Jailbird
Episode 5
KEN KEDEM
What he did was awful, yes, and now he’s got a
criminal record, yes. But he never physically hurt you,
dear. I know he betrayed your love and your trust, and
he hurt you very bad, but your son loves him
unconditionally, and I believe Chris also loves his son,
unconditionally.
EFFE
(hoarsely)
Oh, Daddy! Junior loves that man so much! He’s
always fought with me for not taking him to visit his
father in prison. God knows I tried to take that away-
KEN KEDEM
(sharply)
Effe! Don’t ever say that again! You can’t break the
ties between father and son! Who knows, maybe through
that love Chris can change!
EFFE
(passionately)
Chris can NEVER change, Dad! I gave him my heart,
my soul, my time, my EVERYTHING! He had all the
chance to change, but he never did! He didn’t even
TRY! That’s why I can never forgive him! I hate him,
Daddy. With all my soul!
KEN KEDEM
(sadly)
Fair enough, love. But do not try to block him from his
son. Tomorrow, if you can, go and cancel that
restraining order.
He gets up and heads for the door again.
EFFE
Dad?
He stops and turns to her.
KEN KEDEM
Yes?
EFFE
Where did they take him? Where would they take him?
KEN KEDEM
Well, it’s evening now, too late for a judge to hear his
case. They should let him go and let him report in the
morning, or they can decide to lock him up and arraign
him tomorrow.
EFFE
(her voice low and broken)
He didn’t know, Dad.
KEN KEDEM
Didn’t know what?
EFFE
That there was a restraining order against him. He was
so shattered!
KEN KEDEM
(sadly)
Well, if he didn’t know, IF no one bothered to tell
serve him with a copy in prison, then it’s a big shame.
Mind you, the law takes effect as soon as he was
released, and not knowing about it doesn’t absolve him
from the offence, but this one is different. He
should’ve been served. Okay, I’ll rouse Joshua Darkwa
to look into it and see to it that he is released right
away.
EFFE
(tremulously)
Thank you, Dad. Please do that for me. I would be
very grateful. I don’t want him to spend another night
in a cell somewhere because I placed a restraining order
on him.
Ken nods and leaves the room, closing it gently behind
him.
He is sure that his daughter needs a little time alone.
Effe stands up and goes to the window.
She remains standing, and then the tears slowly spill
down her face.
She remembers his pain-shattered face. She remembers
that he had still been wearing their wedding ring
although she had filed for divorce and received a divorce
five years ago.
Chris had refused to sign the divorce papers despite the
numerous times their family lawyer, Joshua Darkwa, had
presented them to him in prison.
EFFE
D–n you, Chris! D–n you to hell! Why now? Dear
Lord, why now, Chris?
EFFE’S RESIDENCE
Junior emerges from the bathroom.
He is in his blue pyjamas designed with images from
BEN 10.
Effe pulls back the top cover sheet of the bed for him
and he gets into bed.
He curls up and she draws the spread over him and she
notices that he is still wearing the wristwatch his father
had brought him.
EFFE
(gently)
Honey, are you not taking off the watch?
JUNIOR
(voice muffled)
I want to sleep with it, Mommy.
She hesitates for a moment, tries to speak, and then
she keeps quiet.
She kisses him on the forehead, reaches over and
presses the dangling button that switches off the bright
light and turns on the soft-shaded one.
EFFE
Sleep well, honey. Angels guard you.
He says nothing, and she hesitates for a moment, then
sighs worriedly.
She gets up from the bed and walks toward the door,
but she stops suddenly when she hears his muffled voice.
She is alarmed instantly, thinking he is crying, and she
hurries back to the bed, but she sees his hands clasped
in front of his closed eyes, and realize he is saying a
prayer.
JUNIOR
…and I thank you God, for bringing my Daddy back.
Take care of him and please, please, pleeaaase God
don’t send him to prison again. Guard over Mommy,
guard over Daddy and guard over me and all grandpas
and grandmas. Amen.
EFFE
(voice trembling)
Amen. Good night, honey.
JUNIOR
Nighty night, Mommy.
She turns to the door again, but then his voice arrests
her.
It is soft and almost trembling, and she realises that
her son’s heart is in pain.
JUNIOR
Social studies teacher told us that people are taken to
prison to pay for the bad things they do to other
people, Mommy.
Effe goes rigid.
She turns and goes back to stand looking down at him.
EFFE
Yes, that’s right, honey.
JUNIOR
So if people come back from prison they’re free from
their bad things?
Effe sighs and sits on the bed again. She reaches out
and brushes a loving hand down his cheek.
EFFE
I know where you’re headed with this, honey. Listen,
it’s late, and it has been a very busy day for you,
okay? You rest for me. Tomorrow is Saturday, and I
promise we will talk about this thing, okay?
Junior bites his lower lip and even in the dim light she
can see how pained he looks.
JUNIOR
But Daddy is back, Mommy. You said he did some bad
things and they locked him up. He’s back. That means
he’s no longer bad! Why didn’t you take him back?
Why do you still want to marry Uncle Steve?
It is Effe’s turn to bite her lower lip. She sighs softly.
EFFE
Do you remember that favourite cup of yours that got
broken? The Ben Ten one?
JUNIOR
Yes, Mommy.
EFFE
Do you remember how you were so unhappy about it that
you fixed it all back with your glue gun, and yet when
you poured water in it that cup leaked all over the
place?
JUNIOR
Yes, Mommy.
EFFE
(gently)
Well, sometimes life is like that, honey. No matter
how well you fix something, sometimes it never really
gets to be the way it used to be. That’s what happened
to your Daddy and me, honey.
Junior looks pensive for a while, and then he sighs
unhappily.
JUNIOR
(sadly)
Mommy, I think the problem with that cup was that we
used glue to fix it. Grandpa said if we had clay, we
could have fixed it and heated it and it would’ve been
as good as new. I think if we use the proper things to
fix the bad things, it can be just like the way it used to
be.Maybe you just didn’t use the right stuff to fix that
thing with you and Daddy. Maybe you also used glue
and not clay.
Effe is stumped for words.
She sits quite still for some time, unable to speak, and
when she looks at him again she realizes that he is
asleep.
She stands up and feels unsteady on her feet. She
walks out quietly and closes the door.
Elaine and Steve are in the living-room, both holding
tall glasses of chilled white wine.
Steve drains his cup and walks towards her.
STEVE
(raising worried eyebrows)
You look stressed. Is Junior alright?
Effe laughs shakily and tosses her hair off her face.
EFFE
It’s funny. You always think of them as babies, as
little tots you need to protect. And then they just say
something that makes you wonder if some adult has been
feeding them something aside from fairy tales.
Steve takes her in his arms.
STEVE
(gently)
He wants you with his father, doesn’t he? He doesn’t
want you with me, does he?
Effe laughs shakily and put a hand on Steve’s chest.
EFFE
He didn’t talk about you, my love. But yes, he wants
his father.
Elaine snorts and shakes her head with something
approaching fury.
ELAINE
(hotly)
Well, ain’t that a tad unbelievable? After all that
you’ve done for him, he still prefers his sorry ass of a
father over you? Jeez!
Effe leaves the circle of Steve’s arms and frowns darkly
at Elaine.
EFFE
(a little angry)
He’s a kid, Elly! He remembers the good times he had
with his father! Granted, Chris turned out to be a d–n
bad peach, but as a father he was the best! Don’t
blame the little boy for loving him!
ELAINE
(shouting)
AND DON’T YOU BLAME ME FOR HATING
CHRIS EITHER, EFFE! CHRIS RAPED ME! DO
YOU UNDERSTAND? HE RAPED ME, YOUR
BEST FRIEND, YOUR MAID OF HONOUR! SO
DON’T YOU DARE BLAME ME FOR HATING
HIM!!
STEVE
(sharply)
Hey, hey, hey, Elaine! That’s enough! Look we’re
all a bit stressed here! Why don’t we call it a night,
huh? By tomorrow everything we will be okay.
ELAINE
(draining her cup violently)
I hope they take his rotten ass back to jail, the d–n
ape!
She sets her cup down with a bang.
EFFE
(calmer now)
He’s not going back to jail, Elaine. Dad called the
Chaplain at the prison. Chris is free. The President
gave him a reprieve.
STEVE
(stunned, trembling)
D–n it! He didn’t escape from prison?
EFFE
No. He was released. A Presidential pardon for good
behaviour.
ELAINE
(absolutely rattled)
A pardon? A presidential pardon for a guy who beat up
an old pastor and almost maimed him for life? Pardon
for a man who was so chocked up with cocaine that he
knocked down a poor girl who lost one of her legs?
Pardon for a man who has refused to say sorry for any
of his dastardly behaviours? Pardon for a man who raped
his own wife’s bridesmaid? Pardon for a man who
busted the eye of a law-enforcing officer? Well, if that
ain’t shitty then I don’t know what the hell it is!
STEVE
Hey, Elaine! Calm down!
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