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He smiles.

You’ve been a great friend, and I’ll miss you.

He nods again.

You too, James.

He reaches out his hand and I take it and we shake hands. We release each other’s hands and we hug each other. We hold each other for a moment and Miles says good luck, James, and I say you too, Miles.

You ready for breakfast?

I nod.

Yeah.

We walk out. We walk through the Halls and we walk into the Glass Corridor separating men and women. I look for Lilly and she isn’t there. We walk through the Corridor and Miles gets a tray and a plate of eggs and cheese and I get a cup of coffee. We walk over to our table, the table where we sit for every meal. The table in the corner.

I sit and I drink my coffee and I look for Lilly. Miles eats his eggs and cheese. Ted and Matty and Michael join us, and I ask them for their addresses and their phone numbers. Michael gives me both, Matty gives me his address, but no phone number, Ted doesn’t have either one of them. I ask Matty to sign the bottom of the paper and he asks me why. I tell him I want his autograph and he laughs and he says it ain’t worth shit no more. I tell him I want it because it is worth something to me. He smiles and he writes To James, the goddamn Middleweight Champion of the fucking Drug Center. I hope we live long enough to see each other again, that would be fucking nice. Your Friend, Matty Jackson, former undisputed Featherweight Champion of the World.

I take the paper and I put it in my pocket. When I am sure it is deep and safe within, I take a sip of my coffee. I take a sip and I wait. I take a sip and I wait.

I see Lilly walk through the Corridor. She is with her Unit Supervisor and she does not look over at me. I watch her as she gets in line, gets a tray, gets a cup of coffee and gets a donut. I watch her as she walks into the Women’s Section and she sits down at a table. I watch as her Unit Supervisor makes Lilly sit so that her back is facing toward me.

I stand. I say good-bye to my friends. They ask me if they are going to see me again and I tell them only if it’s on the outside. I hug each of them. I thank them for their friendship and I wish them luck and I tell them that I hope everything works out for them.

I pick up my cup and I put it in the conveyor. I stand and I watch as it is carried away to cleanliness. It is the last coffee mug I will use here. I say good-bye to it. I turn and I start walking down the Corridor. My eyes are on Lilly even though she can’t see me. About halfway down the Corridor, I stop walking and I turn and I stand in front of the Glass and I stare.

Lilly’s table is about thirty feet away. There are four or five other tables between me and it, there are about thirty tables in the women’s Dining Room. All of them are filled.

I stand and I stare. I stand and I stare. At the back of Lilly’s head, at her long beautiful black hair, at her hand as it brings her donut to her mouth. A woman a couple of tables away from her motions toward me and the rest of the women at that table turn and look at me. One of them says something to a woman at the next table and all of the women at that table turn and look at me. One of those women says something to Lilly’s Unit Supervisor, who looks up and glares at me. I don’t move. I’m not going to move. I stare at Lilly’s beautiful hair and beautiful hand. I smile because she’s eating a donut and I think it’s funny. The Unit Supervisor motions for me to leave, but I am not moving. No fucking way.

Lilly sees her Supervisor glaring at me and motioning at me and she turns around and she sees me. She smiles. I stare at her at her beautiful face at her beautiful blood red lips at her beautiful skin so pale at her deep water eyes. Those beautiful blue deep water eyes. She is all that I see. Beautiful Lilly. She is all that I see. Beautiful Lilly.

She turns away. I see her Supervisor mouthing words, but I can’t see what she is saying. I see Lilly’s jaw move, she’s saying something back. The Supervisor speaks again.