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18. Welcome to the Big Apple

Washington State Penitentiary

Walla Walla, Washington
February 11, 2020

"Mr. Preston, it says here you have applied for a Compassionate Release based on the fact that you have a terminal illness. Is that correct?"

"Yes," I answered immediately. It took forever to get this fucking hearing. I barely had any time left as it was.

"If it is granted, how do you plan to spend your time?"

"With my family." Mainly one person.

They talked quietly for a long while. Going over my history in prison and whether or not I would be a danger to anyone.

"Mr. Preston. If we approve this, do you agree to follow the rules of your parole?"

"Yes, I will."

More whispering for another ten fucking minutes. Christ, make up your fucking minds.

"We have made our decision. In the case of Johnathon Preston, parole granted."

I couldn't hide my smile of satisfaction as I was escorted back to my cell. I had been waiting so long for this, for a chance to get out of this hellhole and try to share things with my estranged daughter.

I actually started the process a few months before she even came to see me. After I saw both Lydia and Michael, I was even more determined to get out. Contrary to what many people believe, I actually cared about my kids. I may have made some mistakes, horrible ones, but now I wanted to try to make it right before I died.

Even though I said these things, and I wanted them to be true, I couldn't stop wondering who the mystery guy was that showed up with Michael. I could only assume it was either a friend of his, or a boyfriend of Lydia's. She wasn't the relationship type. The thought of her committed to somebody rubbed me the wrong way. I'm her father, I should be the only man in her life besides her brothers.

Well, I guess I'll find out once I get out of here. I had reached out to some of my connections on the streets. They were able to tell me that Lydia was now living in New York, but I didn't know precisely where yet. I'm not surprised that she moved to the other side of the country to get away from me.

My connection was also able to tell me that Michael is living in San Francisco. As much as I wanted to reconnect with my son, I knew that if I went to him first he would immediately call Lydia. If he did that, it would ruin the surprise. I didn't want to cause any more problems for her, I simply wanted to mend our broken relationship. I'm reformed; I'm a better man than I was when I got in here. I just needed to make her see that.

Since I knew my other son Alex was overseas in the Army, there was only one other person I had any interest in seeing. Dr. Maria Sinclair, head of cardiothoracic surgery at St. Vincent Hospital East Pavilion.

It didn't surprise me that she became an accomplished doctor. Ever since the day I met her, she told me it was her dream to save lives. It was one of the things that drew me to her. I knew what everyone said about my relationship with her, but they were wrong. We were in love. Hell, I still loved her. I may have married Tahlia, but I never got over Maria. It was one of the reasons why I decided to take over raising Lydia.

My release was supposed to be in a couple weeks, and since Maria's hospital was closer than York, that was going to be my first stop. I had no idea if she had actually met Lydia or not, and I knew there was a chance that she would call Lydia if she had her number and break the news that I was released from prison. But it was a chance I was willing to take. For love.

"Get in your cell, inmate!" The guard ordered.

I did as instructed, not wanting to ruin the chance have my freedom by ending up in solitary. As the cell gate closed behind me, I sat down and pulled the only two pictures I had out of my journal.

One was of Lydia and the other was of Maria.

Soon.

February 18th, 2020
New York City

"Welcome to the Big Apple, sir. How many nights will you be staying?"

I pulled out my wallet with a smile. "It's open-ended."

I arrived in New York City this morning by plane. I was disappointed when I got to Maria's hospital only to find out that she was out of town. I couldn't believe the coincidence when I found out it was here, where Lydia lived. That was only confirmation that the two of them did indeed meet. I didn't know how I felt about that. I had no idea what Maria said to Lydia about me and our past relationship.

At least now, the truth was going to come out. Maria wouldn't have a choice but to tell Lydia everything that happened between us before we split up. I can only imagine she told her the worst.

"Here is your room key," the concierge said as he held the small white card out to me.

"Thank you." I slipped it in my back pocket as I started to grab my bags. I wanted to try to do a little sightseeing today and try to figure out where Lydia was staying. I wish I had a way of knowing the name of the guy who showed up with Michael when I was in prison. I had a strange feeling that it would lead me straight to her.

"Oh, sir?"

I grew frustrated as I turned my back to the concierge. "Yes?"

He held out a pamphlet to me and I walked back over to the counter to grab it. I had no intention of looking at this damn thing, but I wanted to get this over with and go up to my room. I had to take the cheapest flight possible, which included multiple layovers. I was exhausted.

"Please take this brochure. We have a lot of events coming up in the area this weekend. A very popular one is an art show for the students of NYU."

I pretended to be interested, glancing over it before sliding it in my bag. I gave him a fake smile as I nodded my head to him. "Thanks, I'll definitely take a look at it once I get upstairs."

It was a lie, but whatever. I had things to do and that didn't include going to a silly art show. I walked down the long hallway to a set of elevators that would take me up to the fifth floor where my assigned room was.

I leaned against the back of the elevator and let out a long breath. The sound of smooth jazz is playing over the elevator speakers and it was actually soothing. After being trapped in prison for almost two decades, this was paradise.

The elevator doors finally opened and I stepped into the hallway and started heading towards my room. I was so ready for a fucking shower. After finally approaching my door, I slid in the key and was satisfied when the little light turned green. I pushed open the door and dropped my bag on the floor. Dragging my feet, I fell straight onto the bed.

While laying in the silence, I was trying to think of the best way to find my daughter and my ex. To be honest, this city was filled with millions of people. The fact that I've been locked in a jail cell for years and years didn't help me with how much technology has advanced.

Knowing her, she covered her tracks. In the back of her mind, she probably always feared that I would get out one day and didn't want me to be able to find her information. Sure, if I typed her name in something like Google, I wouldn't find anything.

Christ, what was I going to do? I didn't have a lot of time left to live, and I wanted to finally try to fix the damage I caused. I sat on the edge of the bed and lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. Something colorful caught my eye on the floor by my duffel bag, and I realized it was a brochure the concierge handed to me.

Surprised that I was actually curious, I got up and picked it up off the floor. I scanned through it, reading about the upcoming art show for college students. It seemed interesting if you like that kind of thing. I was never one for art. Surprisingly, Maria was. She was quite the artist back when she was younger. I wondered if she still dabbled.

I was scanning the names of the participants when I crossed one that gave me pause. My finger started shaking as I traced the name. Lydia Preston. There it was.

"Fuck me," I breathed. Looks like the universe is on my side. I couldn't believe my eyes as I stared at her name. Looks like she took after her mother. She was going to be participating in the NYU art show this weekend. She was going to have two pieces of art displayed and available for purchase.

I ran my hand through my hair as a feeling of satisfaction coursed through me.

Now, I knew just what to do.



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