Chapter 30: Dust-up

August was hot and miserable. Near 90 degrees and 90% humidity. We celebrated Robin’s second birthday at the lake, all three parents scurrying around to keep the kids corralled in the shallow part of the water. We weren’t the only ones. Saturday was bright, sunny, and hot as the blazes. Every twenty minutes, we called all the kids out of the water, slathered them with sunblock again, and made them wait ten minutes before they ran back to the water. Most of the kids in our neighborhood were there and the parents helped with grilling hotdogs and hamburgers.

There is nothing like a beach party to remind a woman that she had a baby and hasn’t lost all the extra weight yet. I’d done well after Emily was born because I had Lily and a good diet. I was also working my ass off in school and real estate sales. But life was easier now, and I’d not focused on getting toned again. Lily and I talked about it when we were trying to find sensible one-piece bathing suits this summer. I simply didn’t want my belly flopping out between the top and bottom of a two-piece.

I’d been in the water letting Charlotte splash and drift with her little floaties. Emily was becoming quite a water rat and raced Bruce all the way to the raft and back. I kept one hand on Charlotte and one eye on the crazy one. Lily laughed as Robin managed to splash water up into her face.

“I need something cold to drink,” she said. I agreed and we picked up our children from the shallow water, hoisting them to our hips. We’d linked arms and headed for the sand when I froze. Lily almost dragged me down in the shallow water. “What?”

“Him,” I said. Straight ahead of us near the picnic tables, Ernie the Pimp was flipping burgers on a huge gas grill and dishing them out to all comers from our party. How dare he invade our neighborhood party?

“Mr. Anders?” Lily said. “I thought you’d met. You came home that one time last winter in his Lincoln. He sells insurance. His daughter is in Emily’s class.”

“You’re kidding!” I said. “He has a child? The man’s a pimp!”

“Shh! Don’t say things like that,” Lily admonished. “He’s a nice guy and obviously very successful. They live in the two-story Tudor just where the lake drive turns to one-way. We didn’t exactly make this event an invitation-only thing. We just put out the word that we were coming here for a beach day and invited everyone in the neighborhood to join us. That gas grill of his is huge, and he brought thirty pounds of burgers.”

What was I going to do? I knew he lived in the neighborhood. I knew what he drove. I knew where he picked me up and what he really did for a living. Why didn’t I know his daughter went to school with mine? What would I have done about it if I knew?

I decided to ignore it, but, of course, those plans never go the way you expect them to. It seems that everyone was conspiring to get us in a space I didn’t want to be in. I finally found myself juggling three plates of food for Lily, Emily, and me while Lily watched the kids and Bruce ran to Byerly’s for more soft drinks.

“Let me help you with that, Angel of Mercy,” Ernie said when I almost dropped one of the plates on his grill. I didn’t want him to, but it was obvious that I was going to have a mess shortly if I didn’t find some solution. Potato salad and deviled eggs were going to be everywhere.

“Thank you, Mr. Anders. I didn’t realize that Lisle was your daughter. Which of your women is the mother?” I said.

“A little catty, don’t you think?” he chuckled. “My wife, of course. Margaret!” A lovely woman about Lily’s age came over and he introduced her.

“Emily is a doll!” Margaret gushed. “I hope she and Lisle will become friends. This will be the third year they have been in the same class. I remember third grade as being when some of my longest-lasting friendships developed. Oops! I need to run. Jordan is headed for the merry-go-round. Nice to meet you!” She was off and running after a toddler who was trying desperately to climb on the spinning contraption. She was nice. If I’d never met Ernie—never knew what his real business was—I’d have the same impression that Lily had. I’d enjoy them as neighbors. I’d want to be friends. This was insane!

“How can you... ?” I turned to Ernie, but he interrupted.

“Angel, let’s leave business discussions for business hours and enjoy our families today,” he said. I clamped my mouth shut as he handed Lily her plate of food. “Lily, it’s great to see you. How is your two-year-old?”

By day a mild-mannered insurance salesman. By night...

Fuck!

The house on 23rd passed inspection the next week. Carla had seen to it that our request for multiple occupancy was approved by the zoning board. She’d actually had to get a ruling passed by the city/county council which meant an open hearing. The only person that showed up to object was our old thorn in the side, Leon Briggs. He objected to the zoning change on the grounds that it destroyed the principle of a single residence neighborhood and introduced an unsavory population to the area by offering shelter to the homeless. Three councilmen, not including Carla, actually laughed at him.

And I had to admit that Washburn Neighborhood was gradually changing. It wouldn’t be the overnight change that happened when Jim started renovating Loring Neighborhood. This change would take years. But the needle receptacles were being changed out weekly. A sterile needle and condom program at the clinic had begun, although there was a lot of hesitancy on the part of those who needed it. When they came in, they were offered both a free physical exam and a counselor if they wanted them. One young woman had accepted the exam and the clinic found she was infected with Hepatitis B. She got treatment. It was a small victory, but it was one.

The city had stepped up and the parks board was having a maintenance crew come through the park once a week to mow. As with the regular police patrols, there was never any misconduct in the park during maintenance. No solicitation. No shooting up. No drug deals. As soon as they were gone, life began again—such as it was.

The worst part of our program was that we were blatantly breaking the law. Chapter 557, Section 152 of the Laws of Minnesota explicitly prohibits the possession, manufacture, delivery, or advertisement of drug paraphernalia. Penalties were more severe in a public park area which included a full block outside the bounds of the park itself. Our area was sixteen square blocks. Both the clinic and the shelter were across the street from the park.