Ray sat back and breathed the sweet air of freedom. He watched the Florida scenery rush by and dreamed it would always be like this. His mind was soaring above the blue sky. That morning he had left a sweaty orange jumpsuit and some meaningless papers behind in a smelly jail cell. Now a beautiful woman was swiftly driving him to her barrier island condo. From the ridiculous to the sublime in mere moments. He'd settle for much less, in fact, he'd settle for nothing as long as he was free.
Being locked in jail had given him plenty of time to think. Acquaintances would no longer just come and go in his life. He would be alert to the possibility of new friends. And perhaps one of his new friends would call him if needed, even at four a.m.
After ushering him into her condo, Tammy said, "I need to get out of these clothes. Make yourself at home." She disappeared into the bedroom.
From her small kitchen, he walked across the dining space adjoining the living room area to the sliding glass doors. The balcony was just large enough for a small table and two lounge chairs, but there was an ocean view. It was all modest, informal and nicely decorated. A comfortable place to live, he thought.
She called from the bedroom, "You can do the wine. The bottle I want is on the counter. Opener is...somewhere."
He opened the wine and found two glasses. "This view is great," he yelled back.
"The value is in the view. I couldn't afford to buy it at today's prices. I should sell it straight away, before they squeeze in another building in front of the ocean."
She came out wearing what he would always remember as perfect: a pink-flowered silk top with matching pants. Not sheer, although close fitting enough for him to suspect she wore nothing underneath. Her remarkable body was definitely liberated under there.
She shuffled through some CDs. "Classical guitar okay?"
They walked out on the balcony. They sipped their wine, listened to Villa-Lobos and looked out at the waves. The contrast between this scene and jail was wider than the ocean that stretched out until it met the sky.
There was a half-hour of daylight left. The air was warm. The ocean breeze playfully tugged at her hair and pressed her lounging outfit so tightly against her body it appeared she was wearing only a silky layer of paint. Instinctively he stared.
She slowly turned to put the light wind at her back. "It must feel great being out from behind bars. You and your sister have been working hard. How's your defense going? Is there anything I can do?"