Chapter 5

Marcy had spent forty days and forty nights in rehab. She was finally ready to come home. Marty, my ex wife, had begged to be allowed to bring her to my home. I gave in to her after a couple of days of arguing.

She took the now infamous SUV. Fit was the one I bought to haul the trailer to yard work jobs. I could drop it and go look at new work needing an estimator’s touch. That was a joke. The estimates were based on the ability of the customer to pay. And of course his or her willingness to part with the money. All my business were a cash only business. With the exception of the consignment shop’s monthly settlement.

The SUV had been necessary to haul the homeless helpers, as I called them. Since I could no longer count on Sarah, I had enlisted my soup kitchen contacts to help cut grass. I paid them less than I did Sarah. Their only responsibility was to do exactly as told. They were rough on equipment, but I was allowed to show equipment on my books, so it was no big deal.

So anyway that explains why I drove the truck and Marty the infamous SUV. I call it that since it was well known by everyone in the area. I drove the truck, so I could return to work after I bought Marcy’s freedom.

The plan was for me to cash her out, Then Marty would take her to lunch. After lunch Marcy would remain in the care of her mother until I returned home. In spite of my objections, Marty had rented a furnished townhouse In a temporary home for businessmen on the road motel. Marty assured me it was a temporary move. I had my doubts.

Marcy had gained a couple of badly needed pounds during her stay in the hospital. She also wore make up for her homecoming, so she looked a 100% improved. Her check in clothes had been laundered so she looked a lot like the pre beatdown model of herself. Well except for the scars. They were still red and slightly swollen.

I managed to hug her and kiss her forehead, before Marty took her away from me. I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to fight in from of strangers, and certainly not before Marty left with Marcy.

“So I’ll see you at home. Shall we say 5PM,” I suggested.

“I’ll have her there on time,” Marty said. Marty had never been on time for anything in the twenty years I had known her.

“Marcy do you need another key or do you have your key from before?” I asked.

“I still have it Daddy,” she said.

“Good then I’ll see you after work.” Since I had already paid the copay, for the rehab, Marcy could go right after I settled the final hundred dollar bill for half a dozen Tylenol tablets.

After I returned home to load the trailer I drove to the soup kitchen to load Maxwell. Maxwell was a seventy year old functioning alcoholic. He was one of the men hanging out at the kitchen after lunch hoping for a ‘pick up’ job. I liked Maxwell because he knew how to use the equipment and was conscientious. He would go beyond my simple instructions, but not too far beyond them.

I found the outside plug for Maxwell. He did the trim while I drove the cubby over the yard’s clear areas. We finished the job in less than two hours even with the addition of running the edger along her walk and curb.

It took as long to pick up the trailer, go for Maxwell, unload and reload the equipment as it did to do the whole job. It was mostly a wasted day but I didn’t mind that at all. When I returned Maxwell to the kitchen parking lot with thirty bucks in his pocket, I saw Nana Beal. She was the grandmother of the kid, who punched me. I hoped to wave and leave, but she would have none of it.

“Deacon,” she called to me.

“Yes Ma’am.” I said.

“That grandson of mine is in trouble again. He needs your help,” she said.

“Sorry Nana, but I’m not a lawyer or a social worker,” I said.

“No, but if you come to court and tell the judge all is forgive, it might help,” she said.

“When is his court date,” I said.

“This Friday,” she said.

“I’ll get someone to take over for me and clear my schedule,” I said. “But Nana I won’t lie for him.”

“I knows that,” she said.

I got back to the house and unloaded the trailer, then topped off the cubby’s gas tank. I had to sit down and check the power cords we used for t he electric trimmers. It was well after five when I finished. Still no Marcy, I thought. I was on the verge of calling the cops when my SUV pulled into the drive followed by a new Ford Mustang.

“Don’t be pissed we had to go shopping. Marcy needed some girlie things,” Marty said.

“And of course you needed a new car,” I said angrily.

“It’s none of your business, but it’s a rental,” Marty said.

“You should leave,” I said to Marty.

She was about to give me shit, till she saw the look on my face. “Very well,” she said to me. To Marcy she said, “So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“We will have to talk about that. You do remember our agreement,” I said in a stern voice.

“You mean you decree. I certainly didn’t sign anything,” she said.

“Get the hell off my property. You are trespassing. Also Marty, Marcy is not supposed to drive. She could kill herself or some innocent person,” I said.

“She didn’t want to, but it was just a few miles on country roads,” Marty explained.

“Get the hell off my property, I said,” I stared her down.

“Daddy I tried to tell her you would be pissed, but you know her,” Marcy said.

“Yeah,” I said with a laugh. “She will forget it ever happened. She will always find a way to make what she wants happen. Let’s go in and have a glass of bad iced tea. We need to talk.”

At the dinning room table with her new clothes still in the bag, I said, “Marcy I need a favor from you honey. I need to go to court Friday. It’s for a friend from the Soup Kitchen. I also had a full day of lawn work, so I need to get Sarah to cover for me. The problem is she has a consignment shop now. So I need you to volunteer to look after the shop while she cuts grass for me.”

“Sure dad it make seeing her for the first time easier. I need to apologize for getting her in shit with you and mom.” Marcy was deep in tough a minute then said, “I wonder if Sarah is Goth or Punk?”

“I have no idea. She most likely is something in between,” I said. “Now there is almost nothing in the house to eat. So we need to go shopping. Do you feel up to it, or do you want to take a nap?” I asked.

“Definitely go shopping, I can nap after I’m dead,” she said.

“I hope to hell they didn’t teach you that in therapy?” I demanded.

“No daddy, I learned it from you when I was in high school.” he said.

“Well okay then,” I said with a grin.

We took the SUV. It was the SUV Sarah had when she tried to buy me out. Since she decided to open the consignment shop, she no longer needed the SUV. It needed lots of work, but it was a classic. I had decided to buy and restore it. The plan was to do that off the books of course. It was a Chevy S10 Blazer 4 door. It would be excellent to carry a crew and my trailer to a job site.

On the way to Walmart in the faded Blazer, I said, “Look honey I know you aren’t going to want me to drive you everywhere you want to go. I’m thinking I will build you a motorized bike. You don’t have to take it but I want to build one. It would have a range of about twenty mile.”

“That is more than I need, but daddy my balance is so bad, I don’t think its a good idea,” She said.

“Well I had an electric three wheel scooter in mind. The top speed will be about twenty miles per hour. Think about it. It’s just an option. You do know how I feel about you driving a car?” I asked.

“You made that clear to mom,” she said with a laugh.

“How about a Harley Davidson trike?” she asked.

“Yeah or a CanAm scooter, they both are more dangerous than an automobile. The electric three wheel at twenty miles an hour is your best bet. They are much more dependable than a Chinese scooter,” I said as we pulled into the Walmart parking lot. My attention switch quickly to food.

“You don’t plan on me cooking do you?” she asked.

“God no,” I said with a laugh. “Pick out frozen or canned foods that we can heat and eat. Most of them can at least form the base of a decent meal,” I said.

“Good and lots of snack food,” she suggested.

“Low cal, high protein snacks sure. You know like yogurt,” I said.

“Okay, but some ice cream and that is not negotiable,” she insisted.

“Fair enough,” I said. “You get your own cart and fill it with anything you want.”

It turned out that she was a responsible shopper. At the end the two carts were piled high with reasonable food choices. She headed for the self check out area when I stopped her.

“If you have twenty items that’s fine. Any more and I guarantee any time you think you save, is wasted waiting for an employee to come fix the mess we will make,” I said.

“I’ll bow to the man with more experience with do it yourself checkout,” she said.

“Good,” I replied pulling into a lane behind a lady with one child sitting in her buggy. The child was fighting to stay awake. Marcy and I were fascinated. The wait to reach the cashier passed quickly. Live entertainment should be added to Walmart’s business model, I thought.

When we arrived home Marcy helped with all the bags. She and I both quickly tired of all the labor. “Where is your mother when we need her?” I asked.

“Careful I might tell her you said that. She would demand you add another bedroom,” Marcy said laughing at me.

“Hell she would demand a second bath and a dinning room,” I said.

“A hot tub on the deck,” Marcy suggested.

“A swimming pool and when I wouldn’t do it, she would somehow get Ed to pay for it,” I agreed.

“That’s just mean daddy,” Marcy said with a laugh.

“Okay, do you want to unpack all this crap,” I suggested.

“Let’s get er done,” she said.

The freezer was too small, with some creative packing we got all but a couple of frozen meals in the freezer. Marcy picked one for dinner the next day. We left it in the refrigerator.

“Are you going to have room for your new clothes?” I asked.

“I think so after all dad how much room will ten pairs of panties need?” she asked. I couldn’t think of an answer so she added. “My god you are blushing.”

“I would not be surprised at that,” I said. “I never talked about underwear with you before. It creates lots of images which are embarrassing.”

“Oh, you mean like this,” she said as she dropped her shorts. She stood there dressed In a red tee shirt and white bikini panties.

Marcy was the thinnest she had been in years, but she had loose skin which drooped a small amount. Because of that she wouldn’t be a movie star without a tummy tuck. She was sexy in the real girl kind of way. I am ashamed to say my body reacted to he.

“Oh I can see you approve,” she said. “Does my being dressed like this bother you too much for me to wear it around the house?”

“Honestly honey it embarrasses me,” I said. “Not because of you, but because of my reaction to you. I hope that makes sense to you.”

“Okay I’m going to check my computer for email and the headlines, then I’m going to come back in this tee shirt and these panties to watch TV. You are going to have to deal with it,” Marcy said.

I couldn’t speak, so I disappeared into my bedroom to watch TV shows from the night before. It was a humbling experience to hide from Marcy. Later when I pass her on my way to the kitchen, I could clearly see her nipples. If she expected me to get past it, I expected it to be a long trip past it.

I did manage to get to sleep after a while. I didn’t even try to figure out what the night before was all about. The memory of Marcy’s body lingered in the back of my mind.

The next morning I made it into the shower and to get dressed before Marcy got out of bed. When she came into the kitchen she was wearing the same outfit she had been in the night before. It was crumpled and wrinkled, but still sexy as hell to me. She poured herself a cup of coffee and ignored me. I was grateful.

“So are you going to see your mom today or come cut grass with me?” I asked.

“Wow go spend money, or cut grass. That’s a hard decision,” Marcy said.

“I know, but do not drive a car. If you mother starts talking about how you need to be babied spit in her face,” I suggested.

“Okay, I won’t tell her how I’m dressing around you. No sense making her jealous,” Marcy said.

“That is probably a good idea,” I said with a laugh. I was surprised that I could find humor in the situation. I left her sitting at the table with a couple of slices of cinnamon toast and coffee.

I went to work by first attaching the trailer to the SUV. Then I drove to the soup kitchen which was part of the homeless shelter. Maxwell was in the parking lot smoking a cigarette.

“Maxwell could you give me a hand?” I asked

“Sure Deacon, What we gonna do today?” he asked.

“We need to pick up a donation from the Food Lion store downtown,” I said. “Then we got four residential lawn to cut.”

“Sounds like a good day’s work,” Maxwell said.

“Yes I think so,” I agreed.

At the end of the day I gave Maxwell sixty dollars. He had me drop him at his sister’s house. He stayed there when he had money and wanted to drink. I never asked the exact relationship between them. Frankly I didn’t want to know.

When I arrived home the Mustang was in the drive. I drove back to drop the trailer and spend some time in the storage building. Yes I was trying to avoid Marty. Finally I had to face the music.

When I entered the house through the kitchen door, I said to Marcy, “Hello,”

“Hi Daddy, guess what,” she demanded.

“You are going to br on America’s Next Top Model TV show?” I suggested.

“Better,” she said. “One of Ed’s interns is going to buy my car. Well take over the payments and pay me fifteen hundred bucks for my equity.”

“That sounds like a real deal,” I agreed.

“When I sign the title over it’s a done deal,” Marcy said. “Mom has all the details.”

“That’s good for you,” I said. “So Marty to what do I owe for the pleasure of your company?”

“I came to say goodbye. Ed finally came to his senses. He figured out how much it is going to cost him to divorce me. So I’m headed home Sunday.”

“Do you need a ride to the airport?” I asked.

“No the rental office has a drop off point at the airport. It would be nice if you brought Marcy to see me off.”

“On Sunday sure. I don’t have anything planned for Sunday,” I said in agreement. “So I’ll see you on Sunday at the airport.”

“Fine, Marcy told me she is covering tomorrow for that dreadful girl Sarah. Something about a court appearance?” she asked.

“Yes the kid who punched me is going for a sentencing on something unrelated and needs a character witness,” I said.

“And they asked you,” Marty asked.

“Sure, I’m going to say he didn’t come back to the center after our confrontation,” I said.

“If that is the best they could come up with book his set on the Midnight Special to the state prison,” Marty said.

I just shrugged.

She turned to Marcy and said, “I’ll call you about dinner on Saturday.” She then turned to me. “I assume you will not have a problem allowing Marcy to visit me in Philadelphia?” she asked.

“She is over twenty one. I’m not going to hold her prisoner, but I will advise her what I think is best. So do not take her anywhere that has Alcohol on the menu,” I said.

“Why,” she asked in a huff.

“Because if it’s on the menu there is a high probability you or Ed will order it. At this time in her life Marcy doesn’t need that pressure,” I said.

“That’s not fair. We know better than to expose her to that kind of thing,” Marty said.

“Wrong answer, the right one would have been, ‘you have a point’. So my advice will be for her to avoid you like the black death,” I said with a smile.

“We will see,” she said.

“Yes we will. Like I said she is free and over twenty one so she has the final decision.” I replied.

“Well I am not going to fight with you in front of Marcy,” she said as she picked up her purse hugged Marcy then gave me the finger and walked out the door.

“Yes, I know mom can be an awful bitch,” Marcy said with an unlady like giggle.

“Yeah, but she means will,” I said. Just to change the subject, you should be accumulating quite a bank account. Do you have any investment plans?”

“Yes to buy some fancy clothes. Then start a new career as a call girl,” She said.

“Not the best career choice, but it does beat landscaping,” I said.

“I think I might want to go back to school,” Marcy said.

“Any idea what your major will be,” I asked.

“Not a clue,” she said.

“You have plenty of time to figure that out, but you are right to think ahead even this early,” I said. “With thinking ahead in mind, I have begun to plan out the electric scooter. You will probably hate it, but if you do I will use it so don’t feel pressured to love it.”

“Good enough dad,” She said. “So what time are we leaving in the morning?”

“I have to be in court by 9AM and before I go there I have to drop you at Sarah’s house. She will drive you to her store. She has to make the morning donation pick up at the Emanuel Presbyterian Church. So she is going to be antsy to get it all going. Probably 8:15 AM at the latest.” I explained.

“I promise I will be ready,” she said. “Will you leave your door open when you go to bed. I feel safer that way.”

“Sure, I can do that,” I said.

The next morning I slipped into the shower before I made the coffee. It was shortly after 7AM when I started the coffee. I looked up to see Marcy enter the room. I noticed she has slept in a sleeveless white tee shirt like the ones body builders wear. Her more or less firm breasts were accentuated by the shirt.

She saw me look and smiled. “You like?” she asked.

“I’m a man, what’s not to like,” I replied.

“Good, don’t worry I’m not wearing this out in public yet,” she said with a giggle.

She had coffee and cinnamon toast. I had coffee and more coffee. We both finished and dressed in time for out 8:15 deadline. When we reached Ester’s house I waited until Sarah met her at the door before I drove away.

I had given Marcy the keys to the house and storage building. I did that so Sarah could use the SUV, I had bought from her, to tow the trailer. I had instructed her by phone to stop by the shelter parking lot for Maxwell.

“He is a good worker and can use the money. I think you can trust him. Of course you can use anyone to help you, if you have a preference,” I said.

The kid’s lawyer asked the judge to call him first since he had a character witness or two. We were all there for his grandmother to be honest. The judge listened so they began the case. The kid admitted what he had done and sounded remorseful. He had learned to play the system, not show his contempt for it.

I took the stand and made a statement that he and two of his running mates came to the soup kitchen and made a lot of noise. I called the police and we did some pushing and shoving. I told the judge that after the misunderstanding the boys stayed away from the soup kitchen.

I tried to step down, but the assistant district attorney stopped me, “Is it true you can not testify to the character or conduct of the defendant?” she asked. “As a matter of fact you do not know him other then your fight.”

“That is true. I base my opinion on what others who I respect tell me. And on what the kid could have done and didn’t. To me that shows a certain amount of maturity.”

“You don’t think he avoided a second altercation because he had been warned that you were dangerous?” she asked.

“No ma’am, I do not believe he had been warned and I am certainly not dangerous. He would have had no reason to fear me,” I said.

“Did you shoot and kill a young black man in Camden N.J. three years ago?” she asked.

“No ma’am that was four years ago. I’m not even sure he knew about that. Most people in Mississippi do not know.” I explained.

“No more questions,” she said.

I did leave the courtroom. I called from the truck and found Sarah at the first lawn service job. I drove there and cut her loose.

“Here you go,”I said handing her twenty five dollars. “You can keep the money the church gave you as well.”

“Thanks, I’ll go spring your delinquent,” she said. “You know I’m not going to pay her?”

“Yeah not to worry she was doing it as a favor,” I said. “You might consider working something out with her. She can mind your store while you help me clean out houses.”

“I would like to get first pick of the crap,” Sarah said.

“Then keep it in mind. To get on her good side and mine, cut the smart ass remarks,” I said.

“Deacon, it’s how people like me talk to each other these days,” she said.

“Then explain that to her,” I said.

“I will,” she said. “I’ll take my Blazer back to your place, then go spring Marcy.”

“Tell her to shop in the store till I get there. She didn’t bring too many clothes with her. I know her mother bought her some good stuff, but she needs work clothes.” I said.

Maxwell and I finished the lawn quickly. To give Marcy time to shop, we moved on to a second lawn. That one took about two hours to cut and groom.

After we finished lawn two I called to ask Marcy. “Hey honey do you want to help me with the third lawn? if not you can hang out with Sarah for another two hours.”

“I’m still shopping and talking to Sarah and Ester,” Marcy said. “So you and Maxwell can finish without me. He probably needs the money.”

“I’m sure that is true. I’ll just be a couple of more hours.” I wasn’t too concerned because it was a church. It was mostly tractor and trim. It was a good size job but it should be quick.

Even so it was two and a half hours before I made it to the ‘2nd Chance Thrift and Consignment Shop’. Marcy was sitting in one of the comfortable chairs I had rescued from an old lady’s house. Either Sarah or Ester had scrubbed the upholstery. The chairs looked great.

“Hello Marcy, have you finished?” I asked.

“Yes, I have two large bags of clothes to wear around the house, and when I help you out,” she said.

“Good then I’ll pay for them,” I said.

“I can pay,” Marcy said showing a little attitude.

“Good,” I said simply.

She had two large plastic bags which we stuffed behind the front seat of the pickup. The drive home was filled with Marcy filling me in on dirt about the store. She also included gossip on Sarah and Ester.

When we got home, Marcy and I worked together to prepare dinner. It was something I had called glop for years. The base was the only thing that remained constant. It began with a macaroni and cheese dinner prepared using the directions on the container. At that point it took on any flavor the cook wished. That night it was Mexican. We added a can of pinto beans which we microwaved three times longer than recommended. Then onions, green peppers, jalapeno, and canned taco sauce. The topping was crushed Doritos chips...

We had a very large bowl left over to put into the refrigerator for lunch or dinner the next day. The next day was Saturday so I was going to work Marcy offered to help me. I quickly agreed.

As we sat in the living room watching the news on two different cable news channels, Marcy said, “How about a fashion show with your news?”

“Do I dare say yes?” I asked.

“You get the PG version,” she said with a giggle, then disappeared into her room.

Five minutes later she made a models entrance into the room. She returned wearing very short and tight shorts. They were paired with a middy top. Her belly showed which had the slight sagging skin from the recent weight loss. On her it didn’t look too bad, but it was a flaw. Her legs were tight and well shaped. She had one red scar on her thigh.