It was cold in Claudette's jail cell. She still wore her thin tattered skirt and torn chemise that she had on the night she was arrested. Her husband had made her rip her chemise to appear poorer. She wished now that she hadn't.
Claudette took deep breaths to try to stay warm. She figured she'd been in jail for about ten days. How could she last five years?
Agatha, who was oddly awake and sitting up, also appeared to be cold. She hugged herself and rocked back and forth subtly.
There was some sort of disturbance at the other side of the jail. In the distance Claudette could here noises. There was a loud crash and some people shouting. Claudette stood up and moved toward the bars to try to figure out what the commotion could be.
There was more shouting and Claudette could hear footsteps. "What in the blazes could that be?" Claudette wondered aloud.
"Last time there was that much racket was when someone tried escaping," a woman from the cell across from Claudette said, the cell mate of the woman with sons.
Claudette looked around her cell wondering how it would be possible to escape. There were no windows to climb out of- and escape by window climbing Claudette noted had been fairly unsuccessful in the past. She could not see anyway to get through the bars. The only way to open the doors was with keys guarded so heavily by the security men. Maybe there was a way to move the stones out of place, Claudette wondered.
The commotion stopped for a moment and the jail was quiet. No one wanted to break the silence, so they all sat still.
The silence went on for quite a long time. Then it was broken by footsteps. They seemed to be running and they were moving closer and closer to Claudette's cell. An officer with a lantern appeared next to Claudette's cell and he shined the light on her face.
"She's here!" the officer shouted.
"What is going on?" Claudette asked.
"Quiet!" the officer shouted. "Where is your husband?"
Claudette was confused. "What do you mean where is he? He's here in jail where you put him!"
"He's escaped," the officer said. "Where did he go?"
"Escaped!" Claudette exclaimed. She was utterly shocked. How could he have escaped? How did she not know?"
"Where did he go?" the officer asked again.
"How would I know?" Claudette asked. "I'm here! I've been here this whole time! He didn't tell me anything, that brute!"
"She doesn't know!" the officer shouted. "We better keep an eye on her just in case, though!"
"Yes," another officer shouted from down the hall, and they both left.
Claudette felt an anger boiling inside her. Her husband escaped and didn't take her with him. How could he do such a thing. She cried out in grief then shook the jail bars and fell back into her seat.
She and her husband were supposed to be a team. They worked together. "But he left me," Claudette said, not realizing she said it aloud. "He left me here to rot! He doesn't care! He never cared!"
Where could he be right now? How would Claudette ever find him again when she was released? There'd be no way! Claudette cried out again. Her husband never cared about anyone but himself. What about her precious daughters? Did he leave them here too? He must have!
Claudette imagined her poor babies having to learn that their Father escaped from jail without them. She punched the wall and embraced the pain it brought. It was hard for her to imagine the last time she'd ever see her husband was when they were arrested. It was the last time she'd ever see his face and hear his voice.
Then a thought dawned on her. "What if he's coming back for me?" Maybe there was a whole plan. Maybe they planned to come back for her. There was hope! Any minute now the Patron Minette will have stolen the officer's keys and will come running in here to break Claudette out.
The fantasy was very grand. Claudette decided to accept it as truth. They were coming. She just had to wait. So she sat by the bars and watched for someone to come.
Time went by and she saw nothing. Then she heard footsteps. Where they coming. In the distance she saw someone in a police outfit. Maybe her husband was disguised as an officer! It was all becoming clear.
He was carrying something. What could it be? A chair? Why was he carrying a chair? As the figure got closer Claudette could make out his face. It was not her husband's face. It was just another jail worker. He set down his chair in front of Claudette's cell and sat in it.
"What are you doing?" Claudette asked.
"Watching you to make sure you don't try anything," the officer said. "An don't ask me questions. I can only ask you questions."
Claudette moaned. There was no chance he husband could break her out with the guard nearby. It was a silly speculation anyways. Her husband wasn't coming. No one was coming. She would always be alone.