Fiction: Thomas James 4

Thomas James 4: Meeting With Officer Jarvis

By Kiki Stamatiou
QuailBellMagazine.com

“Thomas, instead of having you do volunteer work in a soup kitchen, I talked to a woman who owns a little eatery.  It’s called The Southfield Kitchen.  It’s not too far from here.  The lady’s name is Sarah Cummings.  She’ll be expecting you to report to work today at 3 p.m.”  Officer Jarvis Maxwell informed Thomas James, while handing him the slip of paper with all the pertinent information.

“But, I was thinking I could volunteer at the Soup Kitchen to do community service.  After all, I owe that much to society, to the girl whose life I took that day, to her brother, and their entire family.  I owe amends to God, and…”

“Son, hadn’t you learned anything Father Samuels taught you.  It’s important to forgive yourself.  You’ve already made amends for what you’ve done.  Fifteen years is a long time for a man so young to have been locked up in jail.  You paid your debt to society.  Now, it’s time to make a fresh start.  It will be ups and downs in life, but not so bad as they were when you were growing up.  You deserve a second chance in life, seen as how you weren’t given a fair chance the first time around.  I admire you for wanting to take responsibility for what you’ve done.  But punishing yourself isn’t going to bring the girl back. 

“Don’t we all wish it were possible to bring loved ones back from the dead so we could be happy and enjoy time with them?  I know what you’re going through son.  Before I became an officer of the law, I was a criminal at a young age.  I fractured the law.  Well, a few of them anyway, when I was young.  What I’m trying to say is you’re not alone when it comes to making mistakes.  Some folks make bigger mistakes than others.  Let me tell you something, young man, if I could turn my life around, and believe me when I say I wasn’t perfect, I believe you can do that, as well.  I believe you can.  Why I was put in juvenile home for 3 ½ years for beating up a man in a party store, a clerk, mind you, because he wouldn’t sell me any cigarettes.  I had some hard knocks in life.  Like me, you’re not a lost cause.”

The two men got up from their seats, approached each other and shook each other’s hand.  

“Thomas.  Remember what I told you.  You are not alone in this world.  You have my number.  Call me anytime you need to talk or if you have any questions about goals in life that you may want to pursue.  I mean anything at all,” Officer Jarvis Maxwell cheerfully informed him.

“Thank you, sir,” Thomas James replied while heading out the door of Officer Jarvis Maxwell’s office with a new stride in his step, because for the first time in a long, long, time, he wasn’t alone in the world.  He had a friend in Officer Jarvis Maxwell.

#Unreal #ThomasJames #Series #OfficerJarvis #FindingNewFriends #BeginningAgain

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