Love in Disguise

Friday, April 4 “I’ll be back Monday morning at this time,” Kya said the following morning as she tore the sheets from her bed. I remained in bed, leaning up on one elbow. “Don’t look so sad,” she said. I managed a slight smile, if only for her. For me, it would be a long, long seventy-two hours. Neither Marilyn nor I was interested in breakfast that morning. She stayed in bed, but I got up long enough to guzzle Kya’s horrible coffee. I fell back asleep before Kya finished in the bathroom and left, never even hearing the next officer settle in for her shift. Later, I felt her stare even before I opened my eyes as I lay there, slowly floating up towards the surface where wakefulness waited just beyond. I opened my eyes to find a plump, middle-aged Hispanic officer gazing at me from the chair in which she sat. I glanced toward my other side to find Marilyn still asleep. “Hi, I’m Officer Peréz,” the woman said. “Hi,” I said. “Lunch should be here soon.” She smiled. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. It was one of those sure feelings a person gets every so often. I guess some things we simply just know, and I knew she was a lesbian and that she liked me, if only for what was on the outside since she didn’t know me from a can of paint. I found her to be as pleasant to be around as I found her to be homely looking. It seems it often turned out that way, where some of the nicest people could be rather ugly or plain while the snobs got the good looks. The day passed and eventually Officer Palma, also Hispanic though younger than Peréz, took over. I found her to be attractive, though mean-looking at the same time. Although they looked nothing alike, she, like Kya, was rather masculine in a lot of ways as much as she was feminine at the same time. With her kinky hair and overly dark skin, I thought she might have some African-American in her, too. She came off as being rather aggressive at first. Just her voice alone could sound quite intimidating, but once her shift settled in, she seemed to loosen up a bit. That evening, I got a few things from the commissary room: shampoo, lotion, writing supplies, and a few snacks to balance out the terrible food the place served. Even a little pocket-sized radio that came with earbuds. Being nearly deaf in one ear and having an artificially made ear canal, I could only insert the one on the right side. I spent most of the weekend listening to music, writing, reading, and sleeping, to say nothing of eagerly anticipating Kya’s return. Either escorted by Peréz, Palma, or the part-time hall monitors, Temple and Vasquez, I was able to use the phone to call Mary. I received a letter from her as well. “Obviously she’s not only a lesbian but interested in you as well,” her letter said. “Why else would she hold your hand? Because she’s scared of the dark?” That one brought a smile to my lips.