Jockey Girl

by Shelley Peterson

  Mel spoke for the first time. “They spay ’em, too. We got her to hunt with Rod, but she’s scared of the gun, and she can’t even make pups to sell.”

  “Enough, Mel!” Rod barked. Mel retreated. “We don’t have all day to listen to yer gab.”

  Mary’s brow furrowed. “Too bad your dog got lost,” she said. “How did it happen?”

  Rod narrowed his eyes and grimaced. “She got herself lost.” He glanced sharply at Mel, who smiled weakly again. “Stupid bitch don’t have sense enough t’come home.”

  Without warning, Rod reached into the truck over Mary’s half-open window and opened Mary’s door.

  Evie was terrified, but Aunt Mary was furious. “How dare you break into my truck! Step back right now.”

  Rod put up his hands and backed up a step, laughing in what Evie thought a derisive way. Mary shut the door, threw on the locks and put the truck into reverse. She hastily began to back up. Then there was a loud, metallic clunk. Mary slammed on the brakes.

  Mel Usher stood right behind the truck with a shovel, raised with menace. “Gotcha. Move again, I’ll bust your tires,” she hissed through broken teeth.

  “Good girl,” praised Rod. “Smacked ’em good.”

  What had they gotten into? wondered Evie. A horror movie? This was getting nasty.

  Rod leaned on the driver’s side door of the truck and leered at Mary. His teeth badly needed cleaning, Evie thought.

  Aunt Mary reopened her window just a crack. He spoke quietly. “Now, you let that dumb dog out, or you’re not going anywhere.”

  Mary’s voice shook with fury. “This dog ran away from you and now I know why. I’m not leaving her here.” Mary clutched the steering wheel with white knuckles. “Sue me.”

  Evie was horrified. Aunt Mary was provoking a really scary-looking man. She waited for what might come next.

  “Sue you? Now, that’s a mighty fine idea,” drawled Rod, a crooked smile lighting up his face as he eyed the truck. “You have plenty of money, seems.” He hoisted his green pants up higher. “Mel! Get over here!”

  Mel scuttled over beside Rod and waited for her orders, like a private in some underground mercenary militia.

  “We’re gonna sue her. What d’ya think of that?”

  Mel nodded and nodded. “Yeah!”

  Evie thought that one word sounded oddly hollow, and she suddenly felt badly for Mel. She was just like Magpie in this situation — bullied, likely mistreated, and almost a prisoner. No, Evie thought, actually a prisoner. Mel probably had nowhere else to go. Evie shuddered.

  Rod scratched his chest under his shirt. “But lawyers are expensive.”

  Mel began nodding again.

  Mary glanced at Evie knowingly. Evie had no idea why.

  “Will you sell her to me?” asked Mary. “I’ve got one hundred dollars right here.”

  Rod’s eyes glinted greedily. For the first time since Murray Planno bought Kazzam, Evie felt a ray of hope.

  Rod spat on the ground, thinking. “Make it two and you got yerself a deal.”

  Evie smiled. Aunt Mary would pay it and they could go. Thank goodness. But she’d underestimated her aunt’s steel.

  “I said one hundred. She’s worth nothing to you. She won’t hunt and she can’t have puppies.”

  Rod jerked his head around and sneered at Mel for letting that out. “Two or no deal.”

  “A lawyer’s going to cost you a whole lot more than that, and I’ll guess you won’t walk out of court with the dog at any rate, after the jurors see her living conditions.” She indicated the battered doghouse and rusting chains.

  “Two hundred or you don’t leave at all.” Rod’s face had turned red. Mel held up the shovel again.

  Evie couldn’t take any more. “I’ve got two hundred dollars!” she yelped.

  “Evie,” Mary said sharply. “What are you doing?”

  “Buying a dog! Nobody can take her from me if I own her!” Evie reached into her knapsack and pulled out two crisp one-hundred-dollar bills. She bunched them up, opened her window, and threw the money out.

  As Mel and Rod ran around the front of the truck to collect it, Aunt Mary wasted no time backing up the rutted lane. She hastily checked to see if any cars were coming before she spun her wheels on the gravel shoulder and raced away.

  A kilometre down the road, they both exhaled.

  Evie realized that her hands were clutching Magpie’s loose skin at her shoulders. “Oh, Magpie, I’m sorry!” she exclaimed while she rubbed the dog’s fur.

  “Well, you own a dog, my dear,” said Mary happily. “And you sure have a story to tell!”

  Evie shuddered. “I can’t believe what just happened. They were so awful! And you were so calm!”

  “I’m glad you thought so, Evie, but my heart almost jumped out of my chest.”

  Mel’s timid, scared face flashed in Evie’s mind and she said, “Poor Mel.”

  Mary nodded. “She likely has no idea that she can get out of this situation. If she even wants to, that is.”

  “Why wouldn’t she?” asked Evie. “Rod’s a creepy guy.”

  “It’s not always so easy. People don’t always realize what’s wrong in their lives. She’ll have to be ready before she makes such a big decision.”

  Evie couldn’t imagine why leaving Rod would be such a big decision.

  Mary continued, “Mel probably thinks she deserves to be treated badly. Rod’s bullying tactics are working.”

  Evie thought about this. “That’s so sad. Horrible, even.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Can you stop the truck for a minute?” asked Evie. “I need to clean up the pee on the floor.”

  “Poor dog!”

  “I almost did it myself, too!”

  Mary started laughing, and Evie joined in. Mary pulled over to the side of the road and let Magpie out. The dog seemed ashamed of herself for making a mess, but found good smells to sniff in the tall grass and soon began to wag her tail. Evie and Mary mopped up the puddle with an old towel, then scrubbed the floor with the sanitizing hand wipes that Mary kept in the glove compartment. Once done, they climbed back into the truck and were on their way.

  Magpie lay happily on the now-clean floor at Evie’s feet. Imagine, thought Evie. Just two days ago, she hadn’t even met her aunt Mary, and now she felt closer to her than anyone else on earth — at least anyone with two legs. Mary was proving herself quite a lot more than just a little old lady.

  “We’ll take Magpie back to Diane for shots and worming and a good checkup.” Mary turned and smiled. “Now. Let’s go meet your mother.”

  12

  Angela

  Aunt Mary drove south on Highway 410, then east off the ramp to Highway 427, which they followed south until turning east on the Gardiner Expressway, overlooking Lake Ontario. The day was sunny and the sky was clear blue. Evie watched the cars and huge trucks as they passed them and were passed by them in the four busy lanes. To add to the difficulty of driving safely, motorcycles sped in and out of traffic. She wondered why there wasn’t an accident a minute.

  Evie gazed out her window. Lake Ontario was enormous. She couldn’t see land on the other side. It was calm and beautiful on this day in June, and there were all kinds of sailboats taking advantage of the perfect weather.

  Every November her family travelled this route to see the prize livestock and exciting international horse shows at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. In November, the sky was grey and often there was snow, but today felt like summer.

  “Lately, I’ve been finding Angela on the corner of Queen and Spadina. Or rather, I go there and she finds me. Let’s look there first.” Aunt Mary turned onto Lakeshore Boulevard. “If she’s not there, she might be at the little park nearby. Or the cafeteria where they serve hot lunches.”

  “Okay,” answered Evie as she twisted her hair. Her mouth was dry. It was a bit crazy. She was going to meet a homeless woman. “Does she actually live on the street? I mean, no bed, no roof
?”

  “She’s had an apartment, on and off. At the moment I believe she’s sharing a place with other people. She won’t tell me the address.”

  “But she doesn’t know we’re coming. What if she’s not around?” Evie found herself hoping that would happen.

  Mary shrugged. “We can only try.”

  Evie watched her great-aunt’s profile. She needed someone like Aunt Mary in her life. And maybe, just maybe, her mother would turn out to be good, too, regardless of all the things her father had said about her. She crossed her fingers.

  They got into the correct lane to turn north on Spadina. As they waited for the light, two young men approached. One came up to the truck shaking a can.

  Aunt Mary rolled down her window. She asked him, “Are you hungry?”

  “Yeah.” The man wore a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up on his head, and low-slung baggy jeans.

  Aunt Mary reached back and lifted a paper bag from the floor of the back seat. She handed it to him. “Two cheese sandwiches, two apples, and a few cookies. Enjoy.”

  The man stepped back in surprise. The other man joined his friend. “No!” he barked. “We need money!”

  Mary calmly took back the bag, rolled up her window, and drove on when the light changed.

  Once again, Evie was surprised by her aunt’s actions. “You brought a packed lunch to give away? Why?”

  “There are always people who need help, and I’m pleased to assist them. Look at the floor behind you.”

  Evie saw four brown paper bags, just like the one the men rejected. “Why didn’t they take it?”

  “If they’re hungry, they’re very happy for food, so I offer it. If they want money, they want it for drugs or alcohol. I’m happy to feed them, but not to help them get high.”

  This made perfect sense to Evie.

  “Besides, your mother will be hungry, and if there are others with her, I want her to be able to share.”

  This is insane, thought Evie, her head reeling. She felt an enormous pang of dread. She really did not want to meet her mother if she was anything like the men who’d just come looking for money. She wanted to get out of the city and back to Parson’s Bridge.

  “Don’t worry, Evie,” said Mary, reading the expression on her face. “People are way less strange once you meet them face to face. We’re all just humans, no matter what our differences. And no matter where our paths changed direction.”

  Aunt Mary parked the truck in a public lot on the south side of Queen Street. It was crowded and a close fit, but it was in the shade and outside, not in some huge parking garage. Evie wondered how people ever found their cars again, with all the levels and ramps.

  “We’ll leave Magpie in the truck,” said Mary as she lowered the windows for ventilation. “She’s in the shade and we won’t be long. She’s better off here than being frightened by all the hustle and bustle. She’s not used to it.”

  Evie nodded. To Magpie she said, “You stay, girl. I’ll be back.”

  A cooing noise came from Magpie’s throat, but she cocked her head and stared at Evie, as if trying to say something.

  “Don’t worry, Magpie. Good girl.” Evie rubbed her silky head and closed the truck door.

  Mary put the lunches in her large handbag and clicked the locks. “Ready?”

  No. Evie was definitely not ready, but she couldn’t see a way out of this. This was what she’d wanted. Her stomach was in turmoil. “What are we waiting for?”

  “That’s my girl,” said Mary with a smile. She put an arm around her niece and together they started off down the street. They walked together for a few blocks, jostling though the lunchtime crowds and looking in all the store windows.

  As they walked, Evie tried to find a way to say it. Finally, she steeled herself and began hesitantly “I’ve always wanted to know about my mother. That’s why I called you.” She paused, almost changed her mind, but continued, “I hoped I could go live with her and get out of Maple Mills. Away from my father.” Her words came out faster now. “But I really thought she was dead, even if I hoped she was alive. I didn’t factor in that she might be so … you know … damaged. Do you understand?” She stopped walking. “Okay, I admit it. I’m scared to find her.”

  Mary rested her hands on Evie’s shoulders. “Humans are animals, Evie. And like animals, they become stray when they can’t cope. It’s easier for you to reach out to a stray dog like Magpie than a stray person, but we humans aren’t that different. Your mother is just a stray person. There’s nothing to fear.”

  “I hear what you’re saying, but I’m still afraid. Can we do this some other time? I’m not ready. I thought I was.”

  “We can go home right now.”

  “I don’t want to see some awful, dirty drug addict and have to call her Mom!” Tears rolled down Evie’s cheeks. “My father said she was crazy. Is she crazy? How am I supposed to deal with that?”

  Aunt Mary nodded. “I understand.” She looked around. “Let’s pop into this café and sit for a bit. Hungry?”

  “No. Not at all.” In spite of that, Evie let herself be led into a small coffee shop. Mary sat her in a booth beside the window and went up to the counter. In a few minutes she was back with a coffee for herself, chocolate milk for Evie, a roast-beef sandwich, and two big cookies.

  “One’s chocolate chunk and one’s ginger,” she said with a smile. “They’re freshly baked. They both looked good and I couldn’t decide. Let’s split them, okay?”

  Evie nodded. She took a sip of the chocolate milk and a bite of the ginger cookie. “I’m sorry I’m such a coward.”

  “Nonsense! There’s a right time for everything.”

  “But I made you come all this way! I’m really sorry for wimping out.”

  “Please! I love adventures, and we’ve already had one today with Magpie.”

  “And with Kazzam, don’t forget,” added Evie. She was starting to feel better. “I don’t like that Murray Planno bought him, but Kazzam will win the Queen’s Plate either way, and I’ll be so proud. And I totally loved riding him today. He felt so great. So fast!”

  Mary nodded. “You ride beautifully, my dear. You have good instincts. You asked me about becoming an apprentice. Would you like to train to be a jockey?”

  “Yes.” Evie blushed with sudden shyness. All her life she’d secretly harboured this wish, but had never admitted it out loud. She’d never believed it even possible. Evie thought of the poster on her bedroom wall back at Maple Mills. “Imogene Watson is my hero.”

  Aunt Mary nodded. “She’s fabulous. It’s a lot of work to become a jockey. A lot of training and discipline.”

  Evie agreed. “Do you think I’m too big?”

  “Not at all.”

  “I’m five-six and 115 pounds.”

  “Perfect. Height isn’t the issue, it’s weight, and that’s a good weight. But as I said, it’ll take time and training.”

  “And a horse to ride,” Evie added glumly.

  “There will always be horses for a good jockey.”

  “Not like Kazzam.”

  They ate in silence for a few minutes.

  “I have an idea,” said Mary. “Let’s go to Woodbine Racetrack on the way home. Just to look around.”

  Evie’s heart skipped a beat. “I’d love to! Then this trip won’t be a total waste!”

  “Nothing is ever a waste, Evie. Remember that. Everything leads to something, we just don’t know what at the time.”

  Evie nodded, not quite sure what to make of her great-aunt’s words. She finished her drink and devoured her share of the cookies and half the sandwich. She’d been hungry, after all, she thought, as she wiped her hands on a paper napkin. She glanced out the window.

  She stared. “Look! It’s Magpie!”

  It was unmistakably Magpie. The long, lean black dog cut a distinctive profile. She trotted between pedestrians along the busy sidewalk, with her long, pointed nose to the ground.

  “Well, I’ll be a monke
y’s uncle!” Mary declared.

  They watched in disbelief as Magpie sniffed past the café, then returned and sat at the door. Her eyes searched the window and door for familiar faces, and her tail thumped against the sidewalk.

  “I guess we’re finished lunch!” said Mary, standing up and grabbing her bag.

  Evie dashed for the door and ran outside. “Magpie! How did you get out? And how did you find us, clever girl?”

  Mary unclipped the shoulder strap from her handbag. Evie watched her double it to form a loop, which she put around the dog’s neck. She threaded the loose ends through the loop, then clipped the ends together.

  “There!” She handed the strap to Evie. “A collar and leash in one.”

  “Cool, Aunt Mary. Now, let’s go to Woodbine.”

  “Yes, our city trip is over!”

  But Magpie wouldn’t move. She stared intently into the narrow alley between the café and the shoe shop next door, and her hackles rose. She held up one white paw, and her long skinny tail stuck straight out. A low growl emanated from her throat.

  “Come on, Magpie,” said Evie. “Let’s go. It’s only a squirrel or a mouse or a....”

  A woman stepped out from the dark alley into the light of day. She was a bit shorter than Evie and dressed oddly in layers of faded clothing. She was underweight and ashen. She stared at Mary with half-lidded eyes.

  “Angela!” Mary stepped toward the woman with open arms and hugged her tightly. The woman’s arms hung limply at her sides, then returned the hug. Her eyes closed and her face crumpled. Tiny tears glistened on her cheeks.

  Evie studied her carefully, keeping her distance, frozen to the spot. The woman’s skin was blotchy, with traces of freckles. She looked frail, but stood erect. Aside from her clothes, the really off-putting things were her feet. Dirty, discoloured, ragged toenails stuck out of worn-out sandals. And her fingernails, too, thought Evie. Nicotine-stained and bitten. Not attractive.

  This was a street woman. Not the television type, but a real one. She’d never seen a real street person before. The reality of the situation began to sink in.

  Mary held Angela away to take another look at her, then embraced her again. “I’m so glad to see you, dear.”