The door burst open to reveal two figures: one man and one woman. Their faces were contorted in anger and frustration as the woman flew by, the man holding out a hand to stop the door's momentum so as not to be hit.
"George come back here; we're not finished talking."
"Oh yeah?" Georgina snarked back with a humorless laugh. "Piss off, Miller! This conversation is over and you're welcome to leave!"
"I thought we were supposed to be making your life better!"
Georgina froze and turned back to him, fury visible in her eyes and face.
"Well it didn't work out, eh?" She faced him and continued with wild hand gestures, "Oh I'm sorry sire but this is just the way it is!"
Aaron's face hardened. "Don't try and mock me."
"What do ya want me to say, huh? Sorry? Sorry I'm like this? Well sorry to burst your bubble but I actually like this part of myself. Shocker, huh?" She made an exaggerated face of surprise, which Aaron scowled upon.
"I hate to say this but it's like you're not even trying."
Georgina blinked and went silent for a whole second before she screeched, "I'M NOT TRYING?! Fucker, are you a friend or what?" She grabbed the nearest object—a vase—and threw it in his general direction. He was unable to stop from flinching. "Are you blinder than me 'cause you know it ain't true. I got a job, right? I stole less, didn't I? And you've got the gall to tell me I don't TRY?! PISS OFF!"
"All right maybe I made a mistake there—"
Her stance shifted into one of fatigue and she put a hand to her eyes, tilting her head up and whining. This was such a drastic change in reaction Aaron stopped talking.
"I told ya I was a lost cause, Miller. All these good acts and still, I can't deny the urge I feel whenever I wanna snitch something." She removed her hand to level him with a tear-filled look and it hurt Aaron to see her crying like this. "You musta heard of the phrase 'old habits die hard', right?"
"Yes I'm aware," he answered quietly. "I've seen and heard it so many times. Only now do I feel the gravity of such a saying and I am frustrated with myself for not even putting that into account."
Tense silence enveloped Georgina's apartment as they both refused to meet each other's gazes. Much still had to be said but neither could find the words or the right way of saying it without triggering another argument.
"Listen," he said in a low and careful voice, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. I struck a nerve carelessly and I wanted to hurt you." He looked to Georgina, eyes freely leaking tears. It gave his heart an invisible pinch, and that pain only multiplied when he realized he was the one who inflicted such hurt on her. "I take back my words and though I know apologizing won't fix any cracks I did to your heart, know I mean it when I say I'm sorry." He stood straighter and stared at her purposefully. "I'm sorry, my dear friend."
She sniffled and sank down to the floor, Oscar coming up to stroke his cheek against her arm. Aaron felt his eyes stinging from the build-up of tears and cursed himself; he shouldn't be crying when he was the one who went too far.
He was about to show himself the way out when she spoke, voice cracked and windy.
"I still want you to swing by prison tomorrow," she said softly, sniffing.
He looked back to her but her head was by the ground, eyes fixated on the tiles. He looked instead to Oscar her cat, the Bengal staring back with huge unblinking eyes. Even after their argument she still wanted to push through with her original plan of visiting her inmates? It was times like these Aaron remembered she had a good soul and a kind heart and he shattered her to pieces by saying what he knew would hit her deep and personal. Gods, he was such an idiot.
He took one last look at Georgina and affirmed, "Of course. I will see you there."
Then he shut the door behind him and bit his fist, angry at himself for reducing a woman to tears.
~~
Aaron and Georgina sat side by side as they waited for the officers to bring out a man named Tee El, Aaron noting Georgina had uttered the name with fondness just a few minutes prior. Now there was silence between them and he didn't know how to act or approach her.
Then there was pressure on his right hand and when he looked it was to see Georgina's own smaller left hand atop. He looked to her face but it showed no indication of what she was feeling. Instead, he focused on the hand which had become a finger tracing lines on the back of his hand.
No wait… they weren't lines. She was writing out something.
When he concentrated, he found she was saying 'I forgive you' and it made his heart nearly burst out his chest, insides turning into mush at the grace he received from her. A lump formed by his throat and no matter how many times he swallowed it wouldn't budge. Tears gathered by the corner of his eyes and he gripped her right hand, squeezing twice and going so far as to interlace their fingers together in a firm hold.
He looked at her side profile again to see if there was disgust but there was only a small smile and he knew they were both okay now. Still, he didn't let go, intent to show her just how thankful he was for getting another chance of renewal.
She seemed to understand the non-verbal communication and chuckled slightly, Aaron taking it as a sign she also wasn't uncomfortable. They shared brief looks and then there was loud clanging and heavy footfalls, their hands falling away to focus on the newcomers.
The prisoner was in the standard orange prison suit, wrists cuffed and arm held by an officer in blue uniform. The man in the orange suit had long black greasy hair and sunken eyes. When his gaze found Georgina his face lifted and his aura changed.
"Tee El!" Georgina exclaimed with much happiness.
"Ohhh if it isn't my favorite girl!" The long-haired man was led over to the table by the officer, Georgina's face lighting up with a smile as she leaned forward and held the older man's wrists. His gaze then traveled to Aaron and he flinched involuntarily, not knowing how to act. The man's stare then became a warm smile. "You must be the boyfriend."
Aaron choked on his spit as Georgina slapped the long-haired man's arm.
"Ahhh Tee El don't do that you know it ain't true!" she screeched, the man named Tee El chortling in mirth.
"Yeah yeah he's the best man friend you've been telling us about. Am I right?" he directed the last question to Aaron, who hurriedly nodded as he struggled to collect his composure. That was so sudden.
He was able to right himself and so offered a right hand in greeting, smiling.
"Aaron Miller. I work in the library."
Tee El reached out both his cuffed hands and shook Aaron's hand. He couldn't help but think how firm and strong the handshake was. After all, when Georgina spoke of her past inmates she didn't have anything bad to say about them.
"I see. Now how're you both doing?"
Tee El was a pleasant man overall. Despite his appearance his personality was something else. He was in jail for illegal businesses and making fake accounts, which was something Aaron didn't expect. No offense but Tee El looked like the kind of man who was part of a gang and got into fights with civilians in the dark hours of the night. He didn't expect the older man to be someone who specialized in all kinds of illegal activities based on the Internet.
The second he met was a man named Porter who had beefy arms, a chiseled chest, and tattoos by the neck. Again, Aaron had guessed his crime wrong. He initially thought he was a murderer but was proved wrong when Porter said he was captured for credit card fraud. Porter shared the reason why he was so big was because he used to go to the gym and gain muscles but in reality, he didn't know how to throw a punch.
"I broke my hand once trying to punch a mirror." Porter shivered. "Bad idea. The memory of it also leaves me cringing at myself and asking why I did that in the first place."
There was also a man called CJ (short for Carlos John). At this point Aaron didn't want to guess anymore but was still taken aback when he murdered his boss with a lethal injection because of low pay and poor treatment.
CJ regarded him with cool gray eyes and leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, "You the boyfie? Well, take care of Georgina eh?"
Aaron blushed crimson and once again had to correct, "No sorry we're friends." Then he added tiredly, "Believe me, you're not the first person to assume we're lovers."
CJ roared in laughter, slapping the table. Georgina shot him a disgruntled look, directing apologetic eyes at Aaron. He smiled back to show it was no trouble.
"No way!" CJ gasped. "You ain't dating? Man, what a shame!"
"Butt out of my non-existent love life, ya creep," Georgina returned, irritated. "How 'bout cha, huh? No girls 'cause you're stuck here."
"Hey, at least I was able to date a few girls before I even went to prison, bitch." CJ chuckled, shooting finger guns at Georgina. "Man, I'm the winner between us here, Georgie."
Georgina stuck his tongue out at him playfully but didn't say anything more. Although in the corner of his eye, Aaron could tell she was also blushing hard.
Last but not least was Jeffrey, a young man who was incarcerated for scams.
He rubbed his chin as he squinted his eyes at both of them. Then he leaned back and shrugged.
"I'm not even going to assume you're lovers."
"Yes!" Georgina hissed in triumph.
"Finally," Aaron sighed in relief.
"Simply because you don't look convincing."
"Aw hey what!" Georgina yelled, slamming her fists on the table. "And here I had faith in ya, ya prude."
Jeffrey sniffed indignantly. "Insults won't make me take back my words, Georgina. You should know me better."
Overall, they were four intriguing individuals and Aaron sincerely wished the four of them got out of prison to fully live their lives.
As they walked back towards the library, Aaron spoke first.
"Those four are good fellows. I'm glad you were able to find friends in them."
Georgina smiled wistfully. "Yeah. They're good people."
They lapsed into comfortable silence and Aaron thought it was a good time to inquire about her butterfly tattoos.
He cleared his throat and started, "Remember the time I tried to teach you to cook?"
"You mean that time the egg yolk exploded?" They both giggled. "Yeah what about it?"
"Well I caught a glimpse of your back and saw you had three butterflies inked by your left shoulder blade."
Georgina blinked in mild confusion and soon realization came unto her.
"Ohhhhh you mean my tats! Yeah I have 'em." She seemed hesitant then but plowed on. "Almost forgot about that. But I didn't mean to hide it from ya or anythin'." She turned to face him fully, an unsure look on her face. "You don't think differently o' me 'cause of it?"
Aaron smiled gently at her. "Of course I don't. Having tattoos don't define your whole person; it is a part of you. Any good friend of yours should be able to understand that." He grinned. "In fact, I think it's pretty neat you have tattoos. It gives me the impression you're confident and not afraid to be yourself."
The unease slipped off Georgina as she beamed, shoulders unwinding.
"But I want to ask..." he trailed off, not wanting to pry too much if it became uncomfortable.
"Yeah?" she prompted.
"Why butterflies?"
Georgina laughed slightly. "It was nothing; it was pretty and well... I was just winging it at the time, y'know?"
"Ahh I see." He then looked forward again. "That was a good choice."
Still, if symbolism were something to be taken into account, then the butterfly was a perfect choice for her.