Laura's Big Win

by Michelle Tschantre'

  Amanda was quick on the trigger. After all, her brother had switched associations and got himself hooked up with the machinery side of things and she didn’t want to be left out. “Me, me!”

  “Okay, let’s get on with it. We have some wiring to do. Ready?”

  And out the door went the four of them, bent on a mission. Laura was trying to keep up with events but had the uneasy feeling things now had a life of their own. She remembered she had promised to call Angie at the shelter to confirm things, but was interrupted in mid-thought by an incoming call. “Hello…..yes Roger…..this thing is gaining speed. I think maybe I just have to get out of the way. Dennis and Franz heard what was going on, and they and my kids are out doing things with old blue and the tandem, whatever all that means……Wow, that’s great. I’ll add that to the list, and Roger, thanks a bunch for all this. We’ll see you about 2:30 at the shelter.”

  Laura’s ears were assaulted by the roar of engine exhaust as her transportation arrived in the form of a large blue tractor followed by the long flat trailer. The original design had been modified with stake sides so it could carry more bales, and it worked out great that the single tier of bales made fine seats, with the side boards as backs. While Franz and Amanda worked to install the revolving warning light, Dennis started the loading. Marie and Fernando, unaware the original plan had been scrapped, arrived to start food prep for the cookout. Brought up to date, Laura suggested one of them retrieve their kids so they could go along for the ride, while she would help the other do whatever was needed in the kitchen. Fernando was back in their car in a flash, while Marie took Laura in tow and headed for the kitchen storeroom.

  “Here, Senora, is where we make things fly. You and me, we will do the salad. Okay?”

  “Fine by me, but why are we in the storeroom?”

  “We need the cutter. Here, we put this on the cart; then I will show you how to make lots of salad very quickly.”

  Laura helped her load the heavy machine and wheel it back into the kitchen. Marie opened the large cooler and pulled out a tub full of lettuce heads, washed and ready to be chopped. After placing a small metal measuring cup upside down on the work counter, Marie took a head in both hands, carefully turned it until the base was straight down, and drove it down on the cup in one smooth motion. Pulling the head back up, she reached underneath and pulled out the liberated core. Laura was duly impressed, but then it was her turn. She missed twice on her first try, causing minor damage to the lettuce head but none to herself. Between the two of them, the giggles started, only to be made worse when they were ready to feed the cutter and realized it worked much better plugged in. Marie was certainly right about one thing; they made a lot of salad and in a hurry. The powerful cutter made short work of the lettuce, while the girls added salad tomatoes and other ingredients as the lettuce flew. In short order the tub was back in the cooler and ready for transport. That done, they turned their attention to packing up the utensils and things they would need on their road trip, and helping Doris as she needed a hand. The steaks were already resting comfortably in their marinade containers, and the loaves that would become garlic toast were split and ready to go.

  Just as they were doing the final loading, Roger called back one more time. “In case you were thinking about dessert, although I don’t know how anyone is going to eat any after one of those steaks, a friend of mine is going to bring some by later in the day. Just thought I’d let you know. And I’ll pick up some hamburger patties as well; I’m sure the little kids don’t want to deal with a big steak; they’d rather go play. Anyway, see you in a little while. Oh…..Cal and his family will be with us also; he sounded pretty excited about it.” And with that, he was off the line.

  Laura was impressed with the load-out. The guys had actually managed to load the very heavy volleyball standards, and the net, all of which wasn’t much of a strain for the big trailer but a good load for a couple of people to handle. Fernando had returned with Ernie and Vickie, and helped the guys carry out the coolers filled with steaks, and the other food items. Dennis would drive, since he looked more at home on the big tractor, while Franz would ride the trailer and try to keep everyone safely inside.

  “Okay, last call for a potty break. Everybody ready?” Four small bodies raced for the bathroom, just in case. Laura, suddenly remembering the call from Roger, had a quick chat with Dennis while they waited for the kids, then with everyone in place and seated, the big blue tractor roared to life, down the lane, through the gate, and onto the open road. One of the things Franz had never been able to accomplish with the machine was to cure it of one small ill that, while it didn’t seem to affect the way it ran, took getting accustomed to. Every so often the engine appeared to belch, and would blow a big puff of black smoke out the tall stack; it was a sight to behold, and the kids simply loved it, however disconcerting it may have been to Franz. The flashing amber light high in the air above the trailer served as adequate warning to approaching vehicles, although the big machine and the hazard warning on the tail gate would be pretty hard to miss. Along the way to the heart of town and the shelter, Dennis made a short detour past the local soft drink distributor; Roger’s call to Laura had been to tell her he had called in a favor from the distribution center’s owner, and drinks were awaiting them. Pulling into the dock area, the men loaded the two big coolers onto the trailer, straining with the weight of the boxes full of drinks and ice chips. Then, back on the road and on to the shelter. Dennis knew the area well enough to know he could cut through the alley, then swing into the parking lot beside the old hotel, leaving plenty of room for the cookers, coolers, volleyball net, and whatever else they brought. Roger, Cal and their wives were there waiting for them, as was the totally amazed Angie Costello. If Angie recognized anyone in the group, Dennis stood out in her mind from their one previous meeting. She had watched him scoop up Amanda as they were leaving the shelter; that one act had stayed in her mind a long time.

  Had it been a little less organized, the event could have been mistaken for a small riot. People from the shelter had not really been told what was to take place; Angie just could not believe this was going to happen, even as much as she wanted to trust Laura, but here all of them were. Dennis muscled the rusty gate of the parking lot closed to keep curious onlookers out, and the guys started unloading and setting up the cooking line and the volleyball court. Angie announced on the PA dinner would be in the parking lot in a couple of hours, but she needed some help carrying tables and chairs. People who minutes before had no spark of interest or energy, down on their luck, or just depressed with their condition in life, were suddenly given a chance to do something, however briefly, for their own good, and they took the bait. Introduced all around, Angie remembered Laura and the kids from their one brief encounter.

  “I just can’t believe this is happening. Are you sure this is for real, there’s no catch to it, no hidden camera or something like that?”

  “Nope, nothing like that. As soon as we can get things just a little organized and the cookers heating, we’ll have a chat about how this happened. In the meantime, I think the guys could use a little direction setting things up so the line can move along easily. They do great with eating, not so good with the “how to” end. If you work with them, I’ll see what else needs done. Okay?”

  “Deal, even if I can’t believe this.” Angie could see the problems developing with the food line and hurried over to make some adjustments. Working with Dennis while the other men unloaded and set up the volleyball court, she showed him where things should go so people could serve themselves a little easier. Laura watched out of the corner of her eye when she could, amused at the incongruous matchup between the extra large Dennis and the medium small Angie.

  “Okay, Dennis, we need to set up two steak lines if we can. I know there aren’t that many people here, but believe me, when the serving starts, it’s gonna be like a stampede. Some of these people haven’t seen a meal like this in a year or two, maybe more. Ok
ay?”

  “Yes ma’am. Where would you like this?” Dennis had simply picked up one of the large cookers at arm’s length and was waiting to reposition it according to her wishes. Admittedly, he was a little taken with this woman he had just met, her small stature compared to him somewhat fascinated him, but mostly it was because she talked to him not like a big, dumb jock but as another human being.

  Floored by his raw power, Angie could only point to the location for the grill until she could gather her wits a bit. “Jeez but you’re strong. Do you work out a lot or something?”

  “No, not so much anymore, just hard work at my job keeps me going I guess.”

  Laura had worked her way back through the assemblage in time to hear the vocal exchange. “He’s an ex pro football player, you know. Aren’t you Dennis?”

  “Are you really? I should have guessed, all those muscles. What position?”

  “Lineman mostly, wherever they needed me, but it was more semi-pro than the big time stuff, and my knees couldn’t take it anymore. Do you watch football?”

  “I do, I just love it, but you know, I know there’s stuff about it I just don’t understand. I mean, all those little hand signals the coaches give, and then there’s the zebras running around all over the place. Things like that.”

  “Maybe…..we could watch a game together so I could explain some of that. Maybe?”

  “I think that would be great. Right now, I have to do a couple of other things whether I like it or not. We’ll talk about it a little later for sure, okay?”

  “Okay. Find me.”

  “You can count on it.”

  Dennis found himself in a mental jam. He wanted so badly to ask this woman out to his place, but he thought it might be awkward with Franz around, and he just couldn’t ask Franz to stay away. That wasn’t right either since they shared the quarters. What to do? Maybe, he thought, he should ask Franz; they had been roommates for a while and had few secrets. Dennis knew he wanted a couple of cold beers very badly right then, but decided his own courage would have to do. With things pretty well set up and volleyball underway, Dennis located Franz and took him aside for a moment.

  “Look, buddy, I got a real problem here and I don’t know what to do. I don’t want trouble between us, but Angie’s a real doll and I ain’t gettin’ any younger you know. I want to ask her out to the place, but she might feel a little strange being there with the two of us; you can see my problem.

  “Yeah, I can see the problem. I got the same deal with Bernice over at the hardware store. I know she likes me, and I think maybe she’d go out; I just haven’t had the guts to say anything to her…..Wait a minute. You remember that old thing about strength in numbers? How about this: we both take the plunge, and invite them out to our place for pizza and beer tomorrow afternoon? I could call Bernice now. Okay?”

  “Yeah, okay, make the call. Man I’m nervous; I never was before a game, even a big one, but this…it’s all different. Lemme know what she says. Maybe the girls would like to talk to each other; they seem to do that a lot on television.”

  And so it went, but in the end four people met in the carriage house loft at Windmere for pizza and beer, not necessarily in that order. It would become a weekly event, and in the course of time, a lot more.

  After the brief comment about Dennis, Laura had continued to move around making sure things were going well. Everyone was doing their job, the grills were heating, drinks were being distributed, and two food lines set up. Things were coming along well and she was getting a really good feeling about all this, Roger has been well pleased with the idea and everyone had jumped in quickly. The people at the shelter could hardly believe their good fortune, and Laura made sure they knew it was because Angie had welcomed Laura and the kids when they needed help. Laura sort of glossed over the fact that they had not actually stayed even one night in the shelter; it seemed to her that was more information than anyone really needed to know. Besides, she had just seen something else she wanted to look into. Sitting on an old park bench that was a permanent part of the parking lot was a fairly young looking girl; she seemed a little withdrawn from the rest of the crowd, not in any hostile manner, just somewhat left out of the activity. Laura made her way over to the girl to see if maybe she just needed a better invitation to join in the activities, and discovered why she was sitting by herself, the nursing baby concealed in a blanket so as to be nearly invisible. Neat trick Laura had done herself when it was feeding time and she was out in public, but this girl looked more like she needed a friend at the moment.

  “I’m Laura; mind if I sit a minute?”

  “Whatever. It’s a public bench.”

  “Beautiful baby. Boy or girl?” Laura was determined to draw this girl out a little and find out why she was at the shelter.

  “Boy.”

  “How old?”

  “Ten days, that’s about how long I’ve been in this place, not that it matters.”

  “It matters to me, and I was only here one day, with my kids, a few months ago.”

  “Naw, you couldn’t have been. I see your clothes and your friends. Somebody said you were doing all this for the shelter; you couldn’t have been in here, not you.”

  “Doesn’t matter what I look like today. About six months ago I was sitting here like you, wondering what happened, when some nice people came along and helped me out. If you tell me your story, maybe I could help you out in turn. How about it?”

  “I don’t think so; nobody can help me, anyway nobody wants to; that’s how I got here; nobody cares.”

  “Okay, maybe that’s fine for you, but what about your baby? Doesn’t his father care what happens to him?”

  “Hell no. You think I’d be here if that bastard cared? When I told him I was pregnant he told me to get lost or get an abortion, it was all my fault somehow, and then when I wouldn’t get an abortion he said if I tried to get child support he’d take my baby away. My folks let me stay there ‘til he was born, then my dad said he didn’t want his slut daughter around, he was ashamed of me, and put my things on the front step. So, there, do you know enough now? Satisfied?”

  “No, but don’t be angry with me. I didn’t get you into this, and I may be able to help you get out of it, at least a little. If you don’t care about yourself, at least you could care about your baby.”

  “I do care about him, I just don’t know what to do and nobody wants to help me and I’m afraid…..”

  Laura put her arms out and the young woman leaned into them, tears streaming and sobs wracking her body, all the while her baby happily nursed along oblivious to the ongoing trauma. When things has subsided a bit, Laura leaned back and looked at the child with child. “Okay, now that we have that out of the way, talk to me, name, age, things like that.”

  Reddened eyes still weepy, she started in: “Les, Leslie really, Leslie Friend, I turned 20 last week. I’m sorry for talking so mean to you; it’s just that nothing has gone right about the last nine months…..”

  And the story finally came out. Les had graduated from high school in Conyerville at 18 and wanted to become a paramedic. With no funds available from her parents, she had hired on at a cleaning firm to work nights, earning enough money for tuition at the community college to carry a couple of courses a semester and still have time for the homework. All had gone well the first year; the second year she had been assigned to a different building, one with a lot of professional offices. An impressionable young girl, she was seen by a lawyer in his early 30’s as a fairly easy mark, easy to impress with his expensive suit and some expensive gifts, and it wasn’t long before she believed she was in love with him. He even engendered her sympathy with his “frigid wife” story, in spite of his three children, and how he was going to divorce her. Someone more experienced would have read him like an open book, but Les was young, and inexperienced, and eventually pregnant. Her mother was sympathetic, her father was not. Her lover wanted only for her to go away and not rock his little boat. With no pla
ce to turn, she was in the shelter where at least she could find food and a roof for her baby, but not a lot of hope. She was nursing because she really did believe that was best for her baby, and, she simply couldn’t afford formula anyway. She wanted to continue working after delivery, but the company wouldn’t let her take her baby along, and without a job, she couldn’t afford child care; Leslie Friend had learned the true meaning of “between a rock and a hard place”, but she had just met Laura Nessing.

  “Sounds like you were beaten up on pretty bad, and abandoned by the very people who should have been helping you. I’m not sure what I can do to help, but I do know some people here and there and I can make some calls. Now, here’s what you do. Here’s my business card with my direct number on it. Monday morning you call me, say 9 AM; I assume you have no transportation, so I’ll have someone pick you up and bring you out to my office at Windmere. See the big guy over there, and the smaller guy next to him?”

  “Hard to miss the big one. Friends of yours?”

  “Yes, they are; the big guy was one of the people who picked me out of here a few months back. Anyway, one of those two will be driving you, just so you know. We’ll talk things over and see where things can go from there. Okay now?”

  “Yes, thank you; I’m sorry, I guess I was just feeling sorry for myself. I know things haven’t really changed much, but somehow I feel better now. Are you sure this is okay, for me to call you? I’ve heard people talk about that place, how exclusive and fancy it is and all that stuff; I don’t want to get you in trouble or anything.”

  “Nope, no trouble. See the guy over there dipping soft drinks out of the ice for the little kids? He’s the CEO of Windmere. Can’t get closer to the big dogs than that. Come on; I’ll introduce you, and don’t tell me no. He may be the person to get you out of all this.”