A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 24

Visitation day finally came for Sidney. Her parents were allowed to visit only twice a month, and due to the distance between them, this was the first time they could visit. Before she was brought into the visitation room, the guard reminded her that she was allowed to hug them when she first saw them and right before they left. The visit was two hours, and once that was over, she had to return. Sidney told the guard she understood, and he let her into the room.

Todd and Sophia, were waiting for her at a table in the middle of the room. They were warned that they were not to move around the room, but the sight of her daughter was almost more than Sophia could stand. They both rose but resisted the urge to run to her. Sophia did her best to be strong as she embraced her daughter. After embracing her father, the group sat at the assigned table.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her, not knowing what to say to break the ice.

"It's hard, but I'm adjusting. I miss you all. Is everything alright at home?"

"Oh yes, we cleaned out your apartment and have your things in a new storage building we had built behind the house."

"Dad, you shouldn't have done that."

"Nonsense, dear, they're your things, and you're going to need them when you get out," her mother said. "How are they treating you? Are you eating? You look like you've lost weight?"

"Mom, I'm okay. Really."

"Sweetheart, you can't be happy here. This place is dangerous, and I can only imagine what it's like in there."

"Mom, really, I'm ok. It's not like I have a choice. I will be here for a long time, and I have to try and make the best of it. I got a job in the library, and my cellmate and I get along great."

"You're not "sleeping" with her are you?" her mother asked whispering the word sleeping.

"Mom, not like that, no. Neither of us have any interest in that."

Her father cut in, "We pray for you every day, Sidney. We pray for your safety and that you will get to come home sooner than the judge said."

"Dad, I don't think that's going to happen."

"Well, I talked to Luke, and he thinks that you have a good chance at an appeal," he replied, sounding like he was holding on to some faraway hope.

"Of course, he's going to tell you that, Dad, but the judge gave me a minimum of 12 years." Sidney knew they meant well, and maybe they were being too optimistic, but they had to hold on to something. She didn't have any brothers or sisters, so it was hard for them to accept their only child was locked up for so long. It was hard for her, too. Being kept from her family was one of the worst parts of this experience. The routine, the orders to go here and there, the lack of privacy she was getting used to, but the separation was almost impossible to overcome.

"Just so you know, Sidney, we are going to give Luke a power of attorney over our estate if we pass on before you're released," her dad said after an uncomfortable silence.

"Dad, don't say that."

"No, it's a good idea. Luke and I have been friends since we were in college. I trust him, and it's only in case your mom and I are both gone before you get out. You can't do anything with the estate until you get out anyway. He wrote into the contract that his power of attorney ends as soon as you are released. There's no other family we can turn to, so what choice do we have?"

"Your father just wants to be careful. We're in our sixties. I want to live to a hundred, but you never know. We want you to have something after your release, and this is the best way to do it."