Walking out of the jail – walking out of a detention facility, what a wonderful, wonderful experience, it never got old – Edward turned and looked back at it. It towered, like all prisons or jails do, not because they’re so gigantic, but just because they’re so much bigger than an individual person. From a certain distance it would look like a place a person could step over. But as Edward knew from personal experience, inside they were enormous. A giant boot crushing individuality, personality, whatever it meant to be human.
He turned and walked away with incredibly mixed feelings.
And after one stop Edward drove to the Heights. Not nearly as upscale as West U, but lovely. More of a village within the city. Very close to downtown, it was one of Houston’s first suburbs. Edward had lived in the city long enough to have seen the Heights emerge from a rundown period when some houses had been abandoned, to a period of resurgence into what it was now, a genuine neighborhood with its own character, modest but well-kept houses interrupted by an occasional mini-mansion someone had squeezed onto a too-small lot. Houston didn’t have zoning restrictions and the city planners didn’t care about uniformity of housing.
Linda’s house was made of wooden slats painted yellow, with white trim. It was April, the small flower bed in front of the porch was abloom with azaleas and violets and others. On the porch two wicker rocking chairs made the place look like a home.
Edward loved Linda’s house. It had been a place of refuge for him from the time she’d first brought him here the day he’d been released from prison a year and a half ago and she’d picked him up, even though they were little more than acquaintances. Her letters and packages had given him something to look forward to during his two years in prison, then she’d saved his afterlife by bringing him here and into her life. It had been amazing, because they had known each other only very slightly before he committed the crime that got him put away.
The door opened before he could knock. Linda beamed at him. She had great cheeks, made for beaming a wide smile, lively green eyes, light brown hair hanging to her shoulders. ‘Hi, you,’ she said, then stepped back as if suddenly shy.
He walked inside, dropped his suit coat on a chair, and took her into his arms. Linda’s lips were luscious, always, and she always brought her full attention to the kiss. After a minute they broke apart, a little breathless.
Houston was already hot in April. Linda wore cut-off shorts and a T-shirt filled with Linda. Edward wanted to start removing clothes so he’d look as casual. But now Linda grew distracted. ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’
He was a little later than usual because of seeing Donald, but he’d left work early to do that, so it was still only a little after five. But Edward knew what she meant. Linda led the way to the kitchen just off the living room. There was a large brown envelope on the wooden table. ‘It came,’ Linda said.
‘I see that.’ Linda just stared at the envelope, not making a move to open it. ‘Shall we call the bomb squad?’ Edward asked.
She punched him lightly in the arm. ‘I didn’t want to open it until you got here. It’s from the examining board.’ She was still staring.
‘Linda?’
She raised her eyebrows.
‘They’re not going to use that big an envelope to send you a letter saying, Sorry, you failed.’
‘How do you know? Maybe they sent forms to fill out to apply to try again.’
‘If only there were some way to find out.’ But Edward put his arm around her, understanding her nervousness. It was like when he’d waited for his bar exam results, or the decision from the parole board.
Linda had been taking a course in being a court reporter, the people who make the records of trials in court. It would be a step up in income from her current job as a paralegal. It could also bring her into the courthouse full time. Maybe helping Edward in his recent case representing his sister had inspired her, or maybe she’d already been contemplating this career move. She hadn’t said. But she’d finished the course and taken the exam.
They moved together and Linda finally picked up the envelope. She handed it to Edward and he opened the flap for her, then handed it back. Linda took a deep breath, exhaled, and pulled out the contents. Edward had dropped back a little and Linda had her back to him. He couldn’t tell anything from her shoulders. But he could when she turned around with an even bigger smile, holding a certificate so he could see it.
‘The letter says congratulations.’ Her eyes were moist.
His were too all of a sudden as he saw how much this meant to her. ‘Babe, that’s so great. You so deserve it.’ He hugged her again as Linda carefully held the certificate out to the side. When they broke apart Linda looked at it again. ‘Can we get pizza or something to celebrate?’
‘Sure. Uh, I need to step out for just a minute, OK?’
Linda’s lips twisted. ‘Going to the store for a cake?’ Her tone implied it would have been nice if he’d been prepared for her good news, knowing it was on its way soon.
‘Something like that. I’ll just be a second.’
Linda stood there as he went out, looking at her certificate as if it would vanish if she took her eyes off it. ‘Stop being such a sap,’ she finally said aloud. ‘It’s not that big a deal.’
Her front door opened again. She went into the living room and saw Edward coming back in. In one hand he had a big bouquet of roses, in the other three helium balloons that said Congratulations! One had a banner with her name on it.
‘I didn’t want to bring them in first in case it wasn’t good news.’
‘Oh, Edward.’ She took the roses, inhaled them deeply, then set them down and grabbed him. The balloons rose to the ceiling.
When they broke apart a long minute later his shirt had somehow started unbuttoning itself. ‘We’ve got a reservation at McCormick and Schmidt’s,’ he said, naming her favorite restaurant.
Linda grabbed him again, completing her job on his shirt. As it opened they stared into each other’s eyes as if this was new territory. ‘Maybe the pizza after all,’ Linda said. Edward nodded, reaching inside her T-shirt.