harry had made up his mind to get rid of maxine as soon as he got out of prison.
he had thought the best thing about going to prison was that she would leave him.
but no, the foolish woman had stuck to him like a barnacle, sending him letters almost every day, asking about how he was being treated, and going on with endless gossip about her sisters and friends in the neighborhood.
the other guys would say, gee, i wish my old lady would write to me like that. you’re lucky, man, to have a woman who stands by you. a real old-fashioned woman, not like these modern sluts today.
if only they had known maxine!
and the cookies and cakes! maxine sent harry cakes and cookies every week. they were pretty good, but he couldn’t eat them, because they reminded him of maxine. he gave them to the other guys, and they scarfed them right up. of course, the guards took their share before they even got to harry, but there were still plenty that got through.
one curious fact was that maxine never actually came out to visit him. harry was just grateful for it, and if the other guys thought it was odd they never said anything, probably because they did not want to get harry mad and not give them any more cake or cookies.
all the while, harry was getting other letters, from a woman named lorelei who had read about his case in the papers. the letters included pictures of lorelei.
harry saw right away that lorelei was a real woman, not a tiresome leech and shrew like maxine. he could hardly wait to meet her and hook up with her when he got out.
the day finally arrived when harry got out.
it was a cold gray day. harry and his case had been forgotten, and there were no reporters outside the gates waiting for him.
there was a little store down the road from the prison. just a store, that sold all kinds of useless junk.
harry went into the store with his pay from his years inside, and bought a pair of silk stockings.
these are for my old lady, harry told the guy behind the counter. i thought i would get her something nice, for sticking by me.
that’s nice, brother, the guy said without looking at harry, it shows you got a good heart.
of course what harry really wanted the stockings for was to strangle maxine with them.
he left the store and started walking into town. there was a bus that left the prison once a day but he didn’t feel like waiting for it.
as he walked along in the wind, he took the stockings out of their plastic wrapping so that he would have one all ready to strangle maxine with.
it was dusk when harry got to the city, and almost completely dark when he got to the apartment. it had gotten colder, and felt like it was about to rain, and there was nobody outside on the street.
harry took the key out of his pocket that had been kept in storage all the years in the prison. it still worked, and he let himself in the front door.
but not by maxine, but her sister trudy. she gave harry the evil eye.
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