Charlie was then afraid that his wife, Claire, would be worried about Elaine, so he picked up his cell phone and called her.
As soon as the call was connected, Claire asked, “Honey, where are you now?”
Charlie said, “I flew out of town to help find some connections for Mom. I’m preparing to go back to New York now. Did Mom contact you over the past two days?”
“Yes, she did.” Claire sighed and said, “Honey, I was just about to call you to tell you about this matter. Mom just called me ten minutes ago, and do you know what she said to me over the phone?”
Charlie already had a general idea of what Elaine had probably said, but he still pretended to be curious and asked, “ What did Mom say?”
Claire said helplessly over the phone, “Mom actually told me over the phone that she is doing very well in the prison now. She wanted to call you, but she could not reach you, so she called me to let you know that she is not in a hurry to come out of prison now. So, she asked you not to take her out of prison too quickly. What’s more, she said that it would be fine as long as she can return to Oskia at the same time as us. Otherwise, she can go back to Oskia by herself after she gets out of prison in a few days...”
After saying that, Claire asked nervously, “Honey, don’t you think that my mother is in a daze? Why did she suddenly become addicted to prison upon entering that place? She even took the initiative to say that she doesn't want to come out too soon...”
Charlie laughed twice as he thought to himself, ‘My dear silly wife, if you knew that your mother is now the Ferocious Ghost at Bedford Hillside Correctional Facility, you would probably be able to figure out why she does not want to come out...’
Still, Charlie did not say much, and he simply comforted her, “Honey, I guess Mom doesn’t want us to worry, so that’s why she’s saying that.”
Claire said seriously, “My mother is not the kind of person who thinks about others. There are only two possibilities as to why she doesn’t want to come out. The first possibility is because she is being coerced by others, and the other is that she is living comfortably in the prison.”
Charlie sighed as he thought to himself, ‘Sure enough, she knows her mother well.’
After that, he said with some relief, “Don’t worry. The prison is not a place out of the law. No one should be coercing her. As for the second possibility that you’ve mentioned, I think that might be the case. It may be because she has made some new friends in the prison or perhaps she wants to experience life in prison. I also asked a client in New York to help me find some connections so that they can take care of her in the prison.”
Claire said helplessly, “To be honest, based on her tone over the phone, it doesn’t sound like she was being coerced by someone. She sounded strangely happy, but it was as if she didn’t want me to hear it. So, I think she is restraining herself on purpose. I really don’t understand...”
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