Mr. Big (21 page)

A week later, Jennifer and Nelson were walking into the mall when they were approached by a man.

“Are you Nelson Hart?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Nelson as he took the envelope from the guy. As soon as he looked down, Nelson knew what was in his hand. A summons to appear in court.

“You rotten son of a bitch,” Nelson started to yell. He threw the envelope at the sheriff, screaming the whole time. “You won't see me in court, you fucker!”

After they left the mall, they headed down the busiest street in town when the flashing red and blue lights pulled up behind them.

Nelson was put in handcuffs and led to the police car.

“Can you take the car home?” the officer asked Jennifer.

“I can't drive a standard transmission,” she replied.

So the police drove Jennifer back to the apartment while Nelson was taken to the detachment to wait for a court appearance.

Jennifer was home for about an hour when the phone rang. It was Nelson.

“I need for you or Mom to get me out of this!” he begged.

“There isn't anything either of us can do now,” said Jennifer.

The next day, Nelson got his day in court, along with a year's probation.

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Jennifer sat in the apartment. She was hungry, because last week's donation from the food bank had run out and they wouldn't be open again until tomorrow. The cupboards were bare except for a box of tea.

And even if there was food, now the only place to eat was on the coffee table. Nelson had sold the dining room table, opting instead to use the money to try and regain some of his losses from the slot machine.

Without a bed, they were sleeping on the floor, and each night Jennifer could hear the rats scurrying through the walls. She slept, fearing that one of them would wake her up by chewing on her face.

“Come on,” said Nelson. “I'm going over to Dooley's.”

“I don't want to go,” she protested. “I'm sick of spending all my time at he bar.”

“You are going!”

Jennifer could see one of his moods coming on, but she didn't care. She was fed up living like this.

“This is not your apartment, and you're not staying here.” He walked up to her, face to face.

Jennifer could see the cold look in his eyes, and she felt his fist, and her feet came up off the floor. Suddenly, she was falling. The back of her head was the first part of her to strike the floor, and she could feel her entire body bounce back into the air. Her ears rang. But she knew from the look in his eyes that to stay on the floor only meant more trouble.

Even though the world went black for a moment, she jumped up and ran straight for the door. She fumbled with the doorknob and turned back for a moment. And in that moment all she saw was the knife in Nelson's hand. She ran down the hallway and looked back. Thank God he wasn't following.

Outside, she sat on the step. Waiting for the ringing in her ears to stop. She also felt dizzy, to the point where she resisted the urge to throw up.

Suddenly, the door burst open. It was Nelson. He walked with determination right past her, to his car, and climbed inside.

Jennifer could see him sitting behind the wheel fumbling with something. She couldn't tell what he had in his hands, so she backed up toward the building to a corner where he couldn't see her.

For the next five hours she sat on the step. She kept watching.

Finally, Nelson decided he'd had enough of the waiting game and opened the door of the building for Jennifer.

She followed him to the apartment, where he put the key in the lock and let her in.

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A week later and Jennifer's head still hurt. In fact, she felt like something had cracked that day her head hit the floor. Yet she chose to keep it to herself, and she didn't bother going to the hospital.

But the one thing she couldn't handle anymore was sleeping with the sound of the rats.

“Hello, Harry,” she said into the phone. “When is the new apartment going to be ready?” When the phone rang, she hoped that it was a call telling them they could move in earlier than expected.

“I've got some bad news,” he said. “The guy who was living there is in the hospital. The problem is his family turned off the heat and the pipes have burst, flooding the apartment.”

Jennifer was devastated. She could hardly wait to get out of this building.

“Can I come up and have a look?” she asked.

“Sure, but you'll see that this is going to require a lot of fixing up.”

Jennifer was so anxious, she already had a plan in place. If she could do it, she was going to help in the cleanup to speed up the process.

“Come on in.” Harry held the door for her and Nelson.

He was right, the carpet was sopping wet and the drywall was swollen and crumbling.

“I know how to do some plastering and painting,” Jennifer proposed.

Harry was surprised and seemed a little unsure. But after some convincing, he told Jennifer to go ahead and pick up the supplies. He would dry the carpets out and she could do the rest.

Two days later and the carpets were dry enough to get to work. When she got to the apartment the new sheets of drywall were there waiting. But there were still a few things she would need.

“Nelson, can you give me a ride to the store?”

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It was a mild day for February, and Jennifer was only wearing a light jacket. Nelson parked the car in front of the dollar store, and Jennifer set about to find everything she needed. Fixing up the apartment would be reward work. When she finished the repairs, Jennifer would get to pick out her own colours and have everything freshly painted. From the hardware section she found scrapers and putty knives. She also figured this would be the perfect place to get her paintbrushes, a tray, and some drop cloths for the carpet. With a freshly cleaned carpet, the last thing she wanted to do was to get paint splatter all over everything.

“Look Jennifer, look Jennifer. I got fifty dollars!” Nelson was skipping down the aisle like a child.

“I got fifty dollars. I got fifty dollars!”

“Okay, okay,” she said. “Where did you get money like that?”

“There was a fellow in the parking lot.” Nelson was trying to catch his breath. “He came right up to the car window. He's from Montreal, I could hardly understand a word he was saying. Anyway, he has a trucking company, and his sister drove a truck down here a while ago. He says she's a drug addict and an alcoholic. His mother is dying of cancer, and they want to get his sister home before she dies. Apparently she's on welfare here in Grand Falls, and he gave me fifty dollars to help him find her.”

Jennifer wasn't sure what to think of it. It was easy money, that was for sure, but it was unlikely she'd get to see any of it.

“So, what do you have to do?” she asked.

“Well, his sister likes to gamble, so he wants me to go around to all the bars in town. He wanted me to go right away, but I told him I had to talk to you first,” said Nelson.

Jennifer had her doubts, but getting Nelson out of her hair for a few hours would probably speed up her work. At least she didn't have to worry about him getting contrary with her.

“Give me a few more minutes and I'll be out,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer picked up the rest of her supplies and waited in line for fifteen minutes before she was checked in. By the time she went outside, Nelson's new French friend was nowhere to be seen.

Jennifer got in the car.

“He's going to meet me up at the apartment,” Nelson said.

They made the five-minute drive back to the apartment on Brown's Avenue. The first thing Jennifer noticed was the big black pickup sitting in the driveway. When they pulled into the driveway, a good-looking young man jumped out of the truck. Jennifer wasn't sure what to think. He was running toward the car before they even had a chance to park.

He came to Jennifer's side first and opened the door.

“You have good husband, you have good man,” he said through a thick French accent. As Jennifer stood up, he hugged her. “I'm so glad your husband is going to help me find my sister.”

Jennifer thought the man must be a maniac. He was so full of energy and eager to become friends.

Nelson hopped up into the truck with the French man named Steph. Jennifer watched them drive away, wondering what Nelson was getting himself into.

She went inside the apartment. There was a lot of work to be done, so she temporarily forgot about Nelson and the strange man.

It was a productive day. The two of them didn't get back until close to five o'clock.

“Hi, Jennifer,” said Steph. He stood at the doorway, and Jennifer wasn't about to invite him in just yet. “Your husband was a great help today.”

“Did you have any luck?” Jennifer asked.

“Not really,” Nelson said. “I think we're going to be looking in Bishop's Falls tomorrow.”

“I will give you a hundred this time,” said Steph.

He shook Nelson's hand and told him to be ready for 9:00 a.m. Nelson agreed.

The next morning, Steph was knocking on the door at nine sharp. To Jennifer's surprise, Nelson was up, had eaten breakfast, and was eager to get on the move.

Nelson was out the door.

Jennifer spent the day putting the finishing touches on the plaster, and by late afternoon she was sizing up her handiwork. Now came the task of choosing her colours for the paint.

She was sanding down the drywall when the phone rang.

“How's the work going?” Nelson said on the other end of the phone. “Listen, there's no need to worry about supper. Steph says we're going to pick up something. See you soon.”

Jennifer was surprised by Nelson's friendly demeanour. It was a welcome change from what she was used to. But she suddenly realized just how hungry she was. She'd had nothing to eat the entire day. In fact, she couldn't remember if she'd eaten yesterday, either.

When Nelson and Steph showed up at the door a little while later, there was no mistaking the smell of the pizzas. Her mouth watered at the smell.

The kitchen was small, and Steph set the three large pizzas down onto the tiny table. Jennifer and Steph sat while Nelson ate his dinner standing.

Jennifer had a lot of questions, but at the moment she was more interested in getting some food into her stomach. She put the first piece down in seconds, and then she rested to give her stomach a chance to settle.

“So there's no sign of your sister?” Jennifer asked.

Steph had one slice of pizza on his plate, but he had only taken one small bite. Jennifer realized that he had been watching her eat.

“No, but I'll find her,” said Steph. “I'm in the middle of setting up business here. So I will be spending more time on the island.”

Jennifer was trying to get used to the thick French accent. At the same time she was trying to listen, she couldn't get enough of the pizza. She couldn't stop eating even though she had questions.

“What about the truck your sister was driving?” Jennifer asked. “Didn't you look for that?”

“Oh, we found the truck,” said Steph. “It's back in Montreal. You should work for us, Jennifer. We need a receptionist.”

“Well, I don't have no degree in office work,” said Jennifer. “I don't think I could do it.”

“We could train you,” he said. “We just need you to be there to open doors for our trucks.”

“Yeah,” said Nelson. “You'd be good at that, and we don't have any kids, so, you know, you'd be available all the time.”

Jennifer started to slow down. Finally, she was starting to feel full. And then there was Steph. She couldn't understand why he kept staring at her with each mouthful of food she swallowed.

“Well,” he said, standing up from the table. “This was wonderful. Nelson, you have been such a good help to me. Can I call you from time to time, when I need help?”

“Sure,” said Nelson.

“Oh, and here's a carton of cigarettes,” he said, pulling the box from inside his jacket. “I was meaning to give you these. I don't smoke, and a friend gave them to me.”

“I don't smoke, either,” said Nelson.

“Well, you can throw them out,” said Steph. “If you don't want to throw them out, take them down to the bar and sell them.”

Steph gave Jennifer a hug and was out the door.

“I'll be in touch,” he said.

Later that evening, as Jennifer and Nelson were getting ready for bed, Nelson was pleased with himself. “A hundred and fifty dollars is not bad for a couple days' work,” he said. But Jennifer wasn't so sure.

“I don't know, Nelson, something just doesn't feel right.”

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