noontime, Clifton called him over to his truck and gave him an envelope.
—There you go.
—What’s this? said Lee.
—It’s not a birthday card, Leland. It’s your paycheque.
—Oh.
He opened it and took it out and looked at it. There was the cheque itself and a balance sheet of statutory deductions. He studied the numbers.
—Were you thinking I’d pay under the table? said Clifton. Because I won’t. It’s just not worth the headache.
—Like in the Bible, right? You have to give to Caesar what’s his too.
—Well. It’s just not worth the headache to muck around.
—Good with me, Mr. Murray. Everything above-board. That kind of thing keeps my parole officer happy.
—Yes, well.
—I’ll get back to it, said Lee.
I t rained that evening. Pete drove to the pizza joint over by the hospital. His work clothes were stuffed in a backpack in the trunk of his car beside a case of beer. He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt and a jacket.
—There’s my main man, said Billy.
Billy and Emily had a booth inside the restaurant. With them was a girl Emily introduced as Nancy. Nancy did not have the same poise as Emily, but she had an appealing nature. She laughed a lot. She and Billy did most of the talking.
They had pizza and frosted glasses of root beer. Conversation at the table threaded frenetically with Billy and Emily on one side and Pete and Nancy sitting across from them. Nancy talked with her hands almost as much as she laughed. Pete caught Emily’s eye and she made a face at him. Billy’s arm hovered over her shoulders.
—Billy said you quit school, said Nancy.
—Yeah, said Pete. Last May.
—The system doesn’t trust guys like Pete, said Billy.
Nancy shook her head. She said how wild that was, Pete quitting school. Pete happened to catch Emily’s eye. Her expression was mild and neutral, but all the same he reached up and scratched the back of his neck. He said: I was thinking I might go to community college at some point. I don’t know.
He didn’t say anything about his plans to head out west.
They had the rest of the pizza and sent for the bill. Nancy’s folks were away for the weekend and she was having friends over to her house that night. She and Emily got up to go to the washroom and Billy winked at Pete as soon as they were alone.
—She’s nice, said Pete.
—Sure she is. You bet.
The bill came and Billy burrowed about for his wallet until Pete put the cash down. The girls returned. Nancy came back and slipped into the booth beside Pete.
—Are you going to come to my house? I think you should.
—She thinks you should, Pete, said Emily.
Pete might have guessed there’d be trouble if he and Billy went to Nancy’s house, school loyalty being what it was. By eleven o’clock, there were twenty people at the party, all of them from Heron Heights. Shortly after eleven a small group of guys arrived. They were all solidly built athletes. The biggest of them was six feet tall, and it wasn’t so much that he was good-looking—he just had presence in the room. When he took off his jacket, he was wearing a Heron Heights varsity lacrosse T-shirt underneath. The air got tense.
Until that point it wasn’t a bad scene. The house was nice—much bigger than the house where Pete lived—and there was lots to drink. He didn’t know any of these people, except for Billy andNancy and Emily, and he was grateful just to take it all in. He spent a lot more time in Nancy’s company than he’d predicted he would, given how it usually seemed to go for him when it came to girls. He’d noticed a picture of her on the wall: an ice rink, a figure-skating pose for the camera, a glittery outfit, thick stage makeup. He asked her about the picture and saw how she lit up. They sat on a couch in the living room and she told him how she volunteered as a coach when she wasn’t training, how she’d gone to the nationals, was going again this spring. As she talked, Pete looked around. There were
—There you go.
—What’s this? said Lee.
—It’s not a birthday card, Leland. It’s your paycheque.
—Oh.
He opened it and took it out and looked at it. There was the cheque itself and a balance sheet of statutory deductions. He studied the numbers.
—Were you thinking I’d pay under the table? said Clifton. Because I won’t. It’s just not worth the headache.
—Like in the Bible, right? You have to give to Caesar what’s his too.
—Well. It’s just not worth the headache to muck around.
—Good with me, Mr. Murray. Everything above-board. That kind of thing keeps my parole officer happy.
—Yes, well.
—I’ll get back to it, said Lee.
I t rained that evening. Pete drove to the pizza joint over by the hospital. His work clothes were stuffed in a backpack in the trunk of his car beside a case of beer. He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt and a jacket.
—There’s my main man, said Billy.
Billy and Emily had a booth inside the restaurant. With them was a girl Emily introduced as Nancy. Nancy did not have the same poise as Emily, but she had an appealing nature. She laughed a lot. She and Billy did most of the talking.
They had pizza and frosted glasses of root beer. Conversation at the table threaded frenetically with Billy and Emily on one side and Pete and Nancy sitting across from them. Nancy talked with her hands almost as much as she laughed. Pete caught Emily’s eye and she made a face at him. Billy’s arm hovered over her shoulders.
—Billy said you quit school, said Nancy.
—Yeah, said Pete. Last May.
—The system doesn’t trust guys like Pete, said Billy.
Nancy shook her head. She said how wild that was, Pete quitting school. Pete happened to catch Emily’s eye. Her expression was mild and neutral, but all the same he reached up and scratched the back of his neck. He said: I was thinking I might go to community college at some point. I don’t know.
He didn’t say anything about his plans to head out west.
They had the rest of the pizza and sent for the bill. Nancy’s folks were away for the weekend and she was having friends over to her house that night. She and Emily got up to go to the washroom and Billy winked at Pete as soon as they were alone.
—She’s nice, said Pete.
—Sure she is. You bet.
The bill came and Billy burrowed about for his wallet until Pete put the cash down. The girls returned. Nancy came back and slipped into the booth beside Pete.
—Are you going to come to my house? I think you should.
—She thinks you should, Pete, said Emily.
Pete might have guessed there’d be trouble if he and Billy went to Nancy’s house, school loyalty being what it was. By eleven o’clock, there were twenty people at the party, all of them from Heron Heights. Shortly after eleven a small group of guys arrived. They were all solidly built athletes. The biggest of them was six feet tall, and it wasn’t so much that he was good-looking—he just had presence in the room. When he took off his jacket, he was wearing a Heron Heights varsity lacrosse T-shirt underneath. The air got tense.
Until that point it wasn’t a bad scene. The house was nice—much bigger than the house where Pete lived—and there was lots to drink. He didn’t know any of these people, except for Billy andNancy and Emily, and he was grateful just to take it all in. He spent a lot more time in Nancy’s company than he’d predicted he would, given how it usually seemed to go for him when it came to girls. He’d noticed a picture of her on the wall: an ice rink, a figure-skating pose for the camera, a glittery outfit, thick stage makeup. He asked her about the picture and saw how she lit up. They sat on a couch in the living room and she told him how she volunteered as a coach when she wasn’t training, how she’d gone to the nationals, was going again this spring. As she talked, Pete looked around. There were
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