He followed the war as closely as he could, especially the units in which his brothers, including Amos, served. He requested that his brothers correspond with him as often as they could, and four of them did. He did his part, sending post cards and letters often to all six - even to the two who did not write back. He would forever be disappointed that the authorities would not allow him to serve in the armed forces. He always thought that if he had been given the opportunity he would have volunteered for the Marine Corps, like his oldest brother, William, whom he admired and respected most of all.
During the war, William's wife, Marie, and their three children became his most frequent visitors. These were the only times that he was visited by children, and he very much enjoyed being with his nephew, Russell, and two nieces. Most of time his sister-in-law brought all three children with her, but sometimes she came with only Russell. On nearly every visit, he gave the children wooden toys that he or his fellow inmates had created in the wood shop.
On one of these visits, Russel broke away from their table and ran over to Muriel.
‘You’re pretty!’ he cried bluntly, in the way only a child can, and everyone around them laughed.
For the first time, Charlie caught Muriel’s eyes. She flushed scarlet, though whether it was because of what Russel had said or because she had noticed Charlie looking at her, he couldn’t be sure.
When Cecil had first introduced his family to him, Muriel was sixteen years old, and Charlie was thirty-three. He had already been in prison for eighteen years, and had met Cecil when he first began to work in the prison print shop after requesting that he be given the opportunity to learn the printing trade. When added to his previous experiences in the metal-working and woodworking shops, this would give him expertise in three trades.
He was well-educated, well-rounded, and highly skilled – but a complete novice when it came to affairs of the heart. As he saw Muriel blush, he felt his own skin grow hot, and he quickly called for Russell to stop bothering Cecil and his family. His nephew had broken the ice, at least. From now on he and Muriel could chat together as adults, even if it could never go any further than friendship.
Apart from anything else, it was pointless to hope. Despite all his volunteering, he was never getting out of prison. Even when Justin, along with two of his counselors and several other prisoners, began to talk of the possibility that some Lifers might be eligible for parole after serving only 20 years, Charlie reasoned that the State legislature was always considering such bills and they always fell short of the votes needed to pass, besides the fact that those sentenced to life without parole would generally not be eligible.
Nonetheless, Charlie allowed himself to dream - just a little - of a life with Muriel, and how wonderful it would be. He could visualize himself and Muriel, living on a little farm with a big house, permeated with the wonderful aroma of baked biscuits and breads as his own home had been and, most importantly filled with happy little children - his children!
While all the hubbub about early releases was filtering through the prison, the Korean War broke out. Again, prisoners were getting early releases to supplement the selective service draft. Charlie was again among the earliest in his penitentiary to volunteer, specifically applying for the Marine Corps or the Army Infantry, but again he was turned down.
‘I have to accept it,’ he told Justin. ‘The new rules just don’t apply to me. I’m going to die right here in this prison. Probably on this very bed.’
‘Well, don’t expect me to clear up your mess,’ said Justin with a wry grin.
‘You’ll be long gone by then, old man.’
‘You’ll have to clear up my mess, then.’
And they’d laughed, because they knew that the other man would always be there for them, to clear up whatever mess there was, until the day one of them could do it no longer.
Finally, one day the Warden called him into his office.
‘I’ve seen a lot of you across this desk over the years,’ said Kelly with a twitch of his lips. ‘No single prisoner has volunteered for service so often, and I haven’t had to disappoint anyone else half as much.’
Charlie smiled. ‘You don’t need to do it again, Warden Kelly, sir. I’ve already accepted that the new parole rules won’t apply to me.’
‘Actually,’ said Kelly deliberately, ‘they might.’
‘What? I mean, I beg your pardon, sir?’
‘There have been changes in state law to make Lifers eligible for parole consideration, as soon as they’ve served at least twenty years of their sentences. Furthermore, because you were only fifteen when you began serving your sentence, you might – might - be eligible right away, even though you’ve only served a little over nineteen years.’
Charlie’s heart sped up, and he clutched at the edge of the desk before he stumbled.
The Warden pushed him gently onto a chair. ‘Because of your exemplary record and comparatively young age, I am going to recommend that the Parole Board waive the twenty-year requirement. We’ll see if you can’t be the first Lifer released under the new law.’
Charlie’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I don’t know what to say,’ he mumbled.