I woke up shivering as usual and pushed the cardboard I'd collected for insulation off of me, crawled out of the burnt-out car where I'd lived for the past year and a half and shuffled over to the oil drum. I was hoping it would still be warm from last night's fire. I poked about a bit and saw an ember, so I went back to the car for some paper to coax the ember into a flame. Once I achieved this, I fed it some cardboard and wood from our stack of broken pallets. When I was sure it was well alight, I went back to the car and shook Ivan (none of us could pronounce his real name, but he said he was Russian, so we all called him Ivan).
''Come on, you lazy bastard, get up the fire's going, and we need to get to the pickup point if we want any chance of getting a day's work, so move yourself NOW!''
Ivan slowly dragged himself from his cocoon of cardboard and went to the fire to warm himself.
''Fuck it's cold out here.''
''I thought you Russians were used to the cold?''
''I thought so too I must be getting old.''
We'd saved some of the Pizza we found in the dumpster last night and warmed that for breakfast. We then made our way over to the pickup point for day labourers. We would stand in a crowd with about a dozen other homeless guys, hoping for a day's work. A pickup truck would arrive, and the Foreman would pick up as many workers as he needed, take us to the building site for the day and drop us off at the end of the day. The money was shit, but we got a hot meal at lunchtime, and sometimes the regular workers would share their lunch with us. We may be homeless, but we wanted to work, and sometimes, if we were lucky, we would get offered permanent work. If that happened, we were allowed to sleep in the canteen in the warm for the duration of the build.
Today, we were in luck. We both got picked for a day's work, which meant we could afford to eat for the next couple of days. We were both big and strong (Ivan stood at five-eleven and weighed in at about 250lb. I'm six-three and weigh about the same) and were given hod-carrying duties for the day. We worked hard, hoping for a permanent position, and the foreman seemed pleased.
At the end of the day, we were given our $20 and were climbing into the truck when a man came out of the office and called the foreman over. They conversed for a short time, and the foreman motioned for Ivan and me to go over to him.
''Ok, you two, it's your lucky day, the boss was impressed with your performance today and has a proposition for you. First, though, are either of you illegals or on the run from the law?''
We said we weren't, so he continued. (I really wasn't sure as I have no memory further back than when I woke up in a box car in a siding in Euston)
The boss has a ranch that he's building a new house on and needs labourers to help build and construct an access road. The money's the same, but you get full board and lodgings. The job should take you through to the summer, so what do you say? Oh, and by the way, no drugs or booze on the premises''.
We both jumped at the chance of regular work, and neither of us did drugs, and we weren't great drinkers, me especially.
''So, do you need to get anything from your camp, or are you ready to go?''
''Ready when you are boss we both chirped.''
''Ok, tonight you can bunk down in the canteen and in the morning, we'll take you to get a shower and some decent clothes because you stink, and there are ladies where you're going.''
We couldn't believe our luck: somewhere warm to sleep and new clothes, it didn't get any better than this. In the morning, we were taken to Walmart and told to pick up toiletries, two pairs of jeans, some shirts, warm jackets and work boots. The foreman paid the tab and took us to a cheap motel for a shower and shave. Looking almost human, he then took us to breakfast at a local café; we had never had it so good.
Later that day, we were given another $20 each and bus tickets to Winchester Falls. (the name rang a bell, but I couldn't place it) After what I'm sure was the longest bus ride in history, we arrived and were met by a man in a Stetson and jeans. All he needed was a gun belt and duster, and he could have been a cowboy from the Old West. He told us to get in the back of an old pickup and introduced us to his other passenger, Blue. Blue was in the front and was the biggest dog I had ever seen, even Ivan was nervous. The driver introduced himself as Buddy, the ranch foreman and laughed at our reaction to Blue.
''Don't worry about Blue he's as gentle as a lamb so long as you don't upset him.''
Hearing his name, he pricked his ears pricked up, and he looked at Buddy for instructions.
''It's ok, Blue, their friends go back to sleep.''
And that's just what he did after giving us the once over. The ride to the ranch took nearly an hour, and we were thrown about quite a bit once we turned off the highway. I guess that's the road they want to be rebuilt, I thought. Once we turned off the main road, it took about another twenty minutes to reach the ranch. We stopped outside what looked like the main residence and got out.
An older man, also dressed like a cowboy, came out to meet us.
''Glade, you boys made it. Buddy will take you over to the bunkhouse and settle you in; there's plenty of room as roundup isn't for a few months when we hire more men. When you're finished, come back here for some chow, and we'll talk some more.''
The bunkhouse was spartan, but it was a palace compared to our burnt-out car. We quickly settled in and returned to the house. We were let in by a grey-haired lady named Grace, who said she was the housekeeper and cook. She ushered us into a huge room at the centre of which sat the biggest table I had ever seen. There were at least twenty seats around the sides. We looked a bit confused, and she said.
''Everyone eats together here, including Mr and Mrs Manning, Mr Manning says it improves the relationship between the boss and the hired help. Having said that, there are rules: no cussing, no smoking until after everyone is finished, no discussing politics, religion or women, and always come to each meal clean. Break any of these rules, and you eat with Blue in the doghouse. Now sit down, and the others will be here soon.''
We did as we were told, god help anyone who crossed Grace. Two more hands came in and sat down.
''You must be the new guys. I'm Tom, and this is Pete, we're brothers and do the day-to-day work, but we live in the town with our family, but we eat here to save Mom cooking.''
We introduced ourselves and continued our wait. Buddy came in and sat down, saying ''hi''. A short while later, Mr Manning came in with his wife, and we stood up until she sat down. He introduced us to his wife, who seemed genuinely interested in all of us, once we were all there, Grace started serving. There was water on the table or juice if you preferred, there were also biscuits in baskets to help yourself. She brought in huge tureens of mashed potatoes, mixed veg and plates piled with pork chops, there were also jugs of gravy. When it was all laid out, she sat down, and Mr Manning said to dig in. Ivan and I held back until everyone had filled their plates, and I saw Mrs Manning smile at our manners and nod to us to tuck in.
At the end of the meal, I was stuffed and found it hard to move, much to the delight of Grace. Who looked at Tom and Pete and said.
''I cooked it, you two can clean it up''. Then she looked at us and said, ''Your turn tomorrow.'' We thanked her for such a wonderful meal and said it would be our pleasure, which earned us a beaming smile as she left.
Mr Manning stood and said You two, follow me and we did as he ordered, we followed him out the back to what we were to learn was his smoking room.
''Ok, boys, you passed your first test, you were polite and courteous at dinner, I like that shows you were brought up right. Have a seat, and let's get to know each other. Drink?''
We declined as we both had a drinking problem in the past.
''Smoke?'' And he offered us a cigar.
We again declined, we had lost the habit over the past year, as all our money went on food.
''OK, me first. I own this ranch and about 1500 acres of prime grazing land. I also own a smaller outfit raising rare breeds and alternative meat animals such as ostrich and lamas. I started out as a commercial banker and made millions, but I was never home and had an ulcer. After a heart attack, Sarah threatened to leave me if I didn't change my lifestyle. So I retired at fifty and bought this place; that was twenty years ago, and I've never looked back. Ok, Ivan, your turn.''
Ivan looked uncomfortable at first but then started to relax as he told his tale, which I had never heard before. He told us he had come to this country with his parents to open a Russian restaurant. At first, it had gone well, but as soon as they started making money, the local gang had started extorting money from them. When his father reported it to the police, there was a fire at the restaurant and both his parents were killed. He was only sixteen, so he went into the system and was fostered out. The couple he was fostered to only wanted their check and beat him bloody, so he ran away. He's been living rough since then, he's now forty-five.
''You've had a rough life, Ivan, but work hard and keep your nose clean, and I'll turn it around for you. OK, Doug, your turn.''
''I don't know what to tell you. I woke up in a boxcar eighteen months ago with Ivan, and that's it. I have no memory before that, I don't even know if Doug is my real name. All I know is Ivan found me at the bottom of a cliff, all banged up.
''Haven't you ever tried to find out?''
''How I have no money and wouldn't know where to start.''
''Well, son, I may be able to help you out if you don't mind me involving the sheriff.''
''Mr Manning, I'd appreciate any help I can get.''
''You don't need to call me Mr all the time, I answer to Ted or Boss just the same, and you call my wife Mam, or some call her Mrs B. Now, you two go and bunk down it's been a long day, and I want you fresh in the morning. Breakfast is at six, so don't be late.''
The next morning, we were put to work digging the foundations for the new house. Halfway through the day, the backhoe we were using started to run rough, so we turned it off. I went into the machine shed, found some tools, and started to strip out the engine when Buddy showed up.
''What are you doing to my tractor boy?''
''The bearings have run dry and need to be replaced, there must be a blockage in the oil feed.''
''Are you a mechanic?''
''I don't know I just know what's wrong and how to fix it.''
''Ok, get to it, but if you fuck it up, it comes out of your pay.''
I stripped it all down and removed the bearings. The tractor was really old, and a rubber oil pipe had gone soft and collapsed, starving the engine of oil. I showed Buddy and said we needed new parts. Buddy went off to tell Ted, who came out to see me. After I showed him the problem and he finished swearing, he called the tractor dealer to see if they carried the parts. When they said they had the parts in, he said he would run me into town to make sure they were the right parts. While we were there, we would see the sheriff and see if he could help find out who I was.
We went into town, which seemed familiar somehow. After collecting the parts, we spoke to the sheriff. He took my picture and fingerprints and said he would send them to other town sheriffs to see what cropped up.
