When Memories Remain - Excerpt (text)

     The first two weeks went by quickly and David did everything possible to avoid Bryan. Still, the man picked on him relentlessly. Because of this, David stayed close to Norman who was irritated by the bully and tired of being shadowed by his brother.
     They received their first paycheques one Friday afternoon and David signed his over to Norman to cash at the bank. He mentally calculated how much was needed to pay the trailer rent and buy a few amenities, and gave the rest back to David before they went to the café to pay their food bills. This left David with a little bit of cash in his pocket.
     The following week, Jack McGuiness showed up at the work site during lunch hour. The casual talk stopped and the workers stiffened as Jack approached. His expression was serious.
     Jack pointed to Norman, David and two other men. “You guys want to make a little extra cash?” he asked. “I need four of you to stay until 10 p.m.”
     David eagerly nodded.
     “Sure, we’ll work,” Norman said, concealing his delight from the other men.
     “Good,” Jack said. “And the rest of you guys, pick it up a little. We’re running behind schedule.”
     Bryan and the other men continued eating their lunches while David jumped up and with lunch bag in hand, trotted back towards the machine shed. He’d been given a bit more responsibility and was now assisting mechanics who were fixing broken-down machines.
     Jack stood and watched for a moment.
     “That poor bastard can’t talk worth a damn, but he sure can work,” he said to no one in particular. Then turning to Bryan, he said, “and that’s what we need around here—more work and less talk.”
     Jack started back towards his truck and Norman took this as his cue to return to work as well. He wasn’t worried about keeping up to David but he wanted to avoid Bryan. Once in the driver’s seat, the roar of the diesel motor made the bully’s comments inaudible. That’s how Norman liked it—that way he didn’t get angry and wasn’t tempted to react.
     The weather was good and the brothers worked until 10 p.m. for two weeks straight. They took a break at 4 p.m. Friday to pick up their second paycheque.
     “So, h-hhow much do you think we’re g-ggonna get?” David asked as they walked towards the office. “I lost track. I think it’ll be lots ’cause we w-wworked so very much overtime.”
     Norman had calculated their hours but wasn’t sure what the government deductions would be.
     “Hard to say. It’s gonna depend on how hard they ding us for income tax.”
     “Oh,” David frowned. “That don’t seem fair that we gotta pay tax for workin’.”
     Norman laughed. “Yeah, well welcome to the real world, Davey boy. But it doesn’t matter. We’re paying unemployment too, and that’s going to come in handy this winter when we get laid off.”
     David was so happy to be working that he’d forgotten this was seasonal work that would come to an end. He pushed the thought out of his mind.
     The brothers opened the door to the office and stepped inside. It was full of employees who’d also taken a break to pick up their pay. George was sitting behind Jack’s desk handing out cheques. The brothers got in line.
     “So, how are you liking the work?” George asked David when it was his turn.
     “G-gggood,” the teen stammered quietly. He looked at the floor as George pressed him for more details.
     “You think you’ll stay until freeze up?”
     “Oh y-yyyes, s-sir.”
     “Good,” he said, handing David the cheque. “You’re doing a good job.”
     David nodded, took his pay and began walking toward the door. He stopped when he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Bryan was watching him. David glanced over his shoulder at Norman who was entertaining George with one of his many jokes.
     “Hey, ‘shitskey,’” Bryan called out.
     David knew who ‘shitskey’ was, but pretended he didn’t hear.
     “Hey, ‘shitskey,’” the bully said again, this time louder, “I’m talking to you.”
     David looked at the big man who was standing near the door.
     “How much overtime did you get?” he asked.
     David looked at the floor and said nothing.
     “How many hours?” he asked again, forcing David to acknowledge him.
     “T-ttt,” David stuttered. “T-tttw.”
     As the word “twenty” stuck behind his teeth, David’s face warmed with embarrassment. He felt all eyes on him as he struggled to say the word. This, of course, only made matters worse.
     Bryan laughed and then rolling back his eyes, began mimicking David’s stutter. The teenager hung his head and tried to walk past, but Bryan blocked the door.
     “Hey, ‘shitsky,’ when was the last time you took a shower?” he taunted. “You stink.”
     Some of the men chuckled while the others just watched as the bully teased David. Too shy to look at anyone, David glanced nervously over his shoulder for Norman. George was still talking but Norman was no longer paying attention to the conversation. He noticed what was happening near the door and politely nodded at the supervisor. His eyes were on Bryan who continued to taunt David. Devastated, the 15 year old could do nothing but wait for his older brother.
     At first glance Norman looked like just another handsome, young man. But a maturity borne of many experiences, not all pleasant, was evident when people took the time to look into his eyes. He’d seen more in 20 years than most men in that trailer had seen in their lifetimes. To them, the Pischke brothers were bushed kids from the country—the current butt of jokes to lighten long days of boring, manual labour. Like chickens in a coop, one always had to be picked on.
     The look on Norman’s face was one that few people had seen before, but David recognized it well. It was the same look Norman had as a youngster when he realized he couldn’t fly his siblings away from the farm in his homemade airplane. David had seen the look again when Domko punished Norman by shooting the boy’s faithful dog. And the last time he’d seen Norman with a clenched jaw and rigid gaze came after a horrific beating he’d taken from Domko. After Norman regained consciousness, he got up, walked away from the farm, and never returned.
     But that had been when Norman was only 13 years old. Now he was a young man who feared no one. It was in these moments that Norman moved with a fluidity and purpose that was quick, sure, and frightening. He strode across the room no longer reluctant to make trouble with a fellow worker. He stopped just inches from Bryan, then looked up at the man who stood more than an inch taller. Surprised, the bully took a step backwards.
     “How much overtime we’ve worked is none of your goddamned business,” Norman said flatly.
     “Yeah, well it is my business when you’re taking work away from the rest of us,” Bryan sneered.
     “You don’t like it, talk to McGuiness,” Norman said calmly.
     “What’s the point? I’m not going to kiss anybody’s ass,” he said. “Why do you think your brother over there is called ‘shitsky’? It’s from all that ass-kissing that’s going on.”
     Norman grabbed Bryan by the front of the shirt and rammed him backwards against the wall. The bully tried to swing but Norman had him pinned, lifting him slightly off his feet. Pressing his strong forearms against Bryan’s chest, he pushed his elbows up under the man’s armpits and held him tight against the wall.
     “Take it outside!” George yelled as he came around from behind the desk.
In a fluid motion, Norman pulled Bryan towards him and the two men struggled towards the open door. Norman instinctively knew Bryan’s weaknesses and he pushed the heavy-set, out-of-shape man out backwards. Norman pounced on Bryan who lost his balance when he missed the step and he hit the ground hard. Before Bryan realized what had happened, Norman’s knee was pressed firmly into his back. Norman twisted Bryan’s arm back and forced his wrist towards his shoulder blades until the bully cried out in pain.
     The other workers followed and jumped down onto the grass to watch. David noticed the men who’d been picked on by Bryan were smirking at the man’s predicament.
     This was the first time David realized how truly strong his brother was. He could see the muscles on Norman’s back, shoulders and arms bulge under the thin T-shirt. Bryan kicked a bit but in spite of his size was no match for the solid young man.
     “It’s Pischke,” Norman said in a soft but commanding tone as his forearm pressed Bryan’s face into the ground. “Say it.”
Bryan refused.
     Teeth clenched, Norman forced the bully’s wrist higher. “Say it, or I’ll break it.” The coldness in his voice was unsettling and      David wasn’t the only one who noticed.
     “Don’t do it Norm,” someone said softly from the crowd.
     “Yeah, he’s got a family to support,” another added.
     And with that single-minded intensity that David recognized once again, Norman ignored the pleas of those watching. His resolve seemed even stronger.
     “Say it,” he said softly, giving another twist.
     “Pischke.”
     “Louder.”
     “Pischke! Now will ya let me up?” Bryan squealed.
     David held his breath hoping Norman would release his grip. Slowly, he did—and then he got up. The men’s eyes followed Norman as he went back into the trailer to pick up his cheque, which had dropped to the floor during the scuffle.
     Angry and embarrassed, Bryan got up but didn’t dare look at anyone. He made a comment to the foreman before storming towards his truck. He got in and sped away.
     “All right,” George said, a little shaken and probably feeling guilty that he hadn’t stopped the scuffle before it got out of hand, “get back to work.”
     The crowd dispersed with some men going home and others returning to their equipment to log more overtime hours. David stuffed his cheque in his pocket and waited for Norman who stopped in the doorway to talk to George. He could only hear part of what the men were saying.
     “I know . . . bully . . . tired, too . . . McGuiness wouldn’t like it . . . at work . . . take with a grain of salt . . . hope it won’t happen again.”
     Norman turned, then giving George a backwards wave, stepped out of the trailer and walked towards his brother.
     “C’mon,” he said. “We gotta cash our cheques and get back before they start docking our pay.”
     “Okay,” David said excitedly. “That was g-great. You shmashed that guy.”
     “Yeah, well, whatever,” Norman said quietly.
     “You shoulda seen everybody, Norman, them guys he picked on was glad,” David smiled.
     “Yeah, well he’s picked on a few,” he replied.
     “An’ his friends was scared of you too,” David said proudly. “He won’t be pickin’ on us no more.”
     “Guess not,” Norman said casually, adding, “but do me a favour, will ya Dave?”
     “What’s that?” the boy asked.
     “Take a shower when we get home, okay?"

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