You've got a collect call from an inmate.....
I've spent all day on the chaise next to the one land line phone that we have in the house. It's corded, all old-school, so I can't move from this space so that I can hear the phone when it rings. Why? Easy. Mom's in jail.
A while back my mom, who's on disability, made friends with this other lady who owns an antique shop and Mom started working there a couple days a week for cash to supplement her income. After a while the lady mentions that she wants Mom to work at her gaming joint, which is totally illegal in Texas. Mom talks to me about it and I tell her that it's her choice, but I don't support it and if there's fallout that I wouldn't bail her out.
Mom goes ahead anyway and takes the job because the money offered is too enticing. Months go by and Mom blows all of the extra money on stupid stuff, which isn't really relevant to the story, but it still irks me. Anyway, Mom gets approached by the cops and she gives them her name and address and stuff, but they just walk away. She thinks that it's all over.
Fast forward to eight o'clock this morning. I'm happily stuffing my pregnant face and about to watch a show before tackling the house when I notice a Sheriff's vehicle coming down the street. Mentally I'm laughing, wondering if they're looking for my criminal former-sister-in-law. The joke was on me. There was a knock on the door, loud and insistent. I knew that sound. Everyone knows that sound, even if they've never heard it before. It's authoritative and demanding and you can't help but want to smooth the ruffled officer's feathers as soon as possible. "Don't taze me, bro!"
I was probably overly nice. I couldn't help it. I woke up Mom and let her talk to the officers with as much privacy as I could. I knew that I would find out what was going on soon enough without being a problem.
It turns out that Mom had three warrants in her name in correlation with the gaming room. Luckily they were all misdemeanors, but she had to be hauled off anyway. She had to take the perp walk and everything. Yes, I'm a jerk and I think that's hilarious.
You might not be surprised to learn that I'm all about tough love. If you willfully break the law, you should pay for it when you're caught. You can be my mother, brother, kid, husband, whatever. She knew there were risks with what she was doing and I made my stand clear.
My brother, with the peppered history, doesn't believe in that sort of behavior. He's been bailed out of every bit of trouble that he's had his whole life. He's furious with me for not getting Mom a lawyer and taking care of the whole mess. He doesn't understand why I won't do something about the situation. It seems like we'll be fighting for a while over this. Bring it on, little brother. You might be stubborn and opinionated, but I really, really won't break on this. He can't make me feel guilty for standing up for what I believe in.
The lady that started this whole thing has agree to pay for the percentage of Mom's bail, but only after finding out that Mom didn't have enough money in her account and I won't do it. For the record, she thinks that I'm heartless and mean, but she can't make me bend, either. My issue with Mae, the lady in question, is that she told Mom that if Mom ever got popped that she'd pay to bail Mom out. It's time to pay the piper, Mae.
At this point Mom's been bonded, they just have to process the whole thing and officially release her. It can take anywhere from 2-4 hours before completion. Adam and I will probably have to drive to Conroe and pick her up, but lucky for us we have experience finding the place because of Erick.
It's starting to feel like I can't have a pregnancy without someone going to jail. At least it was only for one day, although I was hoping that Mom had to stay the night, just to teach her a lesson. Adam claims that the Gods need sacrifice and the tears of my mother do nicely. Anything to keep the baby healthy, right?
I suppose the situation poses an interesting question. If your parent was arrested for willfully breaking the law, would you bail them out? Do you think that your answer would be different if they were calling you from a jail cell, crying and begging? (Yes, she cried and she begged. I didn't bend.)
Life in the house is going to be interesting for a while. I know that Mom's feelings are hurt and that she's going to want me to coddle her and make the whole experience go away, but I feel so angry and frustrated with her. She could lose her disability over this fiasco and then where will we be?
A while back my mom, who's on disability, made friends with this other lady who owns an antique shop and Mom started working there a couple days a week for cash to supplement her income. After a while the lady mentions that she wants Mom to work at her gaming joint, which is totally illegal in Texas. Mom talks to me about it and I tell her that it's her choice, but I don't support it and if there's fallout that I wouldn't bail her out.
Mom goes ahead anyway and takes the job because the money offered is too enticing. Months go by and Mom blows all of the extra money on stupid stuff, which isn't really relevant to the story, but it still irks me. Anyway, Mom gets approached by the cops and she gives them her name and address and stuff, but they just walk away. She thinks that it's all over.
Fast forward to eight o'clock this morning. I'm happily stuffing my pregnant face and about to watch a show before tackling the house when I notice a Sheriff's vehicle coming down the street. Mentally I'm laughing, wondering if they're looking for my criminal former-sister-in-law. The joke was on me. There was a knock on the door, loud and insistent. I knew that sound. Everyone knows that sound, even if they've never heard it before. It's authoritative and demanding and you can't help but want to smooth the ruffled officer's feathers as soon as possible. "Don't taze me, bro!"
I was probably overly nice. I couldn't help it. I woke up Mom and let her talk to the officers with as much privacy as I could. I knew that I would find out what was going on soon enough without being a problem.
It turns out that Mom had three warrants in her name in correlation with the gaming room. Luckily they were all misdemeanors, but she had to be hauled off anyway. She had to take the perp walk and everything. Yes, I'm a jerk and I think that's hilarious.
You might not be surprised to learn that I'm all about tough love. If you willfully break the law, you should pay for it when you're caught. You can be my mother, brother, kid, husband, whatever. She knew there were risks with what she was doing and I made my stand clear.
My brother, with the peppered history, doesn't believe in that sort of behavior. He's been bailed out of every bit of trouble that he's had his whole life. He's furious with me for not getting Mom a lawyer and taking care of the whole mess. He doesn't understand why I won't do something about the situation. It seems like we'll be fighting for a while over this. Bring it on, little brother. You might be stubborn and opinionated, but I really, really won't break on this. He can't make me feel guilty for standing up for what I believe in.
The lady that started this whole thing has agree to pay for the percentage of Mom's bail, but only after finding out that Mom didn't have enough money in her account and I won't do it. For the record, she thinks that I'm heartless and mean, but she can't make me bend, either. My issue with Mae, the lady in question, is that she told Mom that if Mom ever got popped that she'd pay to bail Mom out. It's time to pay the piper, Mae.
At this point Mom's been bonded, they just have to process the whole thing and officially release her. It can take anywhere from 2-4 hours before completion. Adam and I will probably have to drive to Conroe and pick her up, but lucky for us we have experience finding the place because of Erick.
It's starting to feel like I can't have a pregnancy without someone going to jail. At least it was only for one day, although I was hoping that Mom had to stay the night, just to teach her a lesson. Adam claims that the Gods need sacrifice and the tears of my mother do nicely. Anything to keep the baby healthy, right?
I suppose the situation poses an interesting question. If your parent was arrested for willfully breaking the law, would you bail them out? Do you think that your answer would be different if they were calling you from a jail cell, crying and begging? (Yes, she cried and she begged. I didn't bend.)
Life in the house is going to be interesting for a while. I know that Mom's feelings are hurt and that she's going to want me to coddle her and make the whole experience go away, but I feel so angry and frustrated with her. She could lose her disability over this fiasco and then where will we be?
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