The American Journeyman: Just Another Job

A handyman, some might say drifter, - yours truly - hired to do a job in Avalon, New Jersey. Special like. A mother and daughter want a panic room restored, no questions asked. The girl, Junio, is a major league oddball. Super smart without question. No way your average teen. Quirky, weird for sure; but that's not the half of it... The mother, May Edgerley, is a real class act, but it's clear she has a well-hidden secret or two to protect. Could be there's something unnatural going on - but what..? And we're off with the crazy questions - again: the seriously messed up kind. Let's start with a big one. Where will we all be in, say, a hundred, a thousand years? Anywhere, nowhere? Does Nature have a plan? If so, is it working? If you ask me, no, not so well. Can we, the people, help? We? No. Junio perhaps. A conundrum... Then there's another doozie. What does Junio have in common with Joan of Arc, the Salem witches and so many other 'troubled' and persecuted woman of the past? Now that's really important - I'm sure of it. So, Evolution's waiting: been waiting a long time. Nature clearly needs a hefty nudge. Who better, then, to provide it than my 'Sisters of Avalon' and me, Joss Nyland, an American journeyman... Once inside, Miguel smiles, leers, smirks - hard to tell which.'You've done well, Amigo... Here!' A vintage cuban finds its way into my shirt pocket. I have questions and plenty of 'em, but Mr Rodriguez is set to 'broadcast only'. 'Listen, Amigo. You don't need to know nothin'. You got the job. Be happy! Now listen to your uncle Miguel. Mrs Edgerley and her strange little girl, they're special. Comprende? They want you to build a maramba growing room in la recámara, what do you say? You say, "Si Señora". You don't even think to say, "Why, Señora?" Got it? Good, good... Now go, make your uncle Miguel proud, and remember, don't fuck up!' It's a week since I agreed to take on the Edgerley job. I've seen Miguel only once following our disturbing mano a mano talk and that was to confirm I have free rein with this one. Whatever I need - supplies, equipment, time - I'm my own man. As best I could translate Miguel's hasta luego words to live by, we've gotta behave like the three wise monkeys - minus the evil: see nothing, hear nothing, speak nothing. Well, something like that.