This Is Not My Life by Diane Schoemperlen

Author:Diane Schoemperlen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2016-03-25T04:00:00+00:00

ON MONDAY MORNING, I paced around waiting for Jerry to call. It was almost noon when I finally heard from him, and what he had to say was not at all what I’d been expecting.

Shane had been arrested. Not for committing any new crimes but for breaching his conditions and for something they called “deteriorating attitude.” I’d often thought that if this were grounds for arrest for everyone, we would all be in prison. In this case, his erratic behaviour was deemed an indication that his risk level was no longer manageable. His parole had been suspended, and he was now in a cell at the city jail, on his way back to prison. How was it that I could be so utterly shocked by this news? How was it that in the face of all evidence to the contrary, I had still believed Shane was going to pull himself together and become, as I’d described him to the Parole Board only three months ago, a success story?

Jerry laid out the scenario that had unfolded that morning. Shane had called him early, said he’d lost his apartment and now had to go to the homeless shelter. Their appointment was originally to take place at the apartment, but Jerry told Shane to walk over to his office instead.

When he arrived, he was met by several members of the ROPE Squad. I knew this acronym stood for Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement, a special police unit tasked with capturing parolees who had committed another crime or violated their conditions. I found it hard not to picture them on horses, with cowboy hats, spurs, and lassoes. When the armed officers surrounded him and asked if he had a weapon, Shane apparently said, “I’ve got a gun.” Of course he didn’t. Jerry was a bit vague about what happened next, but Shane ended up in handcuffs in a cruiser on his way to the police station. How was it that I hadn’t once allowed myself to acknowledge that this was bound to be the ending of this part of the story?

There had also been, Jerry said, members of the ROPE Squad stationed in unmarked cars at both ends of my one-block street in case Shane decided to come to my house instead. When I asked Jerry why he didn’t call and tell me they were out there, first he said it was policy, then he said he didn’t want to scare me, then he said, what if Shane had an escape plan and I was in on it?

Shane had been a free man for a hundred and one days.

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