Someone Else's Lady

Something was being wrapped around my wrist. Was I dreaming? But the sensation felt too real to be just a dream. More tugging on my wrist. I peeled my sleepy eyes open. The small bedroom was still dark, but right away I could tell that Angela was the one wrapping whatever it was around my wrist. There was just a faint hint of light, which was enough to see the shadow of her movements. I could hear her breathing and the rustling of her clothing as well. The object that had been placed around my wrist was heavy and cold. Then it registered in my sleep-fogged brain that it was a handcuff. What the fuck? I began to sit up. “W-what’s going on?” “Shh, Mom’s not up yet downstairs. This is just for your own protection until she gets up,” said Angela. “What? Protection from what?” “Jamie, I have to go on a call. We have an early drug bust to make, and you’re still not steady on your feet. You have enough slack to get to the bathroom if you need to, but this way you can’t go far enough to hurt yourself.” “What the fuck are you talking about?” I said, my voice rising louder than I’m sure she would have liked. “I’m not going to hurt myself. It’s not like I could fall off the boat and drown. Get this shit off of me.” “Hey,” Angela said, more firmly than loudly. “I know it’s not the greatest of accommodations, but please don’t give me any shit right now. Your safety is more important to me than your comfort. Mom will be up soon, and she’ll release you.” “This is fucking bullshit, and you know it! We never agreed to this. I’m disabled, not a fucking animal. Get it off!” “Shut up.” “Get it OFF!!!” Her hand snaked out of the darkness and slapped my face. It stung with heat, and my body shook with rage. “You fucking crazy bitch. I knew there was something wrong with you. I’m going to get you for this, disabled or not! Now unlock the cuffs, or I’ll scream loud enough to wake up not only your mother but the neighbors as well—” My words were cut off as Angela grabbed my head, placing one hand on the back of my head and the other over my mouth. “You shut up and you listen to me right now, Jamie. You’re in no position to be making threats against a U.S. Marshal. Do you hear me?” I couldn’t nod even if I wanted to because she held my head too firmly. “I’m doing this for your own good,” she said. “We’ll talk about it more when I get back. For now, I really would appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut. If I find out that you woke Mom up—and especially the neighbors—I’ll gag you next time. Understand?” I stood stock-still, unable to believe this was happening. “We’ll work out some arrangements that we can both agree on later, but starting today, I really need to get back to the fugitive task force. One little handcuff won’t hurt you. Please try to just appreciate all I’ve done for you. Now, if I pull my hands away, are you going to be quiet?” I did my best to nod. She let go. “You’re going to pay for this.” She left the room. This wasn’t happening, I thought to myself. It just wasn’t. How had my life changed so drastically, so fast? It was like going from living the life of a rich, pampered celebrity to being among the poorest of the poor in a Third World country. I tried to wriggle the cuff loose, but it wouldn’t budge. I contemplated crying out for her mother and even the neighbors as well. They flanked our boat on either side and were barely two feet away. If I had better use of my legs, I could hop from one to another. But what could they do for me that Kamala couldn’t? Finally, I decided not to wake them up so early and just wait until Angela’s mother got up. That seemed like hours when, in fact, it had been under an hour. The room was awash in the morning sunlight when Kamala entered the room after I called to her upon hearing her movements. She stepped into the bedroom and looked at me. I expected her to be shocked and maybe even ashamed of her daughter for handcuffing me, and to quickly move to free me. But instead, her expression was rather empty. Not fluent enough in German, I rambled in English. “Please get the key and free me from this thing!” I begged. She replied in rapid German. I couldn’t pick up every word she said, but I picked up enough to know that she wasn’t going to unlock the damn handcuffs. No. This wasn’t happening. I had to be dreaming. I just had to be.