“She got away,” said Sam. “That’s funny.”
“Yeah, she just started running. She ran into the subway.”
A policeman asked if Sam wanted anything from the vending machine. Sam asked if he could have food from his bag. The food was organic raw vegan “Raweos.” The policeman asked what the food was.
“Like, cookie things,” said Sam. “Cookies.”
“No, I think we better not do that,” said the policeman.
Four people Sam’s age were put in the cell. They sat without talking. The teenage girl began asking them questions. They were college students from Boston who had been caught smoking marijuana on their hotel balcony.
“Are you seeing Michelle after this?” said the policeman in the driver’s seat on the way to Central Booking. “I think I’m meeting her and her friends at that bar we were at last night,” said the other policeman. “Are you going right after this?” said the policeman in the driver’s seat. “Yeah, probably I’ll just head over straight after this,” said the other policeman. “Change at the station. Try to get this wrapped up in an hour. I like Michelle.” In Chinatown the police got out of the car. The teenage girl and Sam were in the backseat in handcuffs. The teenage girl said something about “the hot officer.”
“Which one,” said Sam.
The teenage girl said the one that was driving.
“Would you go out with him,” said Sam.
“Hell no,” said the teenage girl.
“Why not,” said Sam.
“I don’t know,” said the teenage girl.
They got out of the car and went in a building. Sam remembered having walked past the building maybe two hundred times when he lived nearby a few years ago. Sam stood in line and went downstairs. Someone took Sam’s photo with very bright flash. Sam went further downstairs. Sam was given a peanut butter sandwich and put into a cell with a toilet, a payphone, and about ten people.
“What are you in for?” someone said.
“Shoplifting,” said Sam grinning.
“I knew it the moment you walked in,” someone said.
“I don’t hold in farts,” said a bony Hispanic lying on his stomach. A public attorney walked by and two people in the cell asked if they would see the judge tonight. “It’s ten now, they go until midnight on Saturday,” said the public attorney. “You won’t get called tonight, they’ll start again at eight in the morning.”
Around midnight a young Asian wearing many layers of clothing was put in the cell. He walked to the trashcan, leaned over it, took out four or five cheese sandwiches, and sat eating very quickly with unfocused eyes. Someone said “damn.” Someone gave the young Asian their sandwich. A window-washer who punched someone in the subway said Central Booking in the Bronx had three floors you had to get through before you got to see a judge. “Be glad we aren’t there,” he said. “I’ve been there. When I was sixteen. People be in there three, four days before they see a judge.” Around 2 a.m. breakfast was given. Sam ate his banana and small box of Frosted Flakes and gave someone his milk. He had a headache. He thought about calling Hester on the payphone. Hester didn’t approve of shoplifting. People started lying on the floor. Sam lay on the floor using his hoodie as a pillow.
“Damn, man, you stink,” said the bony Hispanic to the young Asian. “Get your stink-ass in the corner.”
The bony Hispanic kicked the young Asian’s back.
The young Asian moved in place with two jackets over his face.
“Don’t move,” said the bony Hispanic. “You’re fanning your stink.”
More people were put in the cell. There was no more room on the floor. Someone spilled their milk and three people stood. “Officer, I spilled my milk, can I get another,” said the person loudly about five times.
Around 3 a.m. two inmates came into the cell to mop the floor.
“You missed a spot,” said the bony Hispanic. “Come back, you missed a spot.” The inmate with the mop stared at the bony Hispanic with a very angry facial expression. “You weak-ass inmate janitor,” said the bony Hispanic. “You do a six-month stint at Riker’s and you think you’re hard. What did you do? Nine months? Six months for good behavior?” They screamed obscenities at each other. The inmate without a mop held back the inmate with the mop. The inmate with the mop had a facial expression like he was about to do something very out-of-control. Sam looked at a small Caucasian who had talked about stealing designer tuxedos and living under a bridge. The small Caucasian had a bored facial expression. The bony Hispanic was shouting obscenities at the inmate janitors who were now out of view. People were fanning the wet floor with their jackets. Sam lay in a near-fetal position with his hood around most of his face and thought about “Raweos.” He woke around 6:30 a.m. to his name being called. He left the cell and walked past about six other cells. People in the other cells were sitting close together in small groups in front of giant fans. They stared at Sam with round eyes as Sam walked past. “They looked like lemurs,” thought Sam standing with about fifty people in a wide hallway. Sam’s name was called. He walked forward and stood in a line and the line moved upstairs into a large cell with about forty people inside. Around 10 a.m. Sam was called into a very small room where he sat opposite a public attorney. “You have no prior arrests, you’ll get one day community service with a fine,” said the public attorney through bars.
“I have a prior arrest,” said Sam.
The public attorney stared at Sam.
“Don’t say that,” she said. “Don’t tell me that.”
“Oh,” said Sam. “Okay. Thank you.”
Sam went back to the large cell and sat staring at the window-washer who had punched someone in the subway. The window-washer was talking about different movies he had seen. “How long has he been talking,” thought Sam. “Seems weird.” Someone was talking about punching someone on an airplane to protect his children. About ten people were talking about drug deals. Someone was talking about how many years he would get and then threw his puffy jacket on the floor and smiled and said he was going to take a nap and lay stomach-down on the jacket. Around 12 p.m. Sam’s named was called. He sat on a bench in a courtroom. He received one day of community service.
Outside the courthouse he called the organic vegan restaurant where he worked and said he would be an hour and a half late. He went to his apartment. He showered and emailed Robert. He drank two glasses of water. At work while putting on gloves he thought that he should have somehow asked for two days’ community service so that his record could be erased again after six months.
“I thought you were calling because you wanted to go to Mara’s party,” said Robert the next night by Union Square. “I was sad.”
“That’s funny,” said Sam. “You really wanted to go to her party.”
“I was really looking forward to it,” said Robert grinning.
Sam said he was having dinner with Hester later and that he felt like it would be the last time he would see her because he felt like one of them would start uncontrollably talking a lot of shit about the other person. “I feel like that every time we see each other though,” said Sam. “Then it’s always okay for some reason.”
“Do you like her,” said Robert.
“Yeah,” said Sam slowly. “I think I changed or something … like, I like being around someone who isn’t like me a lot, in some ways, or something. I’m pretty sure I feel happy around her. I think I always feel good after I see her.”
“What’s wrong?” said Hester a few weeks later sitting on her bed facing Sam. “You’re being quiet.”
Sam lay holding a pillow, not looking at Hester.