Chapter 19

The next morning Yvonne seemed more like herself, and they quickly decided that they would do some sightseeing around the city and area. Matti was going to rent a car, a legitimate business expense, since he needed a car when he met with the companies he intended to see while he was in Vancouver. Just after mid-morning, they set out on a slow drive around the city, with Yvonne pointing out landmarks and interesting features.

They found a Chinese restaurant that seemed popular, and they decided it was probably quite good, judging by the number of actual Chinese customers that were constantly coming and going. Their first surprise was that the menu was handwritten in a children’s first-grade notebook, but strictly in Chinese. Their waitress offered them another menu, this one in English, but instead of using it, they asked the waitress’ opinion on their most popular meals. After a few explanations and descriptions by the waitress, they ended up with dishes that both of them enjoyed. While Yvonne had mastered the use of chopsticks at some time in her past, Matti went with a reliable fork instead.

An hour later they were back on the road, and Yvonne directed him to Stanley Park, so that Matti could see that grand Vancouver institution. After driving around as much as they could in the cold gentle rain, they finally got the chance to get out and walk along some of the pathways during a break in the weather. They didn’t stray too far from their car, though, as the forecast for the day was for rain of one sort or another. Half an hour later they were back in the car.

“Matti, don’t start the car. I need to talk to you, and this is as good of a place as any.” Matti turned to look at Yvonne curiously, and was about to ask what she wanted to talk about when she continued speaking. “I have a few things I need to tell you, Matti. I don’t know if I’m going to be doing the situation between you and Dawn any good or not, but I feel that it’s important that I tell you.”

Yvonne sat quietly for a few moments before she turned to him and began to speak again. “I’m going to tell you a few things about Dawn and me that I am sure you don’t know anything about.”

Matti glanced back at her, curious about what she could have to say to him. He turned back to the scenic view of Vancouver, visible across Burrard Inlet from where they were parked on Stanley Park Drive. Eventually Matti said, “I guess I certainly owe you that much, so I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

Yvonne seemed anxious to continue her story, as she quickly said, “We go way back, Dawn and me. We met in 10th grade, and I guess the best description of us would be that we were on the wild side. Nothing too serious, mind you. Mostly typical teenage girl stuff: you know, chasing the boys, and trying to stretch the rules. Anyway, making a long story short, we got involved with a couple of older guys, members of the Wolverines MC.”

That statement really surprised Matti, and he quickly turned and said, “You were also involved with the Wolverines?” He hesitated for just a couple of seconds before he quickly continued, “You weren’t in any of the pictures I was looking at.”

Yvonne chuckled and answered, “I know the booklet of photos that you are talking about, Matti, and I removed the two photos I was in a long time ago. In a way it’s funny, because I mentioned to Dawn at the time that she should toss it in the dumpster behind the building. I didn’t want any reminders of that bad time in my life. Dawn sort of felt the opposite, and said that she was going to keep them, so that she’d never forget the mistakes she made in her life.”

Matti had turned in his seat to face Yvonne, totally ignoring the view through the windshield of their rental car. Yvonne had captured 100% of his attention with her confession, and it rang so true that Matti had immediately decided he probably should trust what she had to say. There was one way for Yvonne to prove herself, and Matti asked, “If ... what you say is true, you should have the same tattoo...”

The words were hardly out of his mouth when Yvonne turned and Matti could hear her unzip the top of her tracksuit. A second later she turned and bared her right shoulder to him, and said, “When Dawn had a problem getting hers removed I went to the best tattoo artist I could find, and he modified the wolverine into a black orchid. It’s not a perfect disguise, but it’s close.” Matti leaned forward to confirm what he could already see, and agreed she had told the truth.

Yvonne continued, “At first we would just spend some time with them on a Friday or Saturday night, but it didn’t take long for them to convince us to stay with them almost full-time. Dawn was hanging out with Dog, just like you figured out. I ended up with Jiggs, and we both thought we were so grown up, hanging out with these older guys. I was living in a foster home, and I hated every minute of it. I was ... regularly abused, and I grabbed the chance to get out of there. Dawn was still living at home, and finally her parents gave her an ultimatum. She either had to quit hanging out with the Wolverines, or she was no longer welcome at home. Well, I have to say that I guess I’m at fault with what happened then. I wanted her to stay with me ... for company ... and security too, I guess. Anyway, we ended up living with Dog and Jiggs for a while.”

Yvonne turned to Matti, and after he nodded his head she continued, “Anyway, we had lots of ‘fun’ for a while, lots of parties and booze, and an almost endless supply of marijuana. We thought we were living the good life until the bill came due. After a few months they told us we would have to start earning our keep...”

Matti broke into Yvonne’s story, “You mean they wanted you to be hook...”

Yvonne had thrown up her hands to get Matti to stop speaking, and quickly continued, “Hang on, Matti. I’m going to tell you everything, so be patient. Yes, the club ran an upscale escort agency, and a couple of the junior members were actually pimps, but there were other options. We could have sold drugs at the high schools, including the one we had been attending, or ... we could be dancers in the strip clubs they ... controlled. They were silent partners in probably a half-dozen clubs on the outskirts of Toronto. That’s what we decided to do. Dawn had taken dance lessons when she was younger, and she figured it would be fun. Certainly it sounded better than the other options.”