True North

"I guess you did have some mementos. Sorry, True. We'll make new memories. Makes my heart happy to know you kept all those things, and breaks it now too, to know you lost them."

Rose opened her door and fell in, tears still streaming down her face. "This is the worst thing that could have ever happened to me! This is horrible! How can we start school on Monday? Daddy, we have to order clothes now for them to get here on time! I already had things in my cart on amazon, some clothes for my graduation list. Can I get them?"

"One or two, Rose," he told her, not looking back at me. "No more than that. I have no idea how long this is going to take or what we'll need. I'll take you both shopping soon, though, I promise."

"Tomorrow?!?" she demanded, already putting her phone down after hitting pay on her cart.

"Probably not, I have a lot to do. I need you both to start making lists of everything you had, ok?" he asked tiredly. "I'm going to look for a hotel for us."

"Can I have my own room?" Rose asked quickly, then answered her phone when it rang.

Dad stared at the window a moment, then gathered himself and got out again to go talk to one of the officers.

It was almost morning before he checked us into the hotel. I needed a shower badly, but I wanted the bed. I knew the smell of smoke wouldn't leave the sheets if I didn't shower though, so I forced myself to do it.

Rose got her own room, but I didn't mind sharing a room with dad and sleeping on a twin bed apart from his. He was like me and needed the room dark and quiet with white noise. Rose had to have the radio or TV on, and a light of some sort as well.

Rose showered in the morning, then called down and demanded they change her sheets while we were gone as I yawned and looked longingly at my pillow.

Rose had woken us up, demanding we get things done so she could get clothes for school.

By noon, I was done and I stayed in the car with my phone and a charger so I could read while she shopped and dad followed her while talking on his phone. He was scrambling to get things to a normal place before school started, not wanting us to not have an address as we started school, but they were having issues finding a place that would rent month to month without a year lease.

Finally, that evening as we were all curled up on dad's bed watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, he got a call. They found a house for us, a three bedroom with an open garage that was perfect for a painter.

Rose was giddy when she heard that, telling dad she wanted that place, to say yes.

Dad looked wary as he listened to the HR lady on the phone. Finally, he spoke again. "We'll look at it, but see if you can find anything else?... Thanks Connie."

Dad looked at us and I knew that look. He had bad news. "What?" I asked softly, feeling like things couldn't really get worse.

"The place... it's the only one she can find that will do month to month and not a year lease. She's called a few realtors and they all say the same thing. Next closest thing is a trailer park outside of town."

"A TRAILER park?" Rose screeched. "NO! We'll take the house!"

"What's wrong with the house?" I asked dad, noting how wary he still was.

"She says it's... not on the better side of town. The area is a little sketchy. It backs up to some woods, but it's on the edge of a poor neighborhood. She says the house is actually in great shape, the woman renting it lived there her whole life and she's in a retirement home now. Assisted living. She wants the extra income but no one wants to pay what the house is worth with the neighborhood it's in."

"Is it a BAD neighborhood, or just poor?" I asked softly as Rose sat up, ready to launch into another tirade.

"Probably just poor, but we can look at it. See. We can see it in the morning and move in tomorrow. Not that we have anything to move in... but we'll have the keys."

"Can we get furniture in it by Sunday?" Rose asked quickly. "Beds and everything?"

"Well, yeah. Actually, Connie told me that a few of the folks in the office volunteered to help, their sons too."

"Sons? How old?" Rose asked, interested now.

"They didn't say, but old enough to move furniture. They also said they all have a few pieces they could let us use until we got new... but I declined on the beds at least. We'll see how soon I can get the rest in or if it's going to be on order for a while."

Rose was already on her phone, smiling as she tapped away.

I thought about a house near the woods in a poor neighborhood. Maybe it would be an adventure? Maybe there would be someone my age nearby who liked to read?

"True! True, you HAVE to wear that new black dress I got you on Monday! We'll both be in black, like... you know, in mourning of our house."

"I didn't know the house very long," I told her seriously.

Dad snorted a laugh.

"Ok, our THINGS then! My Louboutin's! ALL my stuff! All your stuff too! Even your stupid books! All my art supplies!"

"But you give away all your art, so at least there's that. All your work is out in the world being appreciated," I offered.

"Hey! Yeah, it is!" she smiled brightly, then tapped away more on her phone as if she were making that her own.

Dad gave me a smile that told me he appreciated me making her happy.

The house itself wasn't so bad. It was big and bulky and BLUE, sitting up high above a two car garage. What they'd called a painter's nook was a shed with windows and no door. The bedrooms were all small, but there was a finished space in the basement where dad could put his office. The kitchen was large and so was the dining room. The living room was oddly shaped, like the house was built before there were TV's and there was no good arrangement for a TV to work in the room for more than one sitting space.

I went around to the back, picking my steps carefully through the high weeds to look at the woods. They were dense and dark, but they looked like they would be fun to explore. To go in and find a spot to read.

Looking next door, I looked over all the outdoor toys and surmised that there must be at least a full dozen kids living there by the look of all the toys. The repeat toys especially. No one needed six bigwheels unless there were more than six kids. Or little tyke cars, or plastic playhouses and two swing sets in bad shape in the back. There were motorcycles parked in front of the garage, which was on the side of the house that faced the blue house, and not in front. They were all in various states of assembly and only two looked like they were drivable. There were also a lot of tools and mechanic type things in the open garage, in both bays. One side had a bike up on a ramp.

Circling around to the other side of the house to look at the other neighbors, they seemed boring in comparison. No toys, no anything really. An old car with a tarp over it and four flat tires in the driveway. The lawn was tidy, though. Up and down the street, all the lawns were mostly tidy, all but the blue house which was overgrown with grass and weeds. Most of the houses had toys strewn around and a few had other things in the yard as well. The house across from the motorcycle house had a couch on the front porch. An old, yellow and brown couch with cloth cushions.

Didn't they worry about it getting wet? Moldy?

There was no porch on the blue house, just the steps up to the door and a little landing. There was a sort of balcony deck thing in the back, and it had stairs down into the backyard, but they were on the other side of the house. Either way, there were steep and narrow stairs to traverse to get furniture inside. It was impossible to go through the garage with the angles of the turns and width of the little hall. The basement room was definitely not up to code.

When I went back in, dad looked at me and gave me a half hearted smile. "You're the deciding vote, kiddo. Rose wants to live in the hotel, I think we could make this work for the month or so that we'll be here."

"The neighborhood seems quiet and nice," I shrugged. "I like the look of the woods, they look like fun to explore and read in. I don't mind a small room, my new book collection will start small anyway before it grows into a bigger space. Right?"

Dad grinned at me as Rose slumped. "You ALWAYS pick his side!"

"I made my own choice for my own reason," I told her. "Did you pick your room?"

"I want the yellow room, but I want to paint it!"

"That's the master bedroom," Dad sighed, trying and failing to sound patient.

"Don't you get to have the basement too, daddy? Do you need the biggest room if you have two rooms?"

"Not up for debate," dad snapped. "This is already hard, Rose, you're making it harder. She's letting you pick first again, so pick one!"

Rose was quiet as dad snapped at her, then her eyes welled up and her lip quivered. "I'm SORRY I'm not a robot like your perfect daughter!" she wailed, then fled down the hall to one of the rooms, slamming the door.

"That's your room then!" Dad yelled, then pulled his phone out to call Connie.

The rest of the day was spent furniture shopping. Rose decided suddenly that she was an interior decorator and wanted to pick everything. Dad only huffed and told her they were getting cheap and simple since the furniture would likely stay in the house when we moved out. We were staying a month, two tops, she could live with basic.

I couldn't take them arguing, so I found a corner that had scratch and dent clearance and curled up on a chair to read. Dad found me there an hour later.

"Found you a chair, did you?" Dad asked with a smile.

"It's comfy," I shrugged.

"Cheap too," he noted, looking at the tag. "What's wrong with it?"

"The handle for the footrest is wonky, it comes off if you don't hold it in place when you move it."

"Still, it's a good deal since you never use a footrest. Want it?"

"I don't need my own chair, I can sit on a couch."

"We need a chair and I haven't found one yet. This one matches the couch not at all, and I think I like that."

I smiled at my book, then looked up at him as he grinned.

"Thanks, kiddo. For not making things hard on me right now."

"Saving it for later," I promised, going back to my book.

He only laughed as he went to hunt down an employee.

After that, I had them drop me off at the house with some cleaning supplies before they did more shopping. As I cleaned, I saw things we'd need and sent them via text to dad.

Dishes and flatware.

Paper towel holder and paper towels.

Towels and washcloths.

Toilet paper.

Maxi pads and tampons.

The list went on and on and on.

Saturday night was supposed to be our last night in the hotel, but dad asked them to hold the room, 'just in case'. He didn't know what sort of help he would have with all the furniture and other things coming, or how much. Some people SAY they'll help, then bail last minute.

We showed up early Sunday morning, all of our bags in the back of dad's Escalade.

The first thing I saw was a full dozen men in the driveway next door, drinking bottles of beer and working on bikes. There were a dozen more bikes in the yard and at least twenty kids loudly playing in the backyard.

"They look scary," Rose mumbled as the men all stopped what they were doing to look at dad's car. They couldn't see in, the windows were tinted.

"I'm sure they're all nice gentlemen," dad spoke worriedly.

"Daddy, some of them have NECK tattoos! They're all covered in scary looking tattoos! We should go! Call them and say nevermind!"

"Let's just feel it out," dad told her calmly, but he looked worried too.

I looked at both of them, then opened my door and got out. Going to the back, I popped the hatch and grabbed my bag of all the clothes and things Rose had picked out for me, not even looking at all the men watching me. Some of the kids were watching now too, but I pretended not to see or notice as I started up the stairs with my bag.

Dad got out and grabbed a couple of bags as well, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary.

Rose, on the other hand, jumped out of the car and ran as fast as she could up the stairs, half squealing.

"You sound really racist," I told her as we waited for dad on the keys to the house.

"It's NOT racist to be afraid of scary looking men with prison tattoos and motorcycles. They're probably in a gang! A bike gang! They probably kill people."

"Looks more like they fix bikes to me," I sighed, moving down the steps so dad could get up to the door.

When I went back down for another bag, the men were all laughing and talking loud enough to be heard. They were speaking Spanish and I didn't know Spanish, but I DID know they were talking about us and laughing at us.

Dad came out for the last load, his eyes sweeping the men worriedly. "Connie said her husband and son would be here at nine," he whispered to me. "We'll be fine."

"I'm not worried," I told him with a shrug, though I was a little worried. They did seem a little scary and their laughing had sounded derisive. Like they might say something or start something.

I busied myself putting things away, but left the high things like dishes to dad. Rose was hiding in her room, texting. Probably that she was in the 'hood' about to be murdered by a gang.

"Kiddo, you have that list of things from after we were already on our way back?"

"Yeah, on my phone," I told him, then realized I'd left my phone in the car on the charger.

Peeking outside, I looked at the men, but they were back to working on bikes or talking to each other. Laughing and ribbing each other like normal people. There was also an older woman out there and some older kids too, laughing and playing basketball on an old rim nailed to a tree.

It seemed safe enough.

Slipping out, I stayed quiet as I went to the car and got my phone, then went still and quiet as I heard yelling from the house next door.

Peeking, the old woman was calling to me, waving me over.

Hesitantly, I crossed the driveway, then paused there.

A young woman ran up, maybe 13 or 14. "Abuela asks if you're moving in?"

"Yes, but just for a while... umm... we won't bother you long."

The girl translated and I tried not to look at all of the men watching me with amusement.

"Abuela asks if it's just you two girls and your dad? Do you have a mom?"

"Oh, no, actually. My dad is gay, but not dating at the moment." I expected laughter or a snide remark as the girl translated, but the men stayed quiet as they watched.

"Abuela said when you're done with your chores, you can come play with us if you want."

I blushed, swallowing hard as I opened my mouth. My heart was pounding though, and I couldn't speak as I stood there, both upset at being mistaken for a kid, and terrified of upsetting them.

One of the men spoke up, speaking rapid Spanish to the older woman.

The old woman spoke again, moving close to me and taking my hand, patting it.

"Abuela says she's sorry, you looked small and she's half blind. Instead you can come have some coco frio with her and she can teach you how to make quesitos. She makes good quesitos!"

"Thank you so much for the offer," I smiled at the older woman, putting my hand over hers. "I would love to learn to make that, but maybe next weekend? We're getting moved in and I have school during the week."

"How old are you, mami?" one of the men asked, his lip curled up in amusement. He was the one who had spoken to the older woman, told her that I wasn't a kid.

"18," I answered in a half whisper.

"And still in school?"

"I graduate soon. A couple months," I breathed.

"And the other chica?"

"She's my twin, actually. We're the same age... she's older by 42 minutes."

He snorted as if he didn't believe it, but I was used to that.

I looked up at the older woman again and squeezed her hand. "Thank you again for the offer. I'll take you up on it soon! Have a great morning!"

I hurried away as the girl translated, clutching my phone and feeling like an idiot. They'd been nice, why was I so scared?

As soon as I was inside, I peeked out the window. The man was looking up at the house, at the door like he was watching me still. He wasn't... unattractive. He wasn't the tallest of the men, but he was taller than average, maybe 6'. He was slender, but chorded, like a man who worked with his hands and arms for a living. He did have tattoos, a LOT of them, and even up his neck, but they hadn't seemed that scary up close. The two on his neck were ravens, one looking up like it was looking at his face, the other looking down as if looking at his chest. The sides of his head were shaved close, with lines shaved in at his hairline and his hair on top was longer and down over his forehead slightly.

The other men were all talking and laughing again, but he watched the door, though I was sure he couldn't see me peeking out from between the tiny gap in the curtain. The older woman had gone back inside.

"You ok? They say something?" Dad asked quickly, coming back into the kitchen.

"No, it's fine. I mean, yes. They talked to me, but the lady was nice. She asked me to come over and drink... something, I don't know what, and she'd teach me to make... quesadillas? No, something like that. I was hardly listening."

"Well... that sounds hopeful anyway, doesn't it? Just a nice big family?"

"Who work on very loud bikes right next door?" I asked, smiling wanly. I looked back out, but the man was turned back to the others, talking again. Like he knew I was no longer watching him.

Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door.

"They're early," dad called, looking at his phone and looking around in worry. We weren't ready for furniture yet!

There was nothing for it. I went to the door and opened it, expecting either the delivery people or the people who were going to help move things.

It was neither. The girl from before smiled down at me and held out a plate heaped with some sort of pastry. "Abuela made you mallorca bread! She says welcome! She hopes you all like it. My name is Sonja, and Abuela is my grandma. Her name is Josanna. I call her Abuela, but you can call her Josanna. She said I might need to explain that Abuela wasn't her name."

"Thank you, Sonja, this smells wonderful!" I told her truthfully, the smell making my tummy rumble and my mouth water. "I actually did know what abuela meant, but that's pretty much the extent of my Spanish. Please thank her for us and we'll return the plate soon!"

"She also asks if you will need help to move things? If she asks Alonso and the others to help, they will!"

"Alonso... is he the man who spoke to me?"

"Ahh, no! That was Angel! Alonso's youngest brother. He probably would not help," the girl shrugged.

"Oh, we have help coming! Umm... why wouldn't he help, though?"

"Angel is working! They all come to eat and drink with him, but he works away, always. You are in highschool? I'll be in highschool next year! Is it very hard?"

"I don't think so, the work anyway. Sometimes the people, though... they're a little harder to deal with."

"Who's this?" dad asked pleasantly, popping around behind me to look at Sonja. "And what is that amazing smell?"

"Dad, this is Sonja and her abuela sent us some... Moroccan bread?"

"Mallorca bread!" Sonja laughed. "They are sweet rolls, they're good! Try them!"

"We certainly will," dad smiled happily, taking the plate. "I'm starving! Thank your Abuela for us!"

"I will tell her!" Sonja called happily as I shut the door.

"Well that was nice," dad grinned, standing over the plate to try one.

I grabbed one and stood over the trash can so I wouldn't get powdered sugar everywhere.

"Should we tell Rose?" Dad asked around a mouthful.

"Carbs," I shook my head.

"More for us! These are great! Ask her to teach you to make THESE!"