Homeless – CHAPTER 3

Adult story: Homeless – CHAPTER 3

by senorlongo

There was a white panel truck in the driveway when we arrived. “I have the house cleaned once a week. They have a key and they know the alarm code.” I continued when Jessie showed a shocked expression on her face. “And they’re bonded. They have an excellent reputation and they want to keep it. A story in the news about a theft and they’d be done. C’mon, let’s go in. I need to write a script for your call to Marshall County this afternoon.”

“A what?”

“A script for you to follow; you might need a story to tell them and I know you’ll be nervous.” We walked into the house and I found May Gore and her daughter Le’andra at work in the living room. “Hi, May,” I said as we entered the spacious room. “This is my friend, Jennie…Jennifer.” No time like the present for Jessie to assume her new identity.

“Hi, Missuh Doug…Miss Jennie. We just got heah ‘bout a half hour ago,” she said with a huge smile of white teeth in stark contrast to her coal-black skin. Like many black women, she was heavy-set with big breasts and a huge butt, but I’d never seen anyone work as hard as May and her children. I’d met four of them since I’d moved here ten months ago. I waved to Le’andra as she set up the vacuum and led Jennie/Jessie to the office.

We had just entered when Jessie whispered, “Why did you call me Jennie?”

“Sorry to take you by surprise like that, but I thought it might be better and avoid questions later—you know…Jessie…Jennie.”

“Oh! I guess you’re right.” We laid our coats on the chair and I moved to the desk. I began to type what I thought would be a reasonable and believable history for Jennifer Marie Townsend. I double-spaced it in a 14-point font and handed it to Jessie/Jennie once it was printed out. She read it quickly then looked up, smiled and read it again. “I like it, Doug. It makes sense and I can even believe it.”

“All you have to do is read it and ask what the fee is for a duplicate birth certificate. You probably don’t have to go into any detail, but most people are suckers for a hard luck story.” I checked the clock and suggested I begin our lunch. I asked May if she wanted to join us already knowing the answer. She and Le’andra had joined me several times since coming to work for me.

I started the grill and left it to warm up while I made the other preparations. With Jessie’s…oops, I mean Jennie’s help we had the table set in no time. I had eight buns, but thought I might need more dogs. May and Le’andra could put down three or four each easily and I knew that Jennie was making up for lost time. I went out into the freezing air to toast the buns, returning them to the plastic bag once they were done. The dogs were done about ten minutes later and I called May and her daughter to join us.

We sat around the table, eating and chatting amiably until May asked, “Jennie, how did you and Missuh Doug meet? We never seen no woman ‘round heah before.”

I thought Jennie would choke so I rushed to her rescue. “It’s kind of personal, May. The important thing is that we did meet. You’ll no doubt see her here in the future.”

“Yeah, I figured that. Le’andra spotted the clothes in the back bedroom and all the things in the bathroom.”

“Those are none of your business, May. I assumed you were discreet when I hired you.”

“Yes suh, I meant no harm.”

“Good…not another word about Jennie’s presence here.” I took her hand; I could see that she was near tears. “Perhaps it would be best if you returned to work.” May and Le’andra rose, but they were not happy. There were still four hot dogs remaining on the plate.

“You have no reason to be concerned or ashamed about your past, Jessie. Leaving home the way you did and for the reasons you had took a lot of courage. You managed to survive for more than five years when you couldn’t even get a job. You had to do a lot of unpleasant things, but you survived when many others would have died either by their own hand or murdered by some sicko who picked you up. That part of your life is behind you. I don’t think you’ll ever have to go through that again.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because starting this afternoon you’ll have a new life. I’ll help you put it together and I’ll stand by you until you’re ready. You’re safe here. You should think of this as your home while you….” I never had the chance to finish. Jennie threw her arms around my neck and hugged me fiercely. There were tears on her face when she finally pushed herself away.

“I think meeting you is the best and luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I’m glad. For the record I’m glad I met you, too.” I squeezed her hand and we returned to our lunch.

I wasn’t at all surprised when she ate four dogs. I only had two. We cleaned up the minimal mess, nothing more than paper plates, napkins, disposable plastic cups, and only a single large dish for the dishwasher. We retired to my office, the one area of the house that May never entered. I sat Jennie at the desk and entered the number of the Marshall County Administrative Building.

I knew that Marshall County was sparsely populated with fewer than 31,000 residents as of 2014. I’d be amazed if their records department was computerized. The phone was answered on the third ring.

(Marshall County)

“Um…can I speak to someone about a duplicate birth certificate?”

(Just a moment; I’ll connect you.)

(Records…how may I help you?)

“Uh…I’m Jennie…I mean I’m Jennifer Marie Townsend and I’ve been told that I was born in Marshall County. I don’t know for sure because both my parents died in a house fire when I was about a month old. According to neighbors my dad carried me out of the house. He must have thought that my mother was behind him because he hesitated a bit before putting me down on the lawn and running back into the fire. The house collapsed and he and my mother died.

“I was brought up by my grandparents and I’ve lived with them ever since, taking care of Grandma for the last five years until she died last month. Now I need a job and I have to prove my citizenship so I need a replacement birth certificate.”

(I’m really sorry for all your troubles. Getting a new certificate is easy. You just need to send a letter with your name, birth date, and address…you know, where to send it. The cost is ten dollars so I’ll need a check, preferably a bank check or money order. That’s what they tell me to ask for, but a personal check is okay. It’ll just take a few days longer. Send your letter to the County Clerk, Lewisburg, TN 37019. I am really sorry you’ve had such a tough time, Dearie. I hope everything works out for you.)

“Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.” Jennie hung up the phone and turned to me. “That was easier than I thought. Maybe this will work out after all.”

I had been taking notes so I took Jennie’s place at the desk and brought up my word processing program. I had a letter to the County Clerk done in no time. Checking my watch I saw that we might just make it to the bank before closing. I pulled Jennie after me, grabbing our jackets on the way and we were out the door a minute later. “Lock up, will you, May? I have to rush to the bank.”

We had our check fifteen minutes later then we were on our way to the local ACE Hardware. “Why are we going to a hardware store, Doug?”

“See the sign over there.” She looked to the building and saw it—United States Postal Service. “They have a desk in the back that handles mail on a contract with the real USPS. There’s no incoming mail here, only outgoing. It’s a lot quicker most times than driving all the way to Ocean Isle or Little River down in South Carolina.” We had a stamped envelope from the postal desk less than five minutes later. I addressed it for Jennie, using her new name c/o Douglas Preston, PhD with my address on Beach Road, Sunset Beach, NC 28468 as the return address. After handing the completed envelope to the clerk he told us it would likely be delivered by Friday, two days forward.

May was gone by the time we were back at the house. I returned to the office to clear all the search data from my computer. I had huge memory on my hard drives, but old habits die hard. Cleaning up after a project was something I’d begun as an undergrad, back when I had to do everything on a single laptop. Also, I didn’t want any evidence of illegal activity on my hard drive. Once the files were deleted I ran a program that would reformat the drive I had used. I rarely used the hard drives on the computers, preferring to use an external drive—just in case I picked up a serious virus. I could reinstall the files and programs that were required for compatibility with my servers. Once I was done I looked for Jennie, finding her lounging with a book, her back facing the glass doors that led to the deck where I kept my grill and an assortment of lounge chairs.

“Know what I missed most while I was on the road? Reading; I loved books as a kid. I was always reading something…anything. I’m glad to see you have more than just computer books.”

“I do have a life, you know.”

“I guess…so, when are you going to fuck me?”

“Huh? What brought that on?”

“In my experience people do something because they want something. I heard May and her daughter talking earlier. They’ve never seen a woman here…never! She said you lived like a monk.”

“Am I giving you a hard time because of how you lived? The truth is I don’t have much experience with women. I’m a nerd! So, shoot me! If we ever make love you’ll be on the pill and you’ll be 100 percent clean. Remember, that’s one of the reasons you’re being tested tomorrow morning. Besides, I’m doing this to keep you from freezing to death. One other thing—if we do make love it will be because you want to, not because you feel obligated. I hate the thought of being owed sex. Ugghh! That just makes the whole thing so cheap and so dirty. It makes my skin crawl. I’m not criticizing you. You had no choice, but now you do. You’ll have that choice as long as you’re here with me.”

“And how long will that be?”

“I have no idea. I obviously can’t keep you here. You’re not a slave, after all. You can go anytime you wish.”