fight with those three people, what really happened to them? Did you actually choked and killed one of them?"
"I don't want to talk about it Jay."
"No?"
"No."
"Well what was prison like then? I mean, how did it feel to be in prison? How did you cope with it?"
"Jay please, I don't want to talk about it, alright?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I won't ask you any of those questions anymore."
Then without saying another word again, Dana suddenly turns around and walks away.
Soon, another employee, an Asian guy named Don approaches Dana. He says, "Hey Dana! Nice to see you again! How's it going? What's new with you?"
"Nothing much."
"No? Hey Dana, we all heard about that fight you had! We all heard that you beat three people with a baseball bat and choked and killed one of them! We also heard three guys tried to body slam you off those two women, Rose and Kathy! We even heard that one of those guys lost an eye when he and the other guy tried to body slam you! Is it true Dana? Is it true that one of those guys lost an eye, trying to body slam you?"
"I don't want to talk about it Don," Dana says. Then without saying another word, Dana turns around and goes into a file cabinet. As Dana looks through the file cabinet, around 17 to 18 co-workers excitingly approach her. They all start to surround Dana as she looks into the file cabinet. The co-workers are all naturally curious about what has been going on with Dana. They start to question Dana about her incident. They start to question Dana about her spending time in prison. They all want to know how she coped with being in prison. They all want to know how she feels about killing someone, taking another human life.
As Dana's co-workers continue to question her about her incident, she becomes angry! Her face turns red and starts to boil! She BANGS her fist real hard against the file cabinet and SLAMS it close with such great force as she screams at everybody and shouts, "LOOK, I DONT....WANT....TO....TALK ABOUT IT, ALRIGHT? IT IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH ME OR HOW I FEEL ABOUT ANYTHING, ALRIGHT?"
Dana angrily goes away from her co-workers and heads towards the door! On her way out the stockroom, she violently BANGS the door wide open with such great force that it shakes the walls, causing a trembling vibration in the room! She gives a firm angry walk as she walks into the hallway! The door then SLAMS back shut with such tremendous force, that it almost comes right off its hinges! The door then leans right off its hinges! Everyone stares at the door in shock and disbelief, including Teresa! One male black employee named Morris, who is around his late 30's shouts, "DAMN, SHE ALMOST TOOK THE FREAKEN DOOR OFF!"
"YEAH," Hector, a male Hispanic around his late 30's shouts! "AND SHE CAUSED THE FREAKEN WALLS TO SHATTER TOO!"
Everyone stares towards the door in amazement. They all walk towards the door and look up at the broken door hinges. They all just stand there shock and stunned, not knowing what to do, what to say or what to think. They continue to stand there for several minutes, looking at the broken door as it leans. Morris then says to everyone, "You know guys, I think we all better leave that woman alone, before WE become her next victims! Listen, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'M GONNA STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT ANGRY CHICK!"
Everyone else starts to agree! They continue to look at the broken door hinges!
After everybody finishes looking at the broken door and the broken hinges, they start to talk to and question Teresa! They start to ask her about Dana. They ask, "How does Dana feel about herself killing a person Teresa?"
Teresa becomes frustrated and tells everyone, "Listen everybody, I do not KNOW how Dana feels about herself killing somebody! I do not KNOW! Dana does not talk about it! She will not talk about it! I doubt she even thinks about it! I don't dare bring up the subject to her!"
They all then ask Teresa, "How do you feel hanging around Dana? Driving back to work with her today? Aren't you afraid of being around somebody like Dana? Knowing that she killed a person? Especially with her bare hands! Damn we all would be!"
Teresa stands there not knowing what to say. Then they all start to look at the broken door hinges again.
A tall dark-haired white woman named Mary soon approaches Teresa. She says, "Teresa I don't know how in the world you get along with a person like Dana! A person like Dana scares me!"
"Oh yeah? Well, me and Dana had a few arguments and disagreements before in the past!"
"Really? Well it must have not been a real bad argument or else you probably wouldn't be standing here right now!"
Teresa shockingly looks at Mary and becomes speechless. She doesn't know what to say. Mary then apologizes to Teresa and says, "Look, I'm sorry Teresa. I'm sorry for what I just said. I didn't mean to offend you. I mean if you and Dana get along okay, and if you have no problems with her, then more power to you. Don't let any of us discourage you from being friends with her."
Teresa stares at Mary. Mary then walks away and looks up at the broken door hinges. Soon, everyone walks back into the stockroom still stunned.
During the meantime, Dana is inside the junior boss' office. The junior boss Stanley, a heavy set black male around his mid 40's with a receded hairline who is dressed in a three piece suit, has Dana sitting in a chair in front of his desk. He tells Dana, "Listen Dana, you've been gone for over two years now. You cannot get into any more trouble with the law or else you won't be able to have your job back again. If it was up to Wallace, he would not have you come back."
Dana's mouth goes towards the side of her face as she gives Stanley a cold stare. Stanley quickly and nervously responds, "But Wallace says that as long as you stick with your probation and show me or him your papers, you can stay. Okay?"
"Okay. I'll try my best not to get into any more trouble."
"Now that sounds good to hear! Okay Dana, you can return back to the stockroom."
"Okay," Dana says. She gets up from the chair and heads for the door. Stanley stares behind at Dana as she walks out the door.
Dana soon enters back into the stockroom where Teresa and the other employees are still talking about her. Everyone sees Dana entering the room. They all become nervous and quickly stop talking! Dana approaches Teresa and ignores everyone else in the stockroom. She tells Teresa, "Listen, I'm gonna go to the store to get a soda. I'll be right back." Dana turns back around to leave the stockroom.
Teresa says, "I'll go with you Dana." She then follows right behind Dana as they both leave the stockroom. Dana seems to ignore the broken door hinges that she caused as she and Teresa go right pass it, into the hallway. All the co-workers just stare at Dana in amazement as she and Teresa leave for the store.
It is late afternoon now. Everyone in the stockroom is about to leave and go home. As they are all about to walk pass the broken door, they see three maintenance men at the stockroom door, fixing the broken door and the hinges. They see two men trying to hold the heavy door up as the third man stands on a ladder, trying to fix the broken top hinges. Everyone in the stockroom go pass and stare at the broken door and the broken hinges as the three men try to fix them.
Soon, everyone walks out the stockroom and go into the hallway. They all go out the backdoor to the parking lot where their cars are. As they all go to their cars, they see Dana getting into her vehicle with Teresa. They all stare at Dana. As they stare at Dana, Morris says, "She doesn't seem to have a care in the world about the broken door hinges that she caused! She just gets right into her car with Teresa, like nothing even happened!"
Everyone continues to s
tare at Dana as she starts up her vehicle and takes off in it with Teresa. They then see Dana's vehicle disappear into the street.
Victor, a tall male Hispanic with short dark wavy hair, says to the others, "You know it's so unbelievable! It took one woman to break that damn door, yet it takes three men to fix it!"
Everyone just stares at each other in amazement, not knowing what to say or what to think. They all then get in their cars and start to head for home.
Another month passes by. Dana still works at the stockroom with Teresa. They continue to drive back and forth to work together every day. Dana also still works at the Community Center on the weekends! Her family and friends come by the Community Center on the weekends to visit her and check up on her.
Missy still works at the school and so does Raymond. Kathy continues to see Raymond, but she does not meet up with him around or at the school anymore, since she heard that Dana has been released from prison. She just waits for Raymond to arrive at his home.
Chapter 10
The Dark Blue Car
