Title: The List, chapter 1
Here's what I have on a story that's been swimming around in my head for a while.
Title: The List
Author: Veronica
Disclaimer: Not mine....all belong to the lovely and talented Annie Proulx, bummer.
Rating: PG-13 so far.
Author's Note: Still very much a work in progress. So much so, I can't decide on a decent title, but too ansty to wait til after I've picked one.
Summary: AU/AU 14 yr old Junior is on mission to find out who her father is in the city of Chicago.
“See ya in a bit, Helen.” I close the door and start to walk toward the sidewalk. I hear a church bell ring nearby, and almost don’t hear the Beep, beep of Helen’s car.
I turn to see Helen leaning across the passenger seat from her driver’s seat. “Remember, if you’re not out here in thirty minutes to give me the all clear. I’m comin’in after you.”
I nod, “I promise.” I turn and start walking towards a house a half a block away.
By the way, my name’s Alma Luanne de Beers, but people call me Junior more than anything else since it was my mom’s name first. It’s alright, except for the de Beers part. I think I might change it once I find my real dad.
My mom had kind of a wild streak growing up, but at 18 and 3/4, she wound up pregnant with me. I’ve never met my father, but my mother and I were able to narrow it down to two guys who might be the most likely the lucky sperm donors. I’m 14, but I’ll be 15 next month, but people tell me I’m real mature for my age.
But I guess you have to be if you’ve dealt with the stuff I have had to. My mom was diagnosed with Stage 3 small-cell lung cancer at the age of 29. She was a great mom and we fought like hell to not let the chemo and depression keep us down and have some degree of mother/daughter normalcy as long as possible.
She died six months ago.
I guess I’m okay but I suppose my mission to find my dad is keeping me occupied. My mom left me some money from her step-dad’s inheritance. L.D. sure was an asshole to her, but at least, he, or more so the money in his will took care of us when my mom couldn’t work any more. It is still helping me some. It helped me finance this trip anyway.
Although I doubt he would have given her a cent if my grandmother hadn’t blackmailed him into making my mom his sole beneficiary before her death. Anyway, here I am in Chicago, the town where I might find my dad. Who knows if he’ll like me? Maybe he’ll just slam the door in my face when I tell him why I’m here.
Let’s see the first name on the list: Ennis Del Mar, 637 Lexington Ave, Chicago IL.
Alright, here goes nothing.
Today, started off like any other Friday. I got my newspaper. I went to work at the Chicago Stock Exchange where I rodeo-ed with stocks trying to buy low and sell high and not get crushed in the process. As usual, I worked my magic and made prophetic picks that would have Warren Buffet made envious. Next, I met some prospective clients for a power brunch. And so, confident about my choices and how the market was doing, I decided to head out early and unwind at home.
It’s kind of strange that I would have chosen this profession over others because of my naturally taciturn personality. But I’m still the same. Outside of work, I’m still a bit of a loner. I have a few close friends, but mostly stick to my group or keep my own company. I was watering the flowers in my garden when a petite little red head with bright green eyes greeted me.
“Hi. You don’t know me. I’m Alma Luanne de Beers…but people just call me Junior.” She seemed shy and kept a bright, nervous smile on her pretty face like she was afraid I’d kick her out of my front yard before she was done with her sales pitch.
I smiled back and nodded, “Nice to meet you. Can I help you?”
“Yes, actually I’ve come by to see you. You are Ennis Del Mar, right?” I nodded again. “You probably don’t remember this, but in 1993, you met my mom, Alma and had a fling with her that summer. Well, I am currently looking for my father, and I believe it’s possibly you might be him”
As she spoke, the hose in my hand slowly descending until I looked down to see I had wet my leg mid-thigh down.
“Oh, God! I’m sorry!” she implored.
“No, no, that’s alright. Um, you’re invited to come inside if you like,” She nodded and walked up the eight steps to the front door of the three-story brick building.
Once inside, I invited her to take a seat on the couch. “Would you like something to drink? Lemonade maybe?”
Junior sat down placing her bag on her lap, “Yes, thanks, that would be great.”
Walking in the kitchen, Ennis grabbed a rag to wipe at the wet spot currently drying and fading on his jeans. He stopped, glanced at his hands and began to wipe the sweat off of his palms.
He took two glasses from the white cabinet, grabbed the pitcher of lemonade from his fridge and quickly poured the two cups full. Gripping the kitchen island tight until his knuckles turned white, he thought to himself, “....a daughter.” He turned, resolved to stay calm and walked back into the front room and sat down in a brown leather chair next to the matching brown leather couch.
“Um so could you tell me more about your mother, Junior.”
“Sure. My mom’s name was Alma Luanne de Beers. She told me that she believed either you or another man was my father.”
“Who is the other person on your list?”
“A man by the name of Jack Twist.”
Ennis shook his head, “I don’t believe I know him.”
“He lives here in the city, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of him. The number I called at was disconnected. I looked for him online and found the number to his work. I called them and they told me he transferred to another hospital a few months ago.”
Alarmed, Ennis asked, “Is he sick?”
“No. He’s a pediatrician at Rush University Hospital now.”
“Really, that’s only a few blocks from here.”
“I called the hospital and they told me he’d be in this afternoon so I was planning to head that way after my visit with you.”
“Is your mom with you?”
“No, she died a few months ago.”
“Oh, darlin, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, I probably would have waited til I was older to find my father, but I really don’t have anyone now alive who’s related to me. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t come here looking for an instant family.” Wringing her hands together, Junior started to stare at the wooden bowl on the coffee table with more attention than it deserved thought Ennis. “And my foster mom and family are great but I just want to…I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I guess I just want to know I’m not completely alone in the world, and knowing I have a dad somewhere, and get to know him a bit, I think it might help.” She cleared her voice to loose the rough quality it had taken.
“Who are you traveling with? I assume you are not from here.”
“I’m from St. Louis. I was placed with a family me and my mom knew. They became my foster family. When I told Joan, my foster mom, that I wanted to search for my dad this summer, she tried to talk me out of it.”
Suddenly, she smiled mischievously, “But I can be very stubborn and convincing when I want to be.”
Ennis grinned and Junior laughed. “She eventually agreed, but since she couldn’t get the time off from work, she called and asked her cousin who lives here if I could stay with her during the summer and if she could kind of look out for me. She said yes and here I am.”
“Isn’t it kind of dangerous for you to be here alone in a strange city?” Ennis asked.
“What time is it? Do you know?”
Ennis glanced at his wrist watch, “15 past one. How come?”
“I have pretty good instincts about people. After my mom got sick, I had to become pretty self sufficient. I can navigate from one place to another using public transportation like nobody’s business. If I felt anything suspicious about you, I would have high-tailed it out of here faster than you can spit. But, my instincts are telling me you aren’t dangerous to me and that it would be okay to talk with you. Could you hold on a second? I’ll be right back.”
Ennis got up and followed Junior outside. A car was parked in front of the house that hadn’t been there twenty minutes ago with a mid-thirty year old woman with shoulder length, light brown hair standing in front of it. “So?”
“Helen, everything’s cool. If it’s alright, I’d like to stay a bit longer and then walk to the hospital to see Dr. Twist later.”
“Junior, it’s dangerous, especially walking around past dark in a big city like this.”
“I’ll be okay. I mean its right by the University and they got those flashy things you can push if I get into trouble. I’ll be okay.”
“Joan, would skin me alive if anything happened to you.” Just then Helen glanced up to see Ennis for what seemed like the first time. Oh! Her face seemed to say without words. Junior smirked, “Helen, this is Ennis Del Mar.”
“Pleased to meet you, m’am.” Helen seemed pleased to meet him as well…well, except for the m’am part.
“If you would like, I could take Junior to meet this other fella. We could walk there, and I would really like the opportunity to get to know Junior better.”
Junior pleaded with Helen with a Please say yes expression on her face. “Now, the only reason I wasn’t in there when you two met was because Junior wanted to meet you alone, but I think this is asking too much. I’m sorry Junior I have a deadline to meet at the paper, I freed up enough time to drive you here and to meet these two men, and staying any longer here will screw up the schedule we’re on and frankly I don’t feel comfortable leaving you with a stranger.” She looked at Ennis apologetically, “No offense.”
“None taken.”
“Please, Helen, you can pick me up later or I can get home on my own. I know which train and bus to take; I have mace, a whistle and my cell phone. I’ll be okay.”
“You’re fourteen years old!” Helen exclaimed.
“Fifteen next month!” Junior replied just as emphatically.
“Could we not discuss this here.” Helen nodded toward Ennis whom she was quickly getting embarrassed in front of.
“Helen, please stop if you think this is bold, but if you like, I can give you my cell phone number, home phone number, email and whatever else you like. I promise if you let Alma stay here, I will protect and take care of her to the best of my ability. And if you like, I can drive her home or you can swing by when you’re finished.”
Helen blinked. “Um…I don’t know. If you were me, don’t you think that would sound a little fishy to you?”
Ennis smiled, “I’m sorry if I’m coming off a little strong, but I’d never thought seriously about being a father, was never sure I’d get or want the opportunity, but I want to see this through. If it turns out I’m not Junior’s father, I can say ‘Hey! That was interesting and maybe I’ll learn something from it.’ But if it turns out I am, it’ll mean I’m real late to the party…I’d want to catch up and be there as much as I can for what’s left of her childhood.” Ennis seemed to have just realized what he’d said out loud. He turned his gaze away from Helen’s face and down pasts her shoulder. He took a breath and seemed to compose himself before looking back up at her.
Shocked and unexpectedly moved by what Ennis said, Helen turned to Junior who was standing between them just as shocked. Junior just shrugged and seemed to ask silently again to stay. Helen cleared her throat, “Well, that clears that up. Mr. Del Mar, then, could I please get your cell phone number and all that other stuff you offered. If Junior is staying, then I can go ahead finish up my work tonight and have some free time this weekend to take her out on the town.”
Relieved and still shy and embarrassed about what he’d said earlier, Ennis invited Helen in for a glass of lemonade and to exchange their personal information.
Title: The List
Author: Veronica
Disclaimer: Not mine....all belong to the lovely and talented Annie Proulx, bummer.
Rating: PG-13 so far.
Author's Note: Still very much a work in progress. So much so, I can't decide on a decent title, but too ansty to wait til after I've picked one.
Summary: AU/AU 14 yr old Junior is on mission to find out who her father is in the city of Chicago.
“See ya in a bit, Helen.” I close the door and start to walk toward the sidewalk. I hear a church bell ring nearby, and almost don’t hear the Beep, beep of Helen’s car.
I turn to see Helen leaning across the passenger seat from her driver’s seat. “Remember, if you’re not out here in thirty minutes to give me the all clear. I’m comin’in after you.”
I nod, “I promise.” I turn and start walking towards a house a half a block away.
By the way, my name’s Alma Luanne de Beers, but people call me Junior more than anything else since it was my mom’s name first. It’s alright, except for the de Beers part. I think I might change it once I find my real dad.
My mom had kind of a wild streak growing up, but at 18 and 3/4, she wound up pregnant with me. I’ve never met my father, but my mother and I were able to narrow it down to two guys who might be the most likely the lucky sperm donors. I’m 14, but I’ll be 15 next month, but people tell me I’m real mature for my age.
But I guess you have to be if you’ve dealt with the stuff I have had to. My mom was diagnosed with Stage 3 small-cell lung cancer at the age of 29. She was a great mom and we fought like hell to not let the chemo and depression keep us down and have some degree of mother/daughter normalcy as long as possible.
She died six months ago.
I guess I’m okay but I suppose my mission to find my dad is keeping me occupied. My mom left me some money from her step-dad’s inheritance. L.D. sure was an asshole to her, but at least, he, or more so the money in his will took care of us when my mom couldn’t work any more. It is still helping me some. It helped me finance this trip anyway.
Although I doubt he would have given her a cent if my grandmother hadn’t blackmailed him into making my mom his sole beneficiary before her death. Anyway, here I am in Chicago, the town where I might find my dad. Who knows if he’ll like me? Maybe he’ll just slam the door in my face when I tell him why I’m here.
Let’s see the first name on the list: Ennis Del Mar, 637 Lexington Ave, Chicago IL.
Alright, here goes nothing.
Today, started off like any other Friday. I got my newspaper. I went to work at the Chicago Stock Exchange where I rodeo-ed with stocks trying to buy low and sell high and not get crushed in the process. As usual, I worked my magic and made prophetic picks that would have Warren Buffet made envious. Next, I met some prospective clients for a power brunch. And so, confident about my choices and how the market was doing, I decided to head out early and unwind at home.
It’s kind of strange that I would have chosen this profession over others because of my naturally taciturn personality. But I’m still the same. Outside of work, I’m still a bit of a loner. I have a few close friends, but mostly stick to my group or keep my own company. I was watering the flowers in my garden when a petite little red head with bright green eyes greeted me.
“Hi. You don’t know me. I’m Alma Luanne de Beers…but people just call me Junior.” She seemed shy and kept a bright, nervous smile on her pretty face like she was afraid I’d kick her out of my front yard before she was done with her sales pitch.
I smiled back and nodded, “Nice to meet you. Can I help you?”
“Yes, actually I’ve come by to see you. You are Ennis Del Mar, right?” I nodded again. “You probably don’t remember this, but in 1993, you met my mom, Alma and had a fling with her that summer. Well, I am currently looking for my father, and I believe it’s possibly you might be him”
As she spoke, the hose in my hand slowly descending until I looked down to see I had wet my leg mid-thigh down.
“Oh, God! I’m sorry!” she implored.
“No, no, that’s alright. Um, you’re invited to come inside if you like,” She nodded and walked up the eight steps to the front door of the three-story brick building.
Once inside, I invited her to take a seat on the couch. “Would you like something to drink? Lemonade maybe?”
Junior sat down placing her bag on her lap, “Yes, thanks, that would be great.”
Walking in the kitchen, Ennis grabbed a rag to wipe at the wet spot currently drying and fading on his jeans. He stopped, glanced at his hands and began to wipe the sweat off of his palms.
He took two glasses from the white cabinet, grabbed the pitcher of lemonade from his fridge and quickly poured the two cups full. Gripping the kitchen island tight until his knuckles turned white, he thought to himself, “....a daughter.” He turned, resolved to stay calm and walked back into the front room and sat down in a brown leather chair next to the matching brown leather couch.
“Um so could you tell me more about your mother, Junior.”
“Sure. My mom’s name was Alma Luanne de Beers. She told me that she believed either you or another man was my father.”
“Who is the other person on your list?”
“A man by the name of Jack Twist.”
Ennis shook his head, “I don’t believe I know him.”
“He lives here in the city, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of him. The number I called at was disconnected. I looked for him online and found the number to his work. I called them and they told me he transferred to another hospital a few months ago.”
Alarmed, Ennis asked, “Is he sick?”
“No. He’s a pediatrician at Rush University Hospital now.”
“Really, that’s only a few blocks from here.”
“I called the hospital and they told me he’d be in this afternoon so I was planning to head that way after my visit with you.”
“Is your mom with you?”
“No, she died a few months ago.”
“Oh, darlin, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, I probably would have waited til I was older to find my father, but I really don’t have anyone now alive who’s related to me. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t come here looking for an instant family.” Wringing her hands together, Junior started to stare at the wooden bowl on the coffee table with more attention than it deserved thought Ennis. “And my foster mom and family are great but I just want to…I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I guess I just want to know I’m not completely alone in the world, and knowing I have a dad somewhere, and get to know him a bit, I think it might help.” She cleared her voice to loose the rough quality it had taken.
“Who are you traveling with? I assume you are not from here.”
“I’m from St. Louis. I was placed with a family me and my mom knew. They became my foster family. When I told Joan, my foster mom, that I wanted to search for my dad this summer, she tried to talk me out of it.”
Suddenly, she smiled mischievously, “But I can be very stubborn and convincing when I want to be.”
Ennis grinned and Junior laughed. “She eventually agreed, but since she couldn’t get the time off from work, she called and asked her cousin who lives here if I could stay with her during the summer and if she could kind of look out for me. She said yes and here I am.”
“Isn’t it kind of dangerous for you to be here alone in a strange city?” Ennis asked.
“What time is it? Do you know?”
Ennis glanced at his wrist watch, “15 past one. How come?”
“I have pretty good instincts about people. After my mom got sick, I had to become pretty self sufficient. I can navigate from one place to another using public transportation like nobody’s business. If I felt anything suspicious about you, I would have high-tailed it out of here faster than you can spit. But, my instincts are telling me you aren’t dangerous to me and that it would be okay to talk with you. Could you hold on a second? I’ll be right back.”
Ennis got up and followed Junior outside. A car was parked in front of the house that hadn’t been there twenty minutes ago with a mid-thirty year old woman with shoulder length, light brown hair standing in front of it. “So?”
“Helen, everything’s cool. If it’s alright, I’d like to stay a bit longer and then walk to the hospital to see Dr. Twist later.”
“Junior, it’s dangerous, especially walking around past dark in a big city like this.”
“I’ll be okay. I mean its right by the University and they got those flashy things you can push if I get into trouble. I’ll be okay.”
“Joan, would skin me alive if anything happened to you.” Just then Helen glanced up to see Ennis for what seemed like the first time. Oh! Her face seemed to say without words. Junior smirked, “Helen, this is Ennis Del Mar.”
“Pleased to meet you, m’am.” Helen seemed pleased to meet him as well…well, except for the m’am part.
“If you would like, I could take Junior to meet this other fella. We could walk there, and I would really like the opportunity to get to know Junior better.”
Junior pleaded with Helen with a Please say yes expression on her face. “Now, the only reason I wasn’t in there when you two met was because Junior wanted to meet you alone, but I think this is asking too much. I’m sorry Junior I have a deadline to meet at the paper, I freed up enough time to drive you here and to meet these two men, and staying any longer here will screw up the schedule we’re on and frankly I don’t feel comfortable leaving you with a stranger.” She looked at Ennis apologetically, “No offense.”
“None taken.”
“Please, Helen, you can pick me up later or I can get home on my own. I know which train and bus to take; I have mace, a whistle and my cell phone. I’ll be okay.”
“You’re fourteen years old!” Helen exclaimed.
“Fifteen next month!” Junior replied just as emphatically.
“Could we not discuss this here.” Helen nodded toward Ennis whom she was quickly getting embarrassed in front of.
“Helen, please stop if you think this is bold, but if you like, I can give you my cell phone number, home phone number, email and whatever else you like. I promise if you let Alma stay here, I will protect and take care of her to the best of my ability. And if you like, I can drive her home or you can swing by when you’re finished.”
Helen blinked. “Um…I don’t know. If you were me, don’t you think that would sound a little fishy to you?”
Ennis smiled, “I’m sorry if I’m coming off a little strong, but I’d never thought seriously about being a father, was never sure I’d get or want the opportunity, but I want to see this through. If it turns out I’m not Junior’s father, I can say ‘Hey! That was interesting and maybe I’ll learn something from it.’ But if it turns out I am, it’ll mean I’m real late to the party…I’d want to catch up and be there as much as I can for what’s left of her childhood.” Ennis seemed to have just realized what he’d said out loud. He turned his gaze away from Helen’s face and down pasts her shoulder. He took a breath and seemed to compose himself before looking back up at her.
Shocked and unexpectedly moved by what Ennis said, Helen turned to Junior who was standing between them just as shocked. Junior just shrugged and seemed to ask silently again to stay. Helen cleared her throat, “Well, that clears that up. Mr. Del Mar, then, could I please get your cell phone number and all that other stuff you offered. If Junior is staying, then I can go ahead finish up my work tonight and have some free time this weekend to take her out on the town.”
Relieved and still shy and embarrassed about what he’d said earlier, Ennis invited Helen in for a glass of lemonade and to exchange their personal information.