Chapter 51

 Jenny and Charlie sat at the kitchen table discussing finances and agreed they needed to talk to someone about it.  "That's why I always wanted to file separately" Jenny said.  "My stepfather is a CPA he's a real rock for Mom and I would go with him, he also does some financial advice.  He helped grow my, ah, blood money quite a bit even in spite of the economy."  

Javin banged on the door, yelling about the tree. They opened the door and found it stacked neatly off to one side.  

"Too bad we couldn't use it for firewood or BBQ" Jenny mused.  They checked the storage units which were intact, the contents sound.  She took a stroll through her property, picking up and stacking dead branches off to the side.  

"Why aren't you stacking it with the tree stuff?" Boo queried.  

"Well insurance is only paying to take off that, right?"  She waved at the burnt pine tree.  "It's stealing if I put my stuff on there."  

Boo laughed "I'm taking it off, feel free to put your things on there."  She did, let out a little screech when a cat popped out, and laughed, holding the cat in her arms.  

She didn't know it but that image, of her laughing and holding the cat in front of her shattered home, would lead the "Storm Story" on the evening news, along with the link to her Go Fund Me.  

Pops came out, smoking mad.  "They say it will be a week before they can send the adjuster!  What kind of company does that?"  She put the cat down, walked over, and patted his arm.  

"I have a place to live, anything I get is a gift.  I'm just worried about your blood pressure.  Have you had anything to eat?  Did you take your pills?"  She walked him back to his house.  

Chapter 50

 "I guess" Jenny said, standing in front of her trailer, "I need to tell you something, but let's go inside."  They went in the trailer and sat at the kitchen table, she poured them each a glass of warm lemonade from the pitcher, went in the bedroom, and came back carrying a hanky.  

Charlie sat up in alarm.  Jenny never cried.  "What is it?"  

"I need to tell you something and I think you may be upset"  She sat down at the table, wringing the hanky, staring at the fake wood laminate.  "You know I was - hurt."  

Charlie nodded, tersely.  She must have seen him out of the corner of her eye.  Jenny, restless, got up, picked up a battered Bible, and sat down with her hand on it.  "He went to prison, of course.  Segregated because prisoners don't like people who do that to children."  

Charlie swallowed.  

She continued.  "He had a hard time in there, as he should."  She paused and rubbed the cover of the Bible.  "He had a lot of time to think, off the drugs, actually went to counseling and worked on things."  Charlie gritted his teeth.  "He got saved."  

Charlie stood up at that, cursing, wanted to hit something, clenched his fists and looked at Jenny, so sad at the table.  He relaxed his hands and went over to her, rubbing her shoulder gently, and sat down again.  

"What happened next?"  

"He had a secret" she continued.  "He came from money, a lot of it.  They disowned him after his conviction but let him keep his trust.  He had a lot in there.  He used it to pay for protection,lawyer, etc. But after he got saved he stopped all that except for one job for the lawyer."  She looked up at him "He wrote a will, leaving everything to me. It's in a trust."  

Charlie sat, stunned. "It's blood money" he blurted out.  

She smiled sadly. "It is.  You wouldn't believe what my virtue went for."  She met his eyes.  "I can get anything I want."  

She went on to explain how he had written her a letter, repenting, explaining how he had been molested "By a woman" she said, "He was very careful to say that", as a child, how the drugs had taken his reason until he found himself in chains in front of a judge.  

"He made it clear nothing he could say would make up for it; but he wanted me to have the money so I would at least not have to worry about that."  

"He died in prison" Charlie replied.  "I assume another inmate got him."  

"Well" she looked down at the floor "My father was in prison for killing someone in a bar fight.  Someone got him some pictures of what was done to me"  Charlie coughed "So the inevitable happened, especially since my abuser had stopped paying his protection money."  

She met his eyes "But as he's bleeding out on the floor he looks up at my father, forgives him,and says he sees Jesus.  So my Dad got saved out of it, too"  

Charlie thought about it for a minute.  Mija.  Killed a man in a fight.  Protective.  

He stood up.  "Is Miguel your father?!"

"Yes". She replied 

Chapter 49

 "I already called my insurance!" Pops cried as he saw Jenny.  Jenny gaped at the mess, the burnt smell making her gag. "My cousin is coming over help with the cleanup as soon as the Fire Department clears this up!"  

The house looked like it had been stepped on. If she'd been inside...she shook her head and headed towards the trailer, stopping at an official looking fireman "Can I go in there?" pointing at the trailer.  He got on his radio and a little back and forth, then gave her the OK.  

She got the cats inside and sprung (and the extra litter box, which she put under the kitchen table).  She opened a package of peanut butter crackers and opened a warm can of juice, sitting on her bed and musing.  She finished her snack and went out, brushing her hands on her shorts.  She went up the fireman.  "I need to get in my storage unit and see."  He got on the radio again.  

"I'm sorry, ma'am, not until this tree's gone"  

"I'm here for that!" someone yelled and she turned to see a black man with a chain saw.  "I'm Boo, Pops' cousin.  I'm going to clear this for you!"  The fire department finished getting the electrical cable out of the tree and let Boo loose on the tree.  Since it was already dead and burned it didn't take much to get it off the storage unit.  

Charlie was talking to Miguel out in the street and they were frowning as they looked down the road.  She followed their gaze, oh, no, the news.  She ran over to the men "Get them out of here!"  She had featured in enough news stories she didn't want another. 

"It might" Miguel mused "Make it worse if we ask them to leave.  Why don't we ask them to keep their distance for now."  

Boo came up, sweating, as Jenny handed him a warm lemonade she had made with some drink mix. "Thank you, baby!"  She darted a gaze at Charlie but he grinned.  "My kid sister set up a Go Fund me for you, sweetie, she's going to send you a link.  All you have to do is sign in and they'll put whatever in your account".  

Jenny gulped as he continued "I got some real nice shots before I took the tree down, and I told Melinda from the news station about it."  Jenny tried not to swallow her tongue.  People were going to think she was begging.  

Miguel put his hand on her shoulder as Charlie watched closely, "Mija, it's a good idea.  People see something like this they want to help."  Boo headed off to talk to Pops as Javin picked up branches in his yard.  She headed over to him. 

"How are you doing?" she asked quietly.  

"We're so sorry, both of us.  I should have told him to cut the tree down but they wanted $500 for it, and..." 

"You don't have that kind of money" she finished. 

"Now your home is ruined," he sniffled "I feel so bad about that, now you have to live in that tin can."  

She told him about some of the problems the house had, focusing on the awful plumbing issues.  'I couldn't flush ANYTHING, Javin, it was terrible.  God used this to do me a favor.  I will just figure out something else to do."  

She looked over at Charlie on his phone, frowning, as the news crew chatted in the distance.  He waved her over.  

"Jen." He looked frustrated, but was taking obvious steps to calm himself.  "Can I see your wallet?"  She handed it over, non thinking.  

He opened it up and looked at her debit card, her credit card, and her other debit card leftover from their married days.  She had the same bank and they would send her a new card every few years.  She would activate it and stick it in her wallet.  He took it out.  

"Have you ever used this?"  It had been their joint account.  

"No" she replied slowly... "First it was a pride thing and then I thought if there was anything you needed it more than I did."  She looked at his $200 boots.  "I guess not."  

"I want to show you something" he said quietly.  "I have been putting half of everything I made after expenses in this account for you."  He pulled up an app on his phone and selected an option, handing her the phone. 

She was amused by the high-end phone for a moment and then looked at the screen. "How many zeroes is that?"  She asked.  

"Enough" he replied quietly "To get you a real home.  I want something quick for you so I'd like to go to the mobile home dealer - you know the one who has the homes that survive the hurricanes...and see if they have something that will work for you once we get this cleaned up".  

Jenny gaped.  "What about my current place?"  

Charlie laughed "It can be your in law suite.  You don't have zoning here, remember?"  

Chapter 48

 "At least" Charlie replied "I listened to you and parked the truck at the parking garage.  I put it on the fifth floor, it's NOT flooding".  

Jenny's text message alert went off and she checked it.  Javin 

"TRAILER OK DON'T WATCH TV"  

WHAT? she texted back 

WE'RE REALLY SORRY GRANDAD IS CRYING.  

WHATEVER IT IS (she frowned) I FORGIVE YOU BUT I CAN'T IMAGINE ANYTHING YOU DID WRONG.  

COME BACK AS SOON AS YOU CAN.  

ARE YOU GUYS OK?  

YEAH BUT YOU NEED TO TALK TO POPS.  

She frowned at her phone as Charlie packed.  "How are we getting back with the power out?"  Charlie paused.  

Her phone pinged again. Miguel, her neighbor from across the street.  He was a nice Latino man with prison tats and sad eyes, who always called her mija.  "My neighbor will get us if I give him the address.  He has a lifted truck.  Is that cool?"  

Charlie could be jealous in the past.  She didn't want more trouble.  "How do you know him?"  

"He moved in a year or so back.  He killed someone in a bar fight a long time ago and has been out for a while". 

His lips tightened "You live near an ex-con?"  

Jenny stood up and turned on him "We're all sinners deserving of hell, buddy.  At least he paid his debt instead of hiding like a coward!"  Charlie flinched, looked around his apartment.  Princess had a leg up in the air grooming her privates while Baby Girl ate some wet food.  "And he got born again in prison, he is a lot better than I am at apologetics."  

He looked at the cats, the spreading wet spot on the ceiling, and Jenny, so fierce standing there in his apartment.  He didn't want to lose her again and he did need the help.  "I have a terrible time asking for help, Jen.  Yes, if we'll all (he waved his hand) fit".

She smiled at him like the sun coming up "It's a double cab!"  she began texting.  Charlie began rounding up the cats and putting them in their carriers.  He only got scratched a few times.  

Miguel knocked on the door about half an hour later, looking inside and whistling when he saw the water stain.  "No Bueno, buddy!  You gotta get out of here before the mold sets in!"  They introduced themselves as "I can get it all in one trip" Jenny pushed through with two cat carriers and a shoulder bag. 

Charlie looked up at the sky, it was clearing but he could see debris everywhere, a few tree limbs knocked down and trash scattered all over the ground.  "How is it" he asked Miguel quietly "Back at her place?   The little boy seemed upset"  

Miguel frowned "It's better if you see it, but her trailer is OK.  It's a good thing you got her in there, and took her with you last night."  He thumped Charlie on the back.  "Acting like a real husband!"  Charlie flinched.  

"What do you need to move?" Miguel asked and Charlie pointed out a few bags and the unopened cat litter.  "You had better take the box, too, buddy".  Charlie paused.  "The litter box?"  

"Yes, I watched a lot of cat shows and a cat does better in a new place if you bring the old box.  We can put it in my truck bed, we'll just wrap it in one of my contractor garbage bags."  Charlie shrugged.  

The trip was about what they had expected but Miguel was able to navigate some high water spots easily with the truck. The cats had a chorus of protest.  

Miguel pulled the truck over before they turned into the neighborhood.  "It looks bad, mija, but remember you, the cats, and the trailer are OK.  And remember a lot of people love you".  Jenny sat up a little straighter, peering out the passenger side window, as he turned.  

And there it was, the huge, dead, pine tree fallen on her house, tangled up in electrical wires, the house a smoldering ruin.  The trailer perched off to the side and back from the street, apparently fine, but the top of the pine tree rested on one of her storage containers.  Pops and Javin were out in the street talking to some people from the fire department. 

Chapter 47

Charlie hung up the phone, shocked.  Jenny would stay with him, he hadn't even needed to ask.  She had changed.  He honestly thought he'd have to do some caveman kidnapping in order to protect her.  That, he mused, would have gone badly.

He raked his hand through his thick blonde hair, worried again it might be thinning a bit.  "I'd love you bald" Jenny had told him in High School, "I'd love you burned and crippled."  Happily none of that had ever happened.  Hopefully she still loved him with some of that youthful intensity. 

He checked his litter inventory.  Jenny was bringing the special senior cat food, which Baby Girl would probably eat, while Princess ate the kitten food (he was right).  He had plenty of litter and, he peeked in the fridge, plenty of people food.  He frowned at the catfish nuggets; he'd have to cook them tonight, before the power went out. 

He bustled about his small home, preparing to welcome Jenny into it, and his life, once again. 

Jenny hung up the phone, exhausted.  Her mother had had hysterics, unabated until she'd actually called Charlie to confirm Jenny would be staying with him.  It was telling, Jenny thought, that Mom actually liked Charlie when the hurricane was coming, but hated him pretty much all the rest of the time. 

The storm made landfall at 8:01 PM.  The skies had darkened for a while first, thick gray walls of cloud moving with imminency and a suppressed feeling of doom.  The breeze had gradually picked up into gusty winds, which became more powerful as the night wore on. 

Jenny and Charlie dined on fried catfish nuggets, the cats eating grilled, as the wind picked up and the rain rattled the windows.  Hurricanes in Houston aren't a very big deal, inland, as long as you are in proper shelter, in a location that doesn't flood.  They flinched now and then as they heard mysterious loud BANGS. 

They sat on the couch, watching the coverage - the crab at Gaido's being evacuated, big waves on the seawall, until the power went out.  Then they sat in the dark, wondering, separately and together, what was happening to Jenny's small home.  Charlie put his arm around Jenny and she leaned into him, as they fell asleep. 

Charlie awoke to the sound of Jenny's laughter, as the rain continued the next morning.  She was doubled over with giggles, pointing at the kitchen ceiling as a wide water leak spread across the drywall. 

"Safer here" she giggled  "I think you lost some roof!"  Charlie groaned, thankful at least he was renting, and his renter's insurance had been paid. 

Chapter 46

The next morning, Jenny rolled out of bed, reluctantly, petting Princess.  Princess stretched, showing her fat, fluffy, tummy, demanding a rub.  Jenny obliged, peeled off her nightgown, and took a quick shower. 

The humidity was horrific, she mused, staring at the white plastic wall of her shower enclosure.  When would it end? 

She dried off, dressed, and took out her Bible.  Yes, she had problems with religion, but she didn't have issues with God. 

10 miles away, Charlie closed his Bible and turned on the TV news as he ate an energy bar.  Unlike Jenny, he didn't have to eat at set times in accordance with a dosing schedule.  He could also eat whatever he wanted, when he wanted, without having to choke down an oversized handful of toxic drugs.  Poor Jenny, he mused. 

What?  He turned up the volume as the newscaster announced Hurricane Kitty was taking a turn for Houston.  Oh, crap. 

Jenny lived in a trailer. 

Jenny, in the meantime, had just heard the news on her small radio.  She sat and thought for a few moments, a fierce desire for independence battling against the inevitable conclusion. 

She couldn't stay.  It wouldn't be fair to Princess, if nothing else. 

She had to stay with someone.  Mom, or Charlie? 

She picked up her cell phone and started looking for the cat carrier.

 

Chapter 45

A month later, Charlie grinned as he watched Jenny charm one of his most difficult customers.  "I'm so sorry" she said sweetly in her southern drawl.  "I didn't know the big chips have to go on the top row.  I'm so sorry that hung up on you." He nodded grimly as she handed him a large sized bag of cheese curls.  "Thank you for being so understanding."  The man, an overweight, balding, white man, his button-down stretched at the buttons, puffed up a little.  "Just don't complain to him."  She whispered loudly, pointing at Charlie, who kept stocking sodas as he grinned into the machine. 

"Why's that?" the guy frowned, scowling at Charlie.  The customer had missed a spot of stubble, shaving, on his chin.  It quivered as he gave Charlie "The eye". 

"Well" Jenny continued to whisper "He's the boss." 

The guy shrugged.  "I know that."   Jenny grinned. 

"We're married."  She held up her left hand, displaying her wedding band.  "If I get a complaint I don't get to eat that expired cupcake for dinner."   She giggled as she shifted the smaller products out of the top row onto her cart, then shifted the larger ones into the proper place. 

Charlie closed his machine as the office-workers returned to work and walked up behind Jenny.  It was so nice to see her, but so hard.  He wanted so much more, but he knew he had to take his time.  Jenny had impressive walls. 

He tapped the cart lightly as he came up behind her.  Jenny had PTSD (who wouldn't?) and hated it when he'd sneak up on her.  She turned her head.  Her grin faded as he leaned into her and whispered in her ear, all while maintaining a "proper" distance. 

"Our secret's out now.."  Her eyes widened.  "I don't have to worry about them bringing me up on harrassment charges."  She gave him a shaky smile, her eyes darting back and forth. 

Charlie cursed himself as he realized he'd pinned her against the machine.  Shit!  He brushed a loose curl behind her ear and retreated to a chair in the break area, a few feet away.  Jenny's posture relaxed, and Charlie hoped it meant she'd only feared the crowding, not his touch. 

He smiled slowly.  "I can cook, you know."  Jenny gaped.  Their usual meals had been rice-and-whatever they could find, when they were poor.  As they became more prosperous, he either took her out to dinner or expected her to cook. 

Charlie sighed as he realized how much he'd missed her rice casseroles.  Jenny moved on to stocking candy bars, her movements quick and efficient.   Jenny, Charlie mused, was a natural. 

Jenny closed the machine and sat down opposite Charlie in a plastic chair.  "You can cook."  She thought for a moment.  "OK.  What's for dinner?  I have my garden, a couple of eggs, some butter and oil, half a breakfast biscuit, and..." she rolled her eyes, recalling.  "That's it". 

Charlie shuddered.  He'd thought about her material needs, and forgotten about her basic ones!  "What's on the biscuit?" 

"Sausage" she replied.  He nodded. 

"Omlette".  Jenny raised her eyebrows, impressed.  "I'd make a stir fry with your favorite veggies, and an omlette with the eggs and sausage." 

A few hours later, Jenny pushed herself back from the table, stuffed.  "I'd never have thought to use the daikon in the stir-fry, Char..." she began stacking dishes in the sink.  "I planted it because it's good for soil, but it's pretty good." 

"Well," Charlie replied, plugging the sink and reaching for the dish soap "I took an Asian cooking class.  I took a sequence of courses.  I needed to take my mind off... and I found a catalog.  I started with a basic cooking class." 

Jenny cocked her head.  He continued "How to bake, how to cook meats - braise, broil, fry, etc..then a course on vegetables.  You know most people boil them to death, put the nutrients in the water, and then throw away the water?  Criminal.  If you don't want it raw a stir-fry's the way to go."  Charlie licked his lips.  They'd had a fine meal.  He continued chatting about cooking as he did the dishes, an activity he found oddly soothing. 

Jenny was a good cook, but she'd hated doing dishes.  He realized now the depression only allowed her so much activity per day.  They'd had some bitter fights about the cluttered sink.  On his own, he'd realized he could have just done the dishes himself!    He wondered if he'd ever get over feeling like an idiot.  Worst of all, Jenny was surprisingly nice about it.  She'd let him into her life, a life he didn't deserve. 

He wondered where it would end.