Free Bad Juju by Dina Rae Page A

your uncle and his stuff, making calls, drinking, smoking…and then he loaded the bags into that clunker he drives and left.  I think your uncle went with him.  Are they back? ”
    “ Don’t know about Pete, but T.J.’s gone.  And y ou never know, Mrs. Muddraker .  You could have it all wrong.  He might have gone to his old house and his girlfriend welcomed him home with open arms.  They had a romantic evening, renewing their relationship.  She realized what a catch he was and how he almost got away.  Let’s see, no job, no potential, no brains, no money…”
    “And don’t forget that he’s ugly!” added the elderly woman.
    “Exactly!  I bet you and I could fill up a notebook with his issues,” Jake said.  They both laughed.  He knew she appreciated his sarcastic sense of humor more than anyone else in the trailer park.  He grabbed her grocery list and hiked up to the store.  Nothing new or expensive was added to the list .  The bill was thirty something dollars.  This gave him close to seventy dollars for a couple of hours of work.   It took some of the sting away from Pete stealing his savings.
    His next stop was at Mr. Carillo’s home, next door to Esther’s.  He was taking out the man’s garbage when he saw Henry’s mom pull into Chippewa Park.  She went to Lucien’s trail e r, unsure of where he lived.  Jake dropped the bags and ran over to the SUV.
    “Hi.  Which one is yours?”
    “Hi.  My home is technically that one.”  He pointed to the farthest one from the street, hoping she didn’t see the crushed beer cans and empty bottle of vodka.  He just noticed the litter and hadn’t had a chance to clean it up.  “I’m helping Mr. Carillo right now.  I have four other neighbors who I check on.”
    “So when do you think you’ll both be done?” Mrs. Novak asked.
    “Three, maybe four hours.  Two o’clock at the latest,” Jake replied.
    “Can you introduce me to Lucien?” Mrs. Novak questioned. 
    Jake looked at Henry who seemed agitated.  “I guess, Mom.  But don’t try to get too chatty with him.  He’s our friend, not yours,” Henry rudely answered.
    “Gotcha.  I’ll take you both out for hamburgers.  Your dad is working, and Natalie is hanging out with friends.  Just us.”  Both nodded and she sped off.
    They finished up with Mr. Carillo and headed towards Mrs. Bolinski’s home.  “This woman has so many health problems-cancer, heart, diabetes .  It’s really sad.  I think she’s dying.  She’s a total sweetheart,” Jake explained before they went inside.  Once they were introduced, Jake showed Henry how to do her laundry.
    “ I s your uncle dead yet?  Maybe hurt?” Henry nonchalantly asked.
    “ Shh !  What is wrong with you?  Not cool, Henry.  She’s right out there.  Don’t ask me stuff like that in front of others, okay?” Jake whispered.
    “Oh, I’m sorry.  You’re right.  Wasn’t thinking.”
    “ To answer your question, no.  Or at least I don’t think so.  Haven’t seen my uncle, aunt, her brother, Rhianna , none of them.  They weren’t home when your mom dropped me off last night.  My uncle’s car is parked outside, but not T.J.’s or Leah’s .  We’ll talk to Lucien about it.  He’s my last stop.  I do light cleaning for him .  Then we can visit.”
    Henry enthusiastically helped Jake with his weekly chores, enjoying both the work and meeting the neighbors.  Once at Lucien’s, they checked out their poppet.
    “Can’t wait until your charms start to kick in,” Jake said to the doll as he held it.  He filled Lucien in on the Chippewa Park scuttlebutt, including the drama seen by Mrs. Muddraker .
    “Lucien, my mom wants to meet you when she picks me up.  Is that alright?” Henry asked.
    “Absolutely.  I can’t wait to meet her , ” Lucien said.
    Jessica pulled up.  Jake instinctively placed the poppet behind the couch cushion not wanting her to know about their Voodoo lesson.  Lucien