Ch.100Señorita!

“Ratatata…!”

Dexter’s face, as he stretched in the guard’s office, couldn’t hide his exhaustion.

“Dexter, weren’t you on vacation yesterday? Why do you look so tired?”

“Ah, Judy.”

Judy, who had been watching Dexter with concerned eyes, was approaching him.

“The daughter of someone I know got arrested, so I was out until late last night.”

“Oh my, what happened?”

“She was wrongfully arrested because she looked similar to an actual criminal. And in the midst of that, the police kept making racist remarks, which led to another issue with her threatening to sue them… Anyway, yesterday was quite hectic.”

“…You went through a lot on your last day of vacation.”

Judy said, comforting Dexter with her round eyes.

“Oh right, did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“You know that inmate who gets along well with you? She passed her parole review a few days ago and is being released today.”

“Really? Is that true?”

‘Come to think of it, I did receive a message during my vacation.’

It mentioned that she had passed the review and would be released on parole in a few days, but Dexter didn’t know it would be today.

“They’re probably busy preparing a farewell ceremony for her right now.”

“I see.”

Dexter wanted to see Jesse right away, but knowing she’d be having her busiest day since entering prison, he decided to meet her before she left.

“You must feel relieved?”

“Pardon? About what?”

“You were always bickering with that inmate. I thought you disliked her.”

‘Is that how it appeared to Judy?’

It made sense that it might look that way, since he deliberately acted cold toward Jesse whenever they met in front of others.

“Well, let’s say that’s the case. But there’s something more important.”

“More… important?”

Dexter narrowed his eyes and grabbed Judy’s forearm.

It felt soft.

“…Your body fat seems to have increased. Have you not been exercising lately?”

“N-No, I have been…”

“You have?”

“I have, but it’s not working well…”

As Judy turned her head slightly while speaking, Dexter’s eyes narrowed again.

“You’re lying.”

“What?”

Dexter moved closer to Judy and sniffed.

“I can smell your lies.”

“Why are you smelling…?”

Of course, detecting lies by smell was just a joke, meant to see Judy’s flustered reaction.

“This won’t do. Let’s start exercising again on your next day off.”

It seemed like he’d been paying less attention to Judy lately while being preoccupied with other matters.

“Do we have to do that difficult routine again?”

Judy spoke with an aggrieved expression, but it wouldn’t work on Dexter.

After all, she was the one who had requested his help in the first place.

“If it’s difficult, that means you haven’t been following the routine I taught you consistently. If you had, you should have developed solid muscles by now. You haven’t been doing it properly, have you?”

This was an exercise regimen that had been reviewed by Rose, the prison infirmary nurse who had a personal trainer certification.

It couldn’t possibly be ineffective, and with the help of a body correction band, muscle pain should have decreased, making it even more manageable.

Dexter placed his hand on Judy’s shoulder and said:

“I know you haven’t been wearing the band I gave you recently.”

If the body correction device had been working properly, Judy’s body should have become more toned by now.

“Wear the band and exercise daily. If you don’t like that, I’ll really put you through your paces on your next day off.”

“I-I’ll do it…”

Judy replied with an almost tearful expression.

“Someone might think I’m bullying you. Tsk.”

“Tsk…”

Judy seemed a bit upset at Dexter’s behavior, which treated her like a child.

“I’m not a child.”

“If you keep skipping exercise, I’ll treat you like one. Adults should have strong will and muscles.”

“…You really know how to corner someone.”

“It’s my specialty. I have to block all escape routes.”

Judy, slightly annoyed at Dexter, pouted.

Of course, Dexter, unfazed by such attitude, held up his pinky finger and said:

“Promise.”

“…I told you I’m not a child.”

“What does being a child or adult have to do with making a promise? Come on, quickly. Promise.”

Judy eventually gave in and linked her pinky with Dexter’s.

“…Why do I always fall for Dexter’s words?”

While Himena and Dexter would often stubbornly argue until one of them gave in, Judy tended to yield to Dexter more often, like now.

“Send me photos proving you exercised all week, and since you’ll have lunch with me, send photos of your breakfast and dinner too.”

As Dexter took on the role of a personal trainer, Judy cautiously asked:

“I did promise, but why are you going to such lengths…?”

“Because I said I’d help you.”

While Dexter wasn’t above lying when it benefited him, he generally tried to keep his word when he committed to something.

“You need to keep your promise too, Judy.”

“…Alright!”

Seeing Dexter’s effort to keep his word, Judy clenched her fist with determination.

Dexter had successfully instilled motivation in her.

“I’m going to check on Block 2 for a moment. Good luck with your morning duties.”

“You too, Dexter.”

Judy winked at Dexter as a gesture of gratitude, but the wink looked a bit strange.

‘Is she closing both eyes or trying to wink?’

Every time Judy tried to wink, she ended up blinking both eyes.

Realizing she couldn’t wink properly, she tried a few more times, failed, and eventually bowed her head with a reddened nose.

Dexter laughed quietly, covering his face so Judy wouldn’t feel embarrassed, then headed to Block 2 of the medium-security facility.

As soon as he entered Block 2, he noticed the atmosphere was more cheerful than expected.

The inmates were discussing Jesse, the guest of honor at the farewell ceremony, and Dexter, standing at a distance, perked up his ears.

“Blueberg is leaving already? I thought she’d have her parole hearing at least two years from now.”

“In Nevada, they call it manslaughter instead of third-degree murder. From what I heard, Jesse shouldn’t have even been in prison in the first place because she’s crazy.”

Due to Honeygood Prison’s focus on rehabilitation, there were far more inmates from other states than from Nevada.

Especially since laws vary by state, and judges’ interpretations matter, it was common for two inmates who committed similar crimes to receive drastically different sentences.

The inmates discussing this were pointing out this issue.

“I mean, she used to be kind of crazy. A real loose cannon. But I never dreamed they’d give her a farewell ceremony like this.”

“Masi was crying her eyes out. Said she never imagined Jesse would leave on such good terms. I guess with that personality, she could have been found dead in Block 4 instead.”

Dexter smiled or gaped at the various misdeeds the inmates recounted about Jesse when she first arrived at the prison.

‘Jesse before I knew her.’

While it was interesting to imagine Jesse’s past, Dexter thought she would have been one of the troublesome inmates had he been a guard back then.

‘Well, she was a complete problem child until she entered the infirmary.’

As Dexter headed toward the common room where the inmates’ farewell ceremony would be held, he saw many inmates preparing for it.

Interestingly, Masi, the matriarch of Block 2, was indeed crying profusely.

“Masi, why are you crying so much? This is good news.”

Nicole, another inmate standing nearby, spoke on Masi’s behalf.

“She never thought Jesse would get parole.”

“She’s crying from happiness, right? I’ve never seen Masi cry before.”

“Probably? I don’t think she’s crying from anger.”

When Nicole jokingly said this, Masi wiped her tears with the back of her hand and hit Nicole’s arm hard.

-Slap!

“Ouch!”

“…Shut up.”

Avoiding the busy common room, Dexter headed toward Jesse’s cell and was somewhat surprised to find a different atmosphere inside.

Jesse wasn’t crying or laughing; she wore the same mildly annoyed expression she usually did.

Emily, beside her, remained expressionless as always.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, Dexter. Did you have a good vacation?”

Only after Dexter called out did Jesse notice his arrival, greeting him with a bright smile.

“The vacation was just a quick visit home. I thought you’d be crying or grinning with joy, but you seem different.”

“Well… I am happy. Happy, but feeling a bit strange…”

Dexter looked into Jesse’s eyes.

‘Fear.’

Jesse was afraid.

While she had longed for society, now that she could actually return to it, that society scared her.

Jesse had spent almost three years in prison.

A place where you need permission for everything and are constantly monitored by others.

A place where personal freedom is unimaginable.

You just do what you’re told, and as long as you don’t break the rules, no one bothers you.

As they say, humans are creatures of adaptation, and Jesse had long adapted to this life.

And now, suddenly given freedom.

‘What should I do when I get out? Dexter said to trust him, but what if he gets into trouble? I’ve never been to Las Vegas before; can I live like I did in Ohio?’

With the future, worries, and concerns looming before her, Jesse hadn’t been able to sleep properly since her parole was approved.

Her mind was complicated, her heart was pounding, and her breathing felt rapid.

“Dexter, am I really allowed to leave? It doesn’t feel right; is this really happening?”

Jesse’s eyes resembled those from when they first met.

‘She’s not in her right mind.’

Dexter showed a bitter smile and took something out of his pocket.

“Here.”

It was a gift for Jesse that he had planned to give her the day before her release.

“…What’s this?”

In Dexter’s hand was a neatly folded piece of paper.

“Open it.”

Though she didn’t understand why he wanted her to open a piece of paper, Jesse followed his instruction.

“…A key and an address?”

“You probably know roughly where the address is, and that’s the house key, so keep it safe.”

“…What?”

“I said it’s the house key, so keep it safe.”

Dexter spoke without much emotion, but Jesse was dumbfounded.

“You’re really letting me come to your house?”

“What? Weren’t you planning to?”

Dexter looked at Jesse with a strange expression.

“No, I was just joking…”

“Oh my, look at this young lady. Is our relationship a joke to you?”

As Dexter pretended to be angry with his hands on his hips, Jesse stared at him and asked:

“Really?”

“What?”

“Can I really come to your house?”

“How many times are you going to ask? Do I need to say, ‘Please come, I beg you’?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jesse began to sob.

“Hiiing…”

“Hey, why? Why are you crying?”

As Dexter hurriedly approached to comfort her, Emily, who had been watching them, said:

“She was worried about having nowhere to go.”

“Huh? You should have said something. Why were you suffering alone?”

Dexter had naturally assumed Jesse would come to his house or nearby and had already prepared bedding for her.

But Jesse had been agonizing over how to live on her own.

“Don’t you remember I said I’d take responsibility for you from the moment we met? Stop crying. Now.”

“When I get out, sob… I’m just an ex-criminal, sob…”

She had wrongly assumed that Dexter wouldn’t accept her as a criminal.

Dexter tried to suppress his laughter at the sight of Jesse crying so pitifully.

Somehow, he found her cute.

“That’s why I told you to keep the key and the note safe.”

“Sob…”

“I’ll switch places with the officer in charge for a bit when you’re released, so don’t worry.”

“Sniff… Really…? Can I come home…?”

As Jesse looked up from Dexter’s embrace, sniffling, Dexter smiled and said:

“If you keep this up, I won’t let you in.”

“I’ll come, I will!”

“So stop crying, and I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay… Thank you, Dexter…”

As the two created a sweet atmosphere, Emily, who had been watching them intently, clung to both of them.

Embracing both Dexter and Jesse, Emily looked at them alternately and said:

“I want to stay like this too.”

“…Go ahead.”

While Emily might not express emotions well, she feels similar emotions to others.

Dexter continued to embrace both of them for about five more minutes before leaving.

It was time for Jesse to come home.