Crash Test Dummy

Chapter 25

"Okay?" I looked at her quizzically.

"I've had a very emotional weekend," she said. "My voice problems probably came from that, not from a cold."

"How come?"

She cleared her throat. She looked down at her hands, then she looked back at me. "The hospice training was at Rayburn Correctional Center."

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. "You went to Dad's prison?"

"I did. Your father was supposed to be one of the hospice trainees, but they wouldn't let him take the class because I was there. There's a rule about volunteers not being on anyone's visitor's list. Since I've never actually visited Paul, they let me attend, but that meant he couldn't."

She shrugged. "It gave me a chance to see what the prison was like without the emotional entanglement of seeing Paul." She took a deep breath. "I talked to the Deputy Warden after the training. I explained to him about everything that's happened to keep me from visiting Paul. I told him that I wanted to visit Paul on Saturday. He said I was welcome to do that. They didn't take my name off of Paul's list. They just let me come in this one time as a hospice volunteer."

"You went to see Dad?" My voice sort of squeaked.

"I did. It was time. You and Uncle Clarence have been insisting that Paul's changed. I got a call from a One Day with God volunteer. She wants me to let you spend a day in prison with your Dad. They have these ODWG camps twice a year. Selected Dads get to invite their children, but the volunteers do all of the invitations by phone. I guess they think it's harder to say no when you're talking to someone than if they sent out paper invites with an RSVP. They probably have fewer that back out this way, too. Anyway, the next one is on March 18." She took a deep breath. "Before I could give them an answer, I needed to see your Dad for myself."

"Dad said those volunteers were persuasive, but geez. I never thought they'd get you to go see Dad."

"Yeah. I know, he told me. I didn't either, but with everything that's happened, God's kind of been getting on my case. How could I turn down a camp with God's name in it without even looking into it?"

"Did you check it out?"

"I did. They have a whole website. They do camps in multiple states. I was able to click on the RCC link and see pictures and testimonials."

"Duh." I hit my forehead with my palm." I didn't even think about looking for a website. And I thought you were the computer illiterate."

She laughed. "Well, I usually am. Anyway, I went on Saturday and spent two hours talking to your Dad. I'm not going to go into everything, but forgiveness was offered and accepted all around. There were tears, too" She held up the Kleenex she was using to dab her leaking eyes. "Aren't there always with me?"

I must have looked hopeful because she continued hurriedly. "That doesn't mean we're getting back together or anything. There's too much water under that bridge, but it does mean we're on speaking terms. I might even use the word friends."

"So does that mean I get to go to ODWG?"

"I don't know. That's another reason why I had to talk to the Deputy Warden. June, that's the volunteer I talked to, said that because of your conviction for joyriding, the administration will have to decide whether you can come. They don't let adults come in who have an active conviction, but this is the first time they've been faced with a juvenile who has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Since you haven't been sentenced yet, your conviction isn't actually active. I explained everything to him. I told him that you plan to testify against your partners in crime. I told him that it could only be a good thing for you to spend a day talking to your Dad and maybe getting a small taste of what it's like to be behind bars. He even agreed to pray about it." She smiled. "I never thought about there being a warden that prays, but I guess God has people everywhere. Anyway, he will make the recommendation, but the head warden will make the final decision."