Pewter Angels (6 page)

Geez, it had only been a day and already she was blowing things out of proportion. Unable to come up with any more excuses, Henry hopped the fence, went straight over to where she usually put the weeds and took them to the garbage cans in the back alley.

When he returned, she said, “Just wait a minute. I will go get you the five cents.”

“Oh, it’s okay. You can pay me next time. Mom’s waiting for me to have lunch. If I don’t get in soon, she’ll be mad at me.”

“Well, you better get going, then or she will be mad at me, too!”

The aroma of his mother’s famous-to-him borscht soup and homemade bread greeted him as he opened the door. In between and during mouthfuls, he recounted what he had done at Mr. Engelmann’s store with only a little embellishment.

“Sounds like you’re enjoying working there.”

Henry stopped eating and looked up. “Yeah … and I didn’t think I would.”

Later, when Henry returned to the store, he found Mr. Engelmann once again reading the letter. His spectacles hung on the tip of his round nose, threatening to fall off any second. White hair sprouted through the dark grey on the sides of his head and poked through what was left on the top, making him look quite distinguished. In all the years Henry could remember, Mr. Engelmann had worn a sweater vest in a red, blue and grey checkered pattern. Today was no exception. It was buttoned up all the way except for the last two around his midsection. Henry studied him in the muted light from the store’s grimy window: he looked kind of like a benevolent banker or accountant. Too bad he didn’t have the money he needed now.

Mr. Engelmann smiled when he saw Henry, quickly folded the letter and slipped it under the cash register.

“What would you like me to do this afternoon?”

“Yes, yes, come. I’ll show you.”

They walked to the back of the store and through the door that led up to Mr. Engelmann’s living quarters on the second level. Instead of going up, they detoured around that flight of stairs to another door. Mr. Engelmann opened it and flipped the light switch.

“Come,” he said again.

The narrow stairs creaked under their footfalls as they descended the narrow steps. It took Henry’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the dim light from the single bulb at the base of the stairs. On one wall were floor-to-ceiling shelves of goods that Mr. Engelmann used to replenish the stock upstairs. The floor itself was made up of patches of dirt and concrete. Behind the shelves on the east side of the basement was a huge old furnace that had been converted from coal to fuel oil. The odour of the oil mingled with the dank, musty smell of old basements everywhere. Beside the furnace stood an old wringer washer and next to that were several lines of sturdy string running from the wall to a support post for hanging clothes to dry.

In front of the north wall was a makeshift worktable that had not been used for a long time; dust had fallen on it so thickly the top was barely visible. Above the table a few tools hung under a veil of cobwebs. Beside the table was an alcove with two slanted doors midway up the wall to the ceiling. These opened up to the patch of yard behind the store. Sun streaming through the cracks in the doors revealed dancing dust particles and cast sharp bands of light on the rough floor.

Breaking the silence, Mr. Engelmann said, “I don’t want to store too much down here anymore. It’s getting too hard for me or Anna to carry things up and down. Try to make some room on the shelves upstairs and take up as much as you can.”

“Sure, Mr. Engelmann.”

As Mr. Engelmann trudged back up the creaky stairs, Henry began studying the goods to see where they might fit on the shelves in the store room upstairs. Everything was coated in dust. The labels on many of the cardboard boxes had yellowed and peeled off, and some showed signs of nibbling mice. Most of the boxes, though, contained canned goods that would still be usable. Henry hurried back upstairs and found a broom and a clean rag. He swept the dust and spider webs off the boxes then cleaned the products off with the rag. After carrying several boxes upstairs, he soon realized he would have to reorganize the upstairs shelves again to make room for all the additional items.

When Mr. Engelmann checked on Henry an hour and a half later, there were boxes everywhere. He stared at Henry and put both hands to his head. “
Ach, mein Gott,
what is going on here?”

Henry called him over to the end of the shelving and explained that he was storing the goods according to category and that each shelf now had similar or related supplies. It would give them more shelf space and make it easier to find things.

Mr. Engelmann looked at Henry quizzically. He then turned and began to study the shelves Henry had already reorganized. Gradually, Henry saw the concern fade from Mr. Engelmann’s face and then he nodded.

“Maybe you have a good idea, Henry. Go ahead. Let’s see what happens. But first of all, you take a break. Go to the cooler and take whatever drink you want—go out back and sit down a bit.”

Henry pulled out a Dr. Pepper from the cooler, pulled off the cap with the cooler’s front bottle opener and walked out the back of the store. The sun felt good and instantly thawed the chill he still felt from working downstairs. Just outside the back door were several large crates, the wood stained with age. Henry hopped onto one and folded his legs under him. He placed his drink on his bent legs, put his hands on top of the bottle and rested his chin on top of his hands.

He sipped his drink and took stock. The building sorely needed painting. Where the paint had already peeled away, the bare wood had turned a weathered grey. Over the years, signs advertising various kinds of soft drinks had been nailed over the entire back wall of the store. They were all different shapes and overlapped one another. Henry felt a sudden eagerness to make more improvements. He didn’t know how just yet, but he began to get goose-bumps thinking about the challenge of it all.

His thoughts turned from work to Jenny. He was surprised that he’d actually been able to think of something other than her. How could someone be so attracted to another person or fall in love so quickly? Henry only knew he wanted to be with her and gaze into her eyes forever. His body tensed as he tried to figure it all out. He raised both shoulders to his ears then deliberately allowed them to fall slack, releasing the pent-up stress.

He put the bottle, which had started to warm, to his lips and guzzled over half the contents in one long swallow, smacking his lips after it went down. When he’d finished, he jumped off the crate and headed back inside, eager to continue what he had started.

As Henry entered the store, he heard Mr. Engelmann talking with someone.
Jenny?
He rushed to the doorway and pushed aside the curtain that separated the stockroom from the store. It was Jenny! His heart bucked at the sight of her.

“Hi, Jenny,” he said as nonchalantly as he could, trying to hide his surprise and excitement.

“Oh, there you are! Mr. Engelmann just told me you were working for him. That’s great!” She rushed towards Henry, grabbing his hands. His face flushed. She dragged him toward the windows at the front. “Look, Henry. Mom and I went shopping for house supplies and things. We went by this wonderful shop and look what I got.” Her sparkling eyes beamed as she raised her arms slightly and cocked her hip to one side. What was she talking about? Oh! New clothes! Miss Universe was modeling in front of him. He scrambled to think of something to say, letting out a sigh of relief when Mr. Engelmann helped him out by saying, “You look beautiful, Jenny.”

Henry nodded. She cast her eyes downwards, not waiting for any more compliments, and continued, “And look how shiny my new shoes are!”

Finally finding his tongue, Henry choked out, “Boy, you look great, Jenny.” So that’s why she hadn’t been home at lunch. He was still stunned, but very pleased, that she had come here to show him her new outfit.

“So, when are you done?” she asked with a coy smile.

Henry looked at Mr. Engelmann.

“He needs to clear up what he started so we can walk in the back,” the old man replied. “Perhaps, oh, one or two hours,” he continued, looking more towards Jenny than to Henry.

“Well, call on me when you’re finished, and maybe we can go for a walk or something,” Jenny offered.

“Sure, Jenny, see you later, then.”

“’Bye, Mr. Engelmann.” She turned and danced out the door.

Mr. Engelmann and Henry watched as she left, savouring her youthful gait and playful manner.

“A very nice young lady,” Mr. Engelmann commented, “reminds me a little of my Anna.” There was a long pause and Henry sensed Mr. Engelmann was reliving some past experience. “I can see you are quite fond of this girl, Henry.”

Henry’s face reddened again. “Yes, I am.” Had he said that out loud? He surprised himself by adding, “I sure am.”

Mr. Engelmann raised his eyebrows and looked at Henry above smudged glasses. He nodded slightly and smiled.

Taking Mr. Engelmann’s nod as both a sign that he understood and that their conversation was finished, Henry turned and headed back to the storeroom. Jenny’s visit fuelled his enthusiasm to finish his work.

Henry stayed much longer than he had intended. In fact, over three hours had elapsed since Jenny left the store, but he got everything organized into categories. Much to his surprise, there were two empty shelves when he was finished, enough room to bring up the remainder of the stock from downstairs. He’d do that in the morning. He took all the empty boxes out back, broke them down and tossed them into the garbage. The back store room looked neat, tidy and organized. He was very proud of this evidence of his hard work.

As Henry headed to the front of the store to leave for the day, Mr. Engelmann came in. He stopped mid-step, his mouth and eyes wide open.

“Why, Henry, this looks beautiful. So clean and tidy.”

He moved closer, studying the shelves, turning his head side to side and up and down, staring in disbelief, trailing arthritic fingers over the neat rows of cans and boxes, all facing front. For a moment, Henry thought Mr. Engelmann would tell him to put everything back where it had been. He’d made a lot of changes; it would probably take Mr. Engelmann months to get used to it.

Finally, Mr. Engelmann spoke. “
Ach, mein lieber Gott.
My, my, Henry. In all the fourteen years I have owned this store, this storage room has never looked so good. I am very proud of you. Thank you for a job well done. I hope Anna is well enough to come down and look at what you have accomplished. It will make her very happy.”

Mr. Engelmann smiled. He surveyed the shelves once more and when he looked back at Henry, Henry was surprised to see tears welling in the old man’s eyes. Unaccustomed to seeing a grown man display such emotion, Henry quickly looked down. “Thank you, Henry,” Mr. Engelmann stuck out his hand towards his new employee.

Henry met the watery gaze. “You’re welcome, Mr. Engelmann.” He shook the trembling hand, unbidden tears in his eyes too. “Well, I better get going. See you tomorrow.” Henry turned and literally floated out of the store.

Since he wouldn’t see Jenny until after supper now, he took his time biking home, his mind flip-flopping between Jenny and Mr. Engelmann and how amazing it was that he’d had two great experiences two days in a row. He felt like he’d known Jenny for a lifetime and he could hardly wait to share his success at Mr. Engelmann’s store with her.

As his house came into view down the block, Henry remembered he had promised Timmy they could hang out together after work. Tim would go ape if he avoided him again. Until Jenny’s arrival, Timmy had been one of his best friends. It would be wrong to simply abandon him now.

As Henry pulled up to his house, he was so deep in thought he didn’t notice Jenny standing at her fence gate with Timmy Linder until the very last second. His heart lurched. Was Timmy making time with his girl? Henry sincerely hoped not. They turned towards him as he pulled up.

“Hey, Hank, come on over,” Timmy shouted. “How’s Mr. Businessman? How many old ladies did you coo and woo today? And how was the old geezer? You get a raise already?”

“Timmy, you’re awful,” Jenny scolded with a smile. “You’re just awful,” she said again, seeing that he had not taken any offense and rather enjoyed her reaction.

“Oh, never mind him, Jenny, that’s just Timmy’s way. How was school today, Tim?”

“Man, it’s a drag and now I have to stay in tonight and study for a test tomorrow. The whole thing’s stupid. I hate it, and I can’t stand Mr. Morgan. I’ll be so glad when this is all over.” After a brief pause to shake off those ugly thoughts, he added, “By the way, Hank, my mom and dad want to go to the beach tomorrow as soon as my class is over. Wanna come along?”

Henry inwardly sighed with relief that Timmy had homework tonight and wouldn’t be around the next day. It would leave him free to be with Jenny without Timmy tagging along. “Nah, I can’t,” Henry said, feigning a sorrowful tone to hide his elation. “I promised Mr. Engelmann I would work tomorrow and Saturday at his store.”

“Geez, Hank, you’re not going to work for him again are you?

This is summer holidays. Time to have fun and relax. What’s wrong with you? You’re spoiling everything.”

“Well, Tim,” Henry began, “Mr. Engelmann needs my help and—”