CHAPTER 4

Lillie

I drove Sassi's Audi A1 back from the jazz club and arrived home. Since Miss Sassi decided to go with Mr. Tall to who knows where. They disappeared from the dance floor the last time I checked. I parked the car on the side of my street. Got out and headed for my door. I received an alert on my phone. I checked it and saw it was from Sassi.

Hey, I'm safe at home, took an Uber, didn't work out, the guy is a douche, will chat tomorrow. Thanks for looking after my car. Love you.

That's just great. At least she was safe. See you tomorrow Sassi.

***

The early morning sun streamed through my bedroom curtains, giving my pink vintage chic room a golden glow. I stretched out my arms and legs on my bed. I loved getting up early. I hopped out of bed, slipped on my fluffy bunny slippers, and headed downstairs.

I took pride in my double story townhouse, my Dad left me in his will when he passed on. The house wasn't in the best condition. It had a leaky roof; the plumbing gave problems and all the windows squeaked, to name a few glitches. But it was cozy, and I made it my own, the best I could.

I wouldn't call my place girlish, more feminine. It had shades of pink, violet, and yellow. Each room had its own color, with painted canvases of different sorts of flowers depicted on it. It provided the walls with bloom and beauty.

A knock on my door startled me as I brewed a fresh batch of coffee. I had poured it into a mug when the knocking intensified.

"Jeez! Who comes at 8:00am in the morning, for crying out loud?" I muttered to myself.

I walked to the door and checked through the peephole. Sassi was peering through it right at my eyeball. Weirdo. I stiffened a smile. I was supposed to be upset with her. I couldn't let her see what happened last night slide. I opened the door and stood deadpan in front of her.

Sassi gave her best puppy dog eyes while pouting, hiding behind a blueberry pie. It was freshly baked, and the stewed blueberries wafted in my nose. It smelled absolutely delicious.

Hmmm, but I knew what this was about. She knew she did me wrong and now she wanted my forgiveness. I gave my head a slow shake, narrowing my eyes at her. Lucky for her, she knew my weaknesses. These were the reasons I could never stay upset with Sassi for too long.

"I'm really sorry about last night," she mumbled behind me as we walked into the kitchen. I chose to remain silent.

Sassi bit her bottom lip. "Okay, okay, I got carried away last night. I didn't mean to bail on you. It was those damn Mojitos! It went straight to my head." She apparently was trying to justify herself. I stared at her for a moment and finally spoke.

"Don't you ever do that again... the blueberry pie saved you". I scooped the pie out of her hands and made my way to the kitchen table. Sassi laughed, hugging me from behind.

"THANK YOU BLUEBERRY PIE!" she sang.

We sat down at the table, giggling. I poured two cups of coffee and sliced a healthy size of blueberry pie for each of us.

"I got a proposal for you," Sassi began before she stuffed a mouthful of blueberry pie down her throat. Sometimes, her eating habits were so unlady like. I nodded for her to continue.

"There's this charity event, ran by some drug or addiction nonprofit organization." She said, swallowing down her food. "I was thinking about going later today... you should come with me."

"I'm not sure. There's a lot of things to do today." I said, shaking my head. The truth was, I wasn't up for anything, especially from last night, and I only recovered from Sassi bailing on me.

"I won't bail on you again." Sassi said, frowning as if reading my thoughts. "I'm suggesting this, because it's your type of thing."

She looked at me with puppy dog eyes yet again and I sighed in defeat. It seemed harmless enough; it was a charity event after all. What trouble could I possibly get into there, right?

I mulled over her invitation for a moment, chewing down my blueberries.

"They'll have food there?" I asked.

"Duh." Sassi replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, ok we can go later... who knows, maybe you can try to help somebody this time instead of trying to hump them." I said with a grin.

Sassi gave me a surprised look. "Ouch! Look at you, cheeky mouth. I guess I deserve that one." She raised her hands up in surrender.

***

The charity event was at the community park. I didn't know what to expect and Sassi said little about it. Her Aunt apparently worked for the organization and she promised to pop by. There were food stalls scattered around and a flea market selling homemade crafts. There were a few games on the field and an old man with a speaker announcing the winners.

"Hey girls!" A woman's voice came from behind us. Both of us turned around.

"Hi, Aunt Sarah!" Sassi greeted, giving her aunt a hearty hug. Aunt Sarah came towards me for a hug, too. She felt so warm and flushed, clearly running around all day.

"So glad you girls could make it," she huffed in a fluster.

"It's such a great turnout." Sassi replied, looking around.

"Yes, it is. Sorry I can't give you girls a look around the place. I still got to sort out the raffles later, but you girls should-"

"Sarah!"

Some woman call out Sarah's name, obviously needing her assistance. She continued, "You girls should check out the board next to the water fountain. You might find it interesting. I know you already subscribed, Sassi." Aunt Sarah said with a friendly wink. She left us in a hurry and was gone.

"What is she talking about?" I asked Sassi, raising my eyebrows. Sassi rolled her eyes.

"Remember I told you I'm talking to this guy by mail?" She said. I remembered her mentioning something like that, and how it was odd people still write letters to each other.

"Yes, you mentioned something like that." I urged her to continue as we walked to the water fountain.

"Well, the thing I didn't tell you... is that the guy I'm writing to, well, he's a convict." She said, watching me with a side glance.

"A CONVICT!? like he's been in jail?" I asked, surprised.

Clearly, Sassi was pleased with my reaction. "More like he's in prison still."

How can Sassi be so reckless? I stopped in my tracks, Sassi stopped with me.

"Are you crazy!" concern echoing in my voice. "I know you like bad boys and all, but this takes the cake... talking to somebody in prison. Are you serious?"

"It's not talking to him... it's writing to him." She said coolly with folded arms. I was stunned into silence, just staring at her.

She sighed. "I knew you were gonna act like this. Just come on and see for yourself." She grabbed my hand and led me to the water fountain.

"Let's check out what's on the board," she continued. Oh yes, I almost forgot about that, after she broke the news, she's chatting to a CRIMINAL for weeks now.

We walked right up to the board. She pointed to it. My gaze followed her direction and both my eyes popped open.

There was a title on top of it.

"PEN-PAL PRISON!" I blurted out.