“It appears you have won again today my friend” Alexander Yashin, one of the card players around the table.
“Don’t I always?” Leander bragged playfully, a wicked grin on his face.
“Not always, but most days,” another remarked as the game came to a close. “One would wonder if you did not have eyes at the back of your head”
The others laughed at this remark as they shuffled to their feet. Having eyes at the back of your head was another way of saying someone cheated-a thing not beyond any seated in the dingy, overcrowded room, which smelled of expensive whisky; smoke running all over the ceiling.
“Come on don’t be a sore loser Fyodor,” Leander said as he gathered his earnings. “I would share, but you already have enough to feed a medium sized country. I better save it for the ladies”
In an adjoining room, different guards were stationed with different allegiances and they all came in to cater to their respective charges.
Chapter 2
It was a beautiful morning and spirits were high at the youth center. The trees made a pleasant rustling sound as the wind played among the leaves. The day seemed promising, and Mary was determined to make the most of it. It was her first day on the job and she felt a little apprehensive. She loved children, loved being with them, hoped to have hers someday with the right person but the center dealt mainly with delinquents and she was not so sure how things were going to pan out.
She went into the superintendent’s office when she was signaled to enter. The superintendent, a large, African-American woman with an even larger heart was seated behind a simple table stacked with files of different colors. She had wide-rimmed glasses that dangled on her nose, giving her a rather comical look. Mary Joanna thought that she resembled those wise, friendly owls you usually see in Saturday morning cartoons dishing out wisdom. She took the seat she was offered-a folding chair with a cushion attached at the back and the seat.
“Good morning Miss Landry” Mary uttered nervously
“Oh come now let’s have none of that around here. You can call me Marjorie.” The superintendent said. Her calm demeanor belied her energy, and she jumped out of her chair to get to Mary on the other side, “Honey you are gonna need more humph than that if you want to live among these kids”
Mary warmed up to her immediately.
“I want to let you know that I am so thrilled to have to have you here among us Mary, your mum and I used to kick it all over town back in the day.” Marjorie continued as she sat on the other folding chair opposite Mary’s. “When I saw you was in trouble, and needed a job I couldn’t leave you out hanging. I must confess though, there ain’t much to gain here by way of finance. This work is its own reward.”
Both women chuckled at this.
“But seriously though, the work we do here is a Godsend for many of these kids who don’t have a home of their own, who need that structure which is sorely lacking.”
Mary was nodding her head: She totally agreed, “Yeah I read of that heavyweight boxer who got beat so bad, but ended up winning the belt; he was asked how he could keep on despite the punishment he had been taking and he said he could hear your voice in his head saying ‘you can do it!’…did you hear about that?”
“I sure did!” Marjorie replied grinning, “Proudest moment of my life bar when my son became an Engineer. I remember him too; John Claymore used to be a real hard case here back in the day. Nobody wanted to have him around even though he needed help more than most, and for sure he kept my hands full. Would you believe he started out with soccer?”
“How did you manage?” Mary asked, fascinated.
“I never lost faith him in him. That is the most important thing” Marjorie said, clearly enjoying the walk down memory lane, “I also used to smack him on the upside of the head when he got out of hand. Don’t try that though, these days you’ll get in trouble”
Mary chuckled again, deciding that she liked Marjorie Landry, “Mama always said you were the strong one in the group. I hope I can be of proper service.” She said, appraising this old woman who was, literally, a museum of memories, but evidently quite young in spirit.