Jerome

Allow me to introduce you to Jerome, who I met during a lunch break outside the office building.

“I bin ta prison once, ya know”.
I nodded, words seemed unnecessary.
“You wanna know what for?” he raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, go on do tell me”  I sensed this might be a very one sided conversation and a tricky one to get out of.  Jerome seemed like a very persistent fellow.
“I stole a magazine”
“Just one?” now I was sort of interested.
“Yup, just one magazine and that's me locked up. Three years.”
“How come?”
“Cuz of the three strikes and your out law.  Bullshit.”  He spat the last word out like some kind of venomous snake.

  I estimated him to be about forty, although he had clearly lived a lot, so an accurate guess at his age was quite difficult.  I remembered reading about similar criminal cases to his in the papers.  “So what did you do the first two times?”  As soon as my question was out, I feared I may have overstepped the mark in asking something so personal so soon after meeting someone for the first time.  But I was wrong.  He really could not have cared less.  He even seemed pleased to have someone to listen to his troubles.

“First time I ripped off a post office, then I mugged this old fella for cash” he paused and patted down his clothing in search of a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.  “Nah, I was wrong those first two times.  I fucked up” he shook his head.  I realised as he put a cigarette to his lips that this was the first time someone had confessed a violent crime to me.  I really was a long way from home.  He flicked me a cigarette from the pack, which I caught and before I could say “I'm terribly sorry, but actually I don't smoke, thanks all the same” he thrust the lighter into my hands.  I opened my mouth to rectify this awkwardness, but just then a distraction arrived in the form of a girl in a tight dress, who was tattooed and pierced in every conceivable place on her body.

“Hey baby” crooned Jerome.  This was terrible I thought, he stood no chance.  But I was wrong again.  She sat right next to him.  It turned out she was Swedish and had won a Green Card to stay in the States.  “Aw you're beautiful, you're my princess”.  How ridiculous, I thought.  How can this man ever be successful with any woman? “You're gonna be my wife someday”.  Yet she lapped up the attention.  I waved goodbye and wandered back inside.  Jerome barely acknowledged my leaving. I was back in the office with all the other worker bees before I noticed I still had Jerome's lighter.  He would have to wait until fate drew us together again until he got it back.  I resolved to sulk for the remainder of the day, or at least until work finished.