Meeting Miss Baylis

I landed in slammer with Trixie, a red-headed prostitute with hilarious stories. Pretty soon her friend Lulu was tossed in. They sat in the corner giggling. I sat on the opposite side of the cell, laughing with them until they noticed. Which is when I began silently laughing, pretending I was not listening. Miss Baylis a shoplifter came in next. She had been falsely accused. She was angry and wanted to tell everyone. The hookers stopped talking. We all three sat and listened to her for hours. Her stories were hilarious. Pretty soon we were all four laughing at Miss Baylis’ stories. Dour guard brought in pizza; which was terrific. We had not expected this. Someone yelled my name to leave. I ignored it. The pizza was not gone yet. It was pepperoni with sausage and extra cheese. We each got two pieces. Samantha, my best friend was thrown in next. She had been jaywalking. They probably would have let it slide but she called the cop bad names. Gave him the finger, forgot she was a Sunday School teacher for a second. So he brought her in. There was no more pizza but it was the best time now. To this day Sammy and I laugh about the stories we heard in there. She will say “remember when Baylis,” and I will tear up from laughing. We do not have to go any further than this one phrase. Miss Baylis kept our minds busy, and kept us from worrying that day... About our husbands being made they had to bail us out or.... About my friend losing her job as a proper Sunday School teacher after Tommy, her nephew arrested her.