A Forgotten Promise by John M Olsen

Author:John M Olsen [Olsen, John M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781475237054
Published: 2013-09-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

The first call from the jail had been a surprise. Until Jake called, Phil hadn’t known that the jail had an outbound line that the inmates could use. The problem was that it was a toll line that worked like a collect call, even though the jail was local. It was an expensive call.

He didn’t begrudge the state the money they collected, since he knew it cost a lot to run the jail. He did, however, dislike that it was Jake that determined that Phil should pay for the calls.

It was an automated system where anyone who answered the phone could approve the charges, and that just rubbed Phil the wrong way. If any of the kids could just accept the call, then he had no control at all over the expensive phone calls. That just wouldn’t do. He listened closely to the message the next time and didn’t accept the charges.

After a little hunting around, he found a phone number to call to put a permanent block in place which would keep the inmate phone from being able to call his home phone. He had some misgivings about cutting off the calls in such an arbitrary way because he had encouraged both parents to call and talk to their kids while they were out of jail.

Unfortunately, neither of them called with any regularity when the phone calls were free. Shelly was still out of jail notwithstanding multiple warrants, but hadn’t called the kids. Only after he’d been put in jail did Jake think to call. It was amazing what forced sobriety and a whole lot of free time would do for the memory.

He sat at his computer and typed up a letter to Jake to explain his issue with the phone calls. He hoped that Jake would understand his line of reasoning. It wasn’t that the phone calls themselves were bad – it was the unexpected and uncontrollable charges for the calls, and the inconsistency on the part of the parents which drove the decision. Maybe he was being too harsh, but perhaps this would encourage him to call more once he got out of jail.

The phone rang as he rummaged around the desk for a book of stamps. Susan’s mom was on the line.

After a bit of small talk she said, “I have something for you to add to your calendar for Shelly. She wants to get back into a rehab program again. The last time she checked herself in, she only made it three days before bailing, but it’s a good sign that she’s trying.”

“Definitely. It seems like that third day is really rough for her on the detox. Didn’t that place require them to do a full week detox before they could move into the actual rehab program?”

She answered, “Yup. I called and had a good conversation with them when she was there last. I’m not sure what Shelly’s waiting for, but she told me today that she wants to get back in soon and do it for real this time.

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