I want to go home…

This is in response to @michelle.gent's prompt in the story-mentor group. This post is longer than usual and has no frills, just a wall of words. This is Nina's fault. She wanted the story written.

Warning: Some scenes may be disturbing!

Nina was so bored. Life on the farm was not exactly the kind of adventurous life she was hoping to have. Every day it was the same routine. Get up and dressed. Out to the barn to help with the feeding and milking of the stupid old cows. Then it was feeding the chickens and collect the eggs for breakfast. Back to the house and a quick shower. Then downstairs and help mom with breakfast.

She picked at her food, shoving it from one side of the plate to the other, staring at it but not really seeing it. Her dad noticed that Nina was a million miles away in her thoughts.

“Earth to Nina! Earth to Nina!” called her dad.

Nina’s reverie was broken. “Yes. Dad?”

“You look deep in thought, hun. What’s up?” Her dad asked as he took a deep swig from his extra large coffee mug.

“Oh, I don’t know. College doesn’t start for another 3 months and I just can’t see myself sitting through long-winded lectures for the next four years. Liz and I were thinking about taking a year off and just travelling. Neither of us has seen Canada let alone been outside of Ontario.”

Her dad bombarded her with questions after he choked on his coffee.

“Where would the money come from? Where would you go? And what about college? College is already paid for you! Only one year?”

The discussions had carried on for # hours #! Finally, Nina’s dad had to give in. She was 18 years old and legally an adult so, he couldn’t prevent her from going on this adventure but he did refuse to foot the bill.

Nina and Liz had been saving all their money since they started summer jobs back in the first year of high school so they had a nice little nest egg set aside. It would do to get them started. If they needed more funds, well, they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

They decided that a cross-country trip to Canada would be a good way to get their feet wet. First off would be a trip to that other foreign country where they spoke a different language, French! Quebec it was. They did study French in school so they were good to go. After buying 30-day CanRail Passes and packing small backpacks they were ready for adventure.

Friday the 13th is an auspicious day, right? They were given a lift to the train station by Liz’s older brother in his old dirty baby blue station wagon. It sputtered and stalled all the way. Nina thought that they would never get there.

They did just as the first train of the morning was pulling away from the station. They would have to wait another two hours for the next train and it was the milk run. The train that took a scenic circuitous route, stopping at every little town and hamlet between here and Toronto. The train they missed would have arrived in Toronto in two hours. The next one takes four. And the coffee shop doesn’t open for another hour. Darn!

Finally, the next train pulled in and they could get on their merry way, all be it slow as a turtle. They got the last two seats available on a full train. It seemed to take forever to leave the station. Nina was bored already. This was supposed to be an adventure. Liz fell asleep shortly after leaving London.

Liz slept all the way to Toronto. Figures. Liz could sleep anytime, anywhere at the drop of a hat. Liz woke up rubbing her eyes. “Did I miss anything?”

“No. Just a very boring trip. Nothing happened.”

They had a six-hour wait in Toronto until they could get on the train that would take them to Montreal and Quebec City. They decided they would stay in Quebec City first.

It was getting dark as they were passing through the Quebec countryside so, they really didn’t see anything new and exciting. More cows in fields. More corn. Houses and barns. Same old only in a different province. People on the train were speaking French, less English.

They arrived in Quebec city late. All they knew is that they wanted to stay in the old city. They looked for a taxi to find a bed and breakfast that Nina had read about that was located in the old quarter of old Quebec city. They had never been on such a wild ride! Over curbs and down streets the wrong way! When Liz said the were going the wrong way, the driver replied that it was okay. It was dark!

They finally pulled up in front of centuries-old house sporting a blue door with a large brass knocker. After a few minutes, a petite grey-haired woman answered their knock and said yes she had a room for them. Stepping aside she let them enter and locked the door behind them.

She showed the small upper room with an equally small window over looking a patio where there was a loud party happening. As they were on their way upstairs, a scrumptious smell assaulted their noses. Suddenly, Nina realized they hadn’t eaten anything since the bagel they had in Toronto. Her stomach was growling its displeasure.

Liz asked the woman if there was some pace nearby that served food this late. She told them about a little hole in the lower wall of Old Quebec city, called the Crazy Pig. So off they went in search of the Crazy Pig. They walked along the St. Lawrence River watching the river cruise ship chugging upriver. Lots of closed shops at this time of night and a few other tourists wandering along the river too.

They finally found the place. It was literally a hole in the wall. It was stuffed. Wall to wall people. Standing room only. Nina glanced at a menu and gasped. The cheapest thing on the menu was French onion soup at $6! Ouch! This would be an expensive trip! They were hungry and they needed something so they ordered the soup and a coke.

The soup came piping hot but in a very tiny bowl. More like a demitasse. Well, at least it should stave off the hunger. The bill came to $22.08! $4 for coke, $12 for soup and the rest was tax and gratuities that are automatically added to the bill. At this rate, they would blow through their money in no time flat!

Back at the bed and breakfast, both Liz and Nina were hoping for a good night’s sleep. The party below them was still in full swing and closing the window wasn’t an option. The room was too warm. They were tired. They would sleep.

No, they wouldn’t! There was a scratching sound coming from the wall next to the bed. Liz knew what this sound was, # Mice! # Nina flicked on the light and several black/brown things about an inch long scuttled across the sheets. Great! Not only mice but # cockroaches # too! They left the light on and tried to get some shut eye.

Needless to say, they were up early. They hurriedly dressed as soon as they heard the woman of the house up and smelled coffee. They took their bags with them after thoroughly checking for any hitchhikers.

The woman was at the stove frying up something in an old rusty cast iron pan. It smelled alright but Liz took one look at Nina and both decided that breakfast elsewhere would be a better option. They had paid in advance last night, so they just wished the woman a good day and left. They were to chicken to say anything and cause a scene.

They walked through a pretty little park and past the Frontenac Hotel. As they walked below the wall that surrounds the old city, a drunken street beggar started to harass them. Not many people in the streets this early in the morning. A horse and carriage approached them from the front. The driver jumped down off the carriage and chased the beggar away.

He tipped his cap and said, “I am Robert. This is my horse Gilbert. We are at your service!”

The girls were taken aback. First that he had come to their rescue and secondly, was he offering a ride in his carriage?

They struck up a conversation and found out that Robert and Gilbert gave carriage tours of the Old City. He normally charged $60 but he would give them a deep discount for being his first tour of the day. Thanks but no thanks! They told him they were students and couldn’t afford that and besides they needed to have breakfast first. Gilbert whinnied and shook his head.

“Well, how about I give you a free lift to a good place to eat breakfast? They make really good crepes!”

So off they went to find another little restaurant beneath the shadows of the wall. This place didn’t look too bad. Since it was early, there were few customers. Prices looked reasonable and the menu consisted of mainly assorted crepes with side orders of bacon, sausage or ham. So they each ordered strawberry-chocolate crepes with a side of sausage. Coffee came in a bottomless cup so, they were in heaven!

While they were eating they discussed what they should do next. So far Quebec City wasn’t impressing them much. Perhaps they should travel on to Montreal. Quebec city was obviously a touristy place and maybe Montreal would have more for them to do. So after breakfast, they hopped the bus for the train station. Mistake!

The bus was packed and the driver was almost as crazy as the taxi driver last night! He came close to knocking off a guy’s elbow as he rounded a corner. Not an enjoyable ride at all!

The station was large and cavernous. Lots of people bustling here and there. They could take the next train to Montreal boarding in 20 minutes.

The trip to Montreal was uneventful. The first stop was a tourist information booth. The lady there was not very helpful and was actually on the rude side. She told them because there was a convention in town that there were no hotel, motel or hostel rooms in the entire city!

Nina pleaded with her to see if there was someplace to stay. She scribbled a name and an address on a scrap piece of yellowed paper and handed to Nina as she reached to answer her phone. They had been dismissed!

Outside the booth the hailed a taxi and asked the driver if he knew the place. He wrinkled his nose up, said yes and put the car in gear. At least he was a better driver than the one in Quebec city. After what seemed like an eternity across town through a slummy district they finally pulled up in front of a row of battered old rowhouses.

“Are you sure this is the address?” Nina inquired while gazing at the rundown condition of the buildings.

“Yes!” came the emphatic response.

Liz asked the driver to please wait that they may want to go somewhere else after here. Nina had a sinking feeling in her gut and it nothing to do with the food they ate at breakfast.

As they walked up the broken sidewalk, Nina noticed a rickety faded old sign nailed to the door. It definitely was the hotel they were looking for. Liz rang the buzzer as the door was locked.

A voice from the other side of the door grumpily said they were coming, followed by the sound of clinking keys. The door creaked open. The sight that stood before them was enough to scar them for life.

There before them stood a chunky older woman with bleached blond hair wound loosely around the largest curlers either of them had ever seen. A menthol cigarette hung from the corner of the painted red lips. Down passed her shoulders she wore a thin dirty white t-shirt. In the center of her chest hung one lonely bra-less breast. Dingy brown track pant legs rested on the top of well worn pink fuzzy slippers.

Her voice was gravelly and low pitched. She asked if they wanted a room or not. She didn’t have all day.

As they entered the dark and dank entrance the smell of stale smoke and mold assailed their sensitive nostrils.
The woman was toddling off at speed down an even darker hall, motioning for them to follow. They came to what should have been the end of the hall and passed through a roughly-hewn hole in the wall.

They passed through three of these holes and into what was presumably the next buildings. Near the end of the hallway they could see an open door where there was presumably a bathroom. They stopped in front of the last door on the right. She shoved the door open with a grunt and indicated that would be the room they could rent. They gingerly passed the threshold.

The floor was spongy under their feet. The room was dark and smelled bad, like old cigars, cheap alcohol, body fluids, mould and dust. An old ratty stained bare mattress lay on the floor in the center of the room. One lonely light bulb swayed on a threadbare wire from the ceiling. A frayed yellow roller blind covered the only window. Shoved against the fa wall was a broken 4 drawer wooden dresser.

“And the bathroom facilities?” asked a horrified Nina.

The woman showed them the bathroom next door. Liz let out an audible gasp when she saw the condition of the bathroom.

One very dirty toilet minus a seat. She thought it was supposed to be white but she wasn’t sure. Could it have been brown? The shower looked as if it could reach out and grab you. She was afraid to look in the sink that had one working faucet.

Lord only knew what those stains were...

The woman was holding out her hand. She would take the money for the first night now. No, they wouldn’t be staying. Nina has allergies and can’t be in places with mould.

The woman started yelling in rapid French. Neither could catch exactly what she was saying but it sounded like she was cursing at them.

The woman chased the two frightened girls down the three buildings down to the entrance. They hoped she hadn't relocked the door. She had!

They had to listen to her curse at them until she found the right key to open the door. Nina couldn’t remember a time when she wanted to leave a place so badly.

Liz sprinted out first. Nina made to follow but her toe caught on the edge of a filthy throw rug and she went tumbling down the decrepit stairs landing square on her hands and knees.

Nina was hurting, embarrassed, and tired. She looked up with her tear streaked face and cried:

“I just want to go home!”