The Trust

Chapter 15: Annie Big Pay

Grateful to be home and out of the sleet, I come into the house greeted by the sound of raucous laughter. Mom is sitting at the kitchen table with her two sisters, and they are cackling like jolly hens. A cheer rises from the group when they see me. I notice they're two bottles into the wine even though it's barely past five.

"Sit down, have a drink!" My aunt Sissy slides out a chair in my direction with her foot. I put my bags down and plug my phone in first.  I notice dishes piled up in the sink and strewn across the kitchen island and no supper cooked by Mom, as promised. She usually keeps the house neat and tidy, can't help herself, she says. She loves to clean and cook, usually. Not anymore. Looks like the self-described 'live-in maid' has decided to go on strike.

"We're celebrating your mom's new fortune." Mom's younger sisters's name is Cecelia but when she was born, my Mom decided decided she was going to be forever known as Sissy and now she is, to everyone — even those outside the family. Nicknames were the norm in my small town. One personality quirk or memorable incident, and you're stuck with a nickname for life.

My uncle's friend got drunk one night and caused a fuss down at the Rusty Anchor, capping things off by sending his loose boot flying in the direction of the police officer's head. His real name is lost to time, he's now known by everyone as 'Shoot the Boot' or 'Shoots.' A neighbour on the street where we grew up is a huge guy with a big heart; everyone calls him Beef. As a sign of affection, they tack on 'our' to the name, as in "Our Beef." 'Have you seen Our Beef?' his wife will say if she meets Mom downtown. 'No, haven't seen Our Beef.' With their Cape Breton accents, it sounds like they're saying Air Beef, like a new brand of sneaker.

I notice the empty champagne bottles on the table, the good stuff from the looks of it. There's also a freshly opened bottle of red.

"What's all this?"

"Your mom's buying me a new jeep!" Aunt Margot can hardly contain herself. 'And she's buying me a cottage on the Mira river," Sissy joins in. Mom is beaming from ear to ear.

"You can't take it with you," Mom says with a dismissive wave of her hand, which is newly manicured, I see.

"You don't even have it yet to take it anywhere," I say. "And what's this about you giving $5k to the soccer association?"

"Oh, that's nothing," she says with the same dismissive tone.

"Yeah, that's just a drop in the bucket for Annie Big Pay," Margot says and they all roar with laughter, my mother the loudest among them. And a new nickname is born.

We've never had so many visits from relatives this week, I notice. Along with many neighbours dropping in for tea, some of whom I'd never met before. Suddenly, my Mom is very popular.

"You coming out on the town with us? Annie Big Pay is footing the bill," Aunt Margot says and they dissolve into giggles again.

"Yeah, the sky's the limit," my mother says, hoisting her glass of red wine. She's watered it down with fruit juice and ginger ale from what I can tell. At least I don't have to worry about her becoming an alcoholic because of this foolishness.

I'm suddenly very tired, and I find their joy irritating. "Did I miss something? Is the money in our accounts yet?" I try my best not to be grumpy and take my awful day out on them so I soften it with a smile and pour myself a glass of wine. After the day I had, I think I've earned it.

"Oh, it's coming," Sissy says. "If I know one thing about the Douglas clan, they're solid as a rock. Their word is their bond.'

"Sure," I say, taking a large sip. Every Douglas except my father.

"Was that Eva in the new truck?" Margot says. She lets out a slow whistle. "It sure is nice. Good for her for treating herself. She hasn't been the same since her husband passed. Glad to see her enjoying herself for once."