In Our Words Canadians Reading Together

Billy’s Story

BILLY MACDONALD

Jennifer is twenty-one years old. She is an attractive looking lady. Jennifer is so friendly. She always has something to say. She always tries to help people out if she can. She used to drink a lot. Billy got her to stop drinking as much as she used to. She’s not that tall- she is only 5 feet tall. She only weighs 105 lbs. Jennifer has short blond hair. She has two kids, and they are not Billy’s kids. Jennifer always takes a walk downtown, and Billy goes and picks her up.

Gordie is twenty years old. He has a drug problem. He gets in trouble with the law. He has short black curly hair. He has a tattoo on his right forearm outside. He is only a short person. He only stands 5’4”. He only weighs 150 lbs. He is known for wearing a ring on his right hand if he is looking for a fight that night. He goes to the bars looking for fights, and to see if he can get some drugs. The tattoo on his right forearm says his mother’s and his father’s names. In the other tattoo on his upper arm says his dead sister’s name. Her name was Lynn. Gordie and Lynn used to hang around together until she got sick and died.

Jennifer is at Tim Hortons sitting having a cup of coffee. She is looking out of the window, wondering where Billy is. He was going to pick her up at Tim Hortons. She is getting madder by the minute. She is sitting there when Gordie walks up to her and asks, “May I sit here?”

She says, “Yes, but I am not going to be here long because I’m waiting for my drive to come.”

So he sits down and starts to talk to her. Gordie tells Jennifer, “I’m having a bad day. I just buried my sister.” Jennifer doesn’t know what to say to him. Jennifer doesn’t know that Billy and Gordie’s sister used to go out together.

“Where is that Billy?” She doesn’t know what else to say. Just when Jennifer gets the words out of her mouth, Billy drives in the parking lot. Jennifer asks Billy where he was. Billy tells Jennifer he took his time so she can have some quiet time for herself. Jennifer tells Billy about Gordie- that his sister died. Billy was a pallbearer for Lynn when she died. Later that day Billy and Gordie go and get drunk. When Billy gets home, she won’t speak to him at all. So he goes and gets her some flowers. Billy is trying to make up with her. She will not speak to him for two weeks.