Change of Plan

Alex kept a death grip on her seat as Will absentmindedly maneuvered the streets pointing out various things as they sped along. They had already made several stops since leaving the little produce shop, some were to restaurants and hotels, and others were to residential areas for shut-ins and elderly. The scenery shifted every few blocks, exposing a variety of life styles. Alex found the outing both terrifying and thrilling all at the same time. Other than seeing the town, she found that she was enjoying her companion as well. He seemed to know a little bit about everything and was more than willing to tell her all about himself.

Will explained that the reason they delivered to so many areas was because Trumper’s was well known for its honesty and fair prices, both of which were hard to come by now days. Each piece of produce was inspected personally by Mr. Trumper himself. Will had started working for him when he was 10, sweeping the floors and taking out the trash. Through hard work, he had earned Mr. Trumper’s trust and respect thus providing young Will with a steady paycheck.

Will had left home for a brief spell when he was seventeen to “see the world.” He found free passage aboard one of the many ships in the area in exchange for his cleaning skills. He had been gone only a year when he received word that his mother was ill. Catching a ride on the next ship home, the young man said farewell to his wandering ways. Returning home, he resumed his job at Trumper’s much to the delight of the aging man. Will relocated his mother to one of the above store flats in the neighborhood and hired a young girl to stay with her while he was at work. Will never said what was ailing his mother but she seemed to need constant supervision and some very expensive medicines.

Before long the delivery van pulled up in front of Nelly’s Bed and Breakfast. Parking on the curb, Will removed the last bag and escorted the pretty young girl to the kitchen door. Knocking to announce their arrival, they entered the unlocked screen door.

“Why, hello, Will” Nelly bustled into the kitchen wearing a smile. “Just put the bag over there on the counter.” She gestured to the spot. When the delivery boy stepped to the side he exposed his partner for the day. “I see you’ve found my girl” she patted Alex’s back causing the girl to flinch in pain. Nelly gave her a puzzling look but quickly dismissed her thoughts as a figment of her imagination.

“Yes, mam, you can say we ‘ran’ into each other on my way into the shop.” He winked at Alex whose face had turned a bright red. Nelly nodded with a knowing look and began unpacking her order.

“Looks good Will. Tell Mr. Trumper I said thank you.”

“Yes, mam.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Nelly walked across the kitchen and retrieved something off of another counter. “This here’s for you and your mamma.” She handed him a beautiful golden crusted cherry pie.”

“Thank you, Miss Nelly. This will certainly lift Mum’s spirits a bit.” He took the pie in hand and turned to head out the door. Walking over to where Alex stood, he leaned down and whispered something into her ear that caused her to blush yet again. Nodding her head in the affirmative, he left with a big grin on his face.

“Well now, what was all that about, missy?” The round woman was all too eager to hear what Alex had been up to today. Alex took a seat at the kitchen table and filled her in on the day.

“Well, if you’re going to be seeing Mr. Paris again we must get you some decent clothing. It won’t do to have you running around in the same outfit day after day.” Nelly placed a cup of tea in front of Alex and then headed to the telephone. “Let me make a few phone calls and we’ll see what we can’t come up with.”

Alex finished her tea then retired to her bedroom her head buzzing with uncertainties and questions. Upon entering her room she flopped onto the bed with a sigh, “What are you doing, Alex? This isn’t your life, you have business to finish.” Somehow the words seemed hollow, she wasn’t convinced that she was supposed to leave here and return back to Mexico. After all, chasing down those men hadn’t brought her family back and it certainly hadn’t made her happy.

Reaching across the bed she picked up the now familiar box from the nightstand. Opening it, she was startled to see a new scene being played out. The happy pioneer family had been replaced by a young couple sitting on the beach watching the sun go down. The waves rolled in one upon the other, seagulls flew overhead or walked on the shore, all the while the couple sat entranced with one another. Alex attempted to remove the key once more and again felt the searing heat upon her skin. “What are you for?” in frustration she closed the lid on the happy couple.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked the reflection in the mirror. Falling down onto her knees she buried her face in her hands and cried. For so long she had had a purpose, a goal, but now she felt a need to change that goal. For the first time since her family’s passing she felt content with where she was at and who she was. She liked belonging to a community and having people to talk to but was it the right thing to do.

“Get a grip on yourself” harshly wiping the tears from her eyes she got back to her feet. Going to her saddle bag she began rifling through it until she came across the list of names. Instead of the usual anger that she felt every time she looked at their names she felt nothing. Disgusted with the whole thing she tossed the slip of paper onto the dresser and went downstairs to have a chat with Nelly. Alex needed somebody to help her make sense of her emotions before they drove her insane.

She was at the top of the steps when she heard Officer Riddles voice for the second time today. “Nelly, I’ve warned ya. No money, no protection.”

“I don’t need your protection, I’ve got Alex now.”

“Who’s this Alex fella that everybody’s talking about? I’m getting’ tired of hearing his name. Is he going to stop the drugs from coming in and the gangs?”

“I believe so, and she wont rob us blind doing it either.”

“Is he going to stop me?” The man’s face was purple with rage.

Fearing for Nelly’s safety, Alex rushed down the steps. “Yes, I am going to stop you.” She stood glaring at the disgruntled paddy.

“A girl? You’ve hired a girl to protect the neighborhood?” Laughing the officer backed his way out the door. “The lot of yas is crazy. I’ll leave yas to your own undoing. This isn’t even worth a fight.” He gestured wildly down the street in the direction of the docks, “Once they hear of this they’ll be on you all like flies on crap.” Turning abruptly on his heels he left the women staring after him.

“Well, that was easy,” remarked Alex happily coming to stand next to Nelly.

“Yes, that was easy, but now we have to get ready for the war.” Turning she retreated to the kitchen to begin preparations on dinner.

“What war?” Alex followed the woman into the kitchen and began cleaning potatoes.

“He’s going to let every thief, murderer, and drug dealer know that we’re easy game. They’ll come from miles around to lay claim to this area.”

Drying her hands, Alex approached the distraught woman, “I wont let that happen, Nelly, I promise you. Just get me those guns and I can take care of you and the rest of the shop keepers.”

Nelly brushed away a rogue tear and resumed her cooking. Alex now had her answer – she was going to stay and help these people. This was her life now.