Chapter 17 Making Plans

I wandered down to the park to visit with John, expecting to see him feeding the pigeons or talking to his favourite squirrel — a grey rodent he called Gregory for some reason. He said it reminded him of a friend he had at school. But John wasn’t there. I wandered down toward the conservatory. John loved walking around in there and looking at the flowers and plants. He said it reminded him of home. He wasn’t there either. I made my way through the park and was about to head back to the theatre when I spotted him sprawled beside a flowerbed wrapped in a blanket.

I made a beeline for him. I watched as a woman in a navy business suit cut a wide path around him, her face twisted in disgust.

“John!” I called out, dropping to my knees beside him and ignoring the strong smell of alcohol coming off him in waves.

A deep cough tore through him, shaking his whole body.

“Hey Joe.” He tried to sit up but he had clearly been drinking all day.

I helped steady him. “Are you okay?” I asked, pushing his hair off his face. I pulled out the elastic holding my own hair back and tied his into a ponytail. “There. That’s better.”

“Thanks, son,” he slurred, patting my arm awkwardly. He coughed again.

“Maybe we should take you to the walk-in clinic,” I suggested.

John shook his head violently. “I’m fine,” he insisted.

“Did you take the medicine I got for you?” I asked.

He nodded. “Just need to sleep it off,” he told me, coughing into his blanket.

“John, maybe you should be sleeping at the theatre with me and Sid.”

He shook his head again. “I like it here. I like being able to see the sky.” He yawned, leaning his head on my shoulder.

Sid would be wondering where I was. But John started snoring softly, so I leaned back and tried to get comfortable. There was no way I was leaving John alone tonight. I pulled my cell out of my pocket, careful not to wake John and texted Sid.

John needs me. Staying in the park tonight.

* * *

Sid and I counted our money every night. We were working on getting bus fare out of the city. I knew I couldn’t go back home but I figured Sid and I could find somewhere to live. A city small enough that we could afford to rent a place and big enough that there would be jobs for us. I thought maybe we could head to Peterborough or Belleville. I figured we could rent a basement apartment or something and save up for a real home somewhere.

I told her about the food we made back home, the food I would make for her: venison stew, fry bread, and my Aunt Ava’s famous pecan waffles smothered in maple syrup.

“You’ve got my mouth watering!” Sid laughed. “The only waffles I’ve ever had came out of a box that says Eggo on it.”

“You’ve never had homemade waffles?”

She shook her head. “Nope. My mother was more of a Kraft Dinner, freezer pizza kind of mother. You know . . . until she ditched me.” She raised her eyebrows at me.

“Well, I’d never ditch you. And as soon as we have a little more money, you can taste those waffles for yourself.”

“I can’t wait. How much more do we need?” she asked.

“Forty-eight dollars more and we have enough take us about one hundred kilometres in any direction we choose.”

Sid nodded. “We can make that in one night. One of us just has to get a date and we’re ready to start over somewhere else.”

“Maybe John can come too,” I mused. “I’m worried about him. He’s drinking a lot and his cough sounds like it’s getting worse.”

Sid smiled.

“Of course he’s coming with us! It wouldn’t be home without John.”

* * *

We walked around downtown together that night, knowing it could well be our last night in Toronto. Sid got into it, talking about getting a job in a clothing store. If there was a mall nearby.

“I’d totally rock a job at Hot Topic!” she said confidently.

“You could get me a discount on Pop Funko figures!” I said, smiling.

“Only if you’re nice to me,” she laughed, sticking out her tongue.

There was a cherry red Audi cruising along beside us. The man inside could have been anyone. Middle-aged and balding with a patchy beard covering his chin. He was staring at Sid with a greasy smile on his face. There was something about him that made my skin crawl.

“What about him?” Sid asked. She nodded over at the guy driving at a snail’s pace beside us. The man smiled again and waved at us.

Yeah. There was definitely something creepy about him. “No. He gives me the creeps. We’ll find someone else.”

“We’ve been walking around for hours!” Sid complained. “My feet are killing me and I’m hungry. It’ll take twenty minutes and we’ll have enough money to get bus tickets.”

“Not him, Sid. There’s something not quite right about him. I can’t put my finger on it.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Joe.” She turned to the man and waved back at him. He pulled over and parked beside us. “It’ll be fine. He looks nice enough. Even drives a nice car. I can probably get at least seventy-five out of him. Twenty minutes and I’ll meet you back here. Okay?” She squeezed my hands and looked at me imploringly. It was that look . . . I could never say no when she gave me that look.

“Fine,” I told her. “But right back here in twenty. No longer. I don’t trust him.” I glanced at him and tried to look threatening.

“You coming?” he called out at Sid, completely ignoring me. Sid hugged me quickly, and then turned.

“You bet, handsome. Nice car.” She climbed into the passenger side and winked at me as the man pulled away from the curb.