by Cathi Bond
“But you know one thing Maddikins?”
“What?”
“No matter where you are, sick is sick, and someone’s always going to need help.”
The elevator doors opened and Helen appeared. When she saw us her face broke into a wide smile. I thought of “pervert”, “damaged” and “psychiatric assessment.” My mouth wouldn’t open and my face said it all. Helen’s smile fell, replaced by hurt. She knew what I was thinking and I knew what she was thinking about too.
“I’m going to the grocery store for Lily,” she said. “Do you want anything?”
“I’m okay,” I replied.
She began to pass us by and suddenly I knew I had to do it, and I had to do it now.
“Helen?”
She turned.
“This is my Dad. Dad, this is Helen.”
Helen extended her hand with a smile.
“Hello, Dr. Barnes.”
His face said he knew and my stomach flipped.
“It’s nice to meet one of Maddy’s friends,” Dad said, returning her warm smile and shaking her hand. “How do you two know each other?”
“Work,” I said, as strength began to smother fear. I handed Helen the transcripts. “But we’re moving in together.”
“Your Aunt Anne has had the same roommate for years.”
Helen opened the envelope, glancing at the transcripts and gave me one of her looks. “You’re going to have to do a lot better than this to get into university.”
“University?” Dad asked.
Oh no. Helen had let out the secret dream. One night while we were lying in bed I’d told her. I never told Dad because I knew he would never believe in me.
I reached for the transcripts. “First I have to get through high school.”
“You’ll do it,” Helen said turning to Dad, still holding the transcripts tightly in her hand. “What do you think?”
“You used to be keen on medicine,” Dad said, glancing at his wristwatch. “I know it’s late but maybe I can buy you ladies a cup of coffee…”
As we walked back to the car I thought about the power of secrets and lies. Mom’s decision to keep the cancer to herself was like knocking over a single domino that altered the path of every domino that fell after it. If she had told us she was sick, and if Dad had told me about being so lonely that he had to marry Isabel, who knows…maybe I’d be a different person today. But then again –and I couldn’t imagine this – if Mom had told us then I would never have met Helen.
Dad opened the rear door and gave Helen one of his charming smiles. “I hope you don’t mind a little mess.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
So many people helped push Night Town up and over the hill from a small pebble of an idea into the reality of a finished novel. It began over dinner with my cousin Laurie McGugan when she reassured me that our extended family wouldn’t cast me out for writing it. (There are some autobiographical components scattered around the beginning.) Laurie stayed with me for the entire editorial ride and was joined by an army of other readers, who helped birth this book more than they could ever imagine.
Chief among them is my best friend Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik, who has been enormously influential in my choice of profession. An award-winning screenwriter, Laurie ripped apart an early draft of Night Town and then, over the course of several months, showed me how to put it back together again in a way that makes the story work. I can never thank her enough for all the precious time and guidance she gave me. I also have to thank her husband Vladimir, who put up with me sleeping on their pull-out couch for weeks at a time.
My nieces Alison and Caroline made sure I stayed true to a young woman’s point of view, and Caroline’s frankness led to the deletion of an entire chapter, which strengthened the novel immensely. Hester Riches breathed new life into the book when I was ready to put it away.
Many thanks are also due to Darlene Corrigan, Martin Hastings, Teresa Deluca and John McCarthy, who read Night Town over and over again, searching for typos and offering constructive criticism and encouraging words. Their unflagging enthusiasm always buoyed me up.
Then Patricia Howard, a retired English professor of mine from the University of Toronto, arrived, rolled up her editorial sleeves and went after grammatical inconsistencies. She also came up with the book’s wonderful title. Dr. Howard has had more influence on my choice of career than anyone else. As I recently told her, “I was raised in your lab.”
Lisa Garber helped keep me focused with her coaching, Cheryl Nix kept my body moving when all I wanted to do was lie down and cry. Judy Rebick worked her connections and Sally Keefe-Cohen guided me through contract negotiations. My pal and podcasting partner Nora Young shared her wisdom as I wrestled with the decision of whether to venture into the digital world of bookselling or stay bound to the traditional ways of print. Kim Elliott at rabble.ca gave me a venue to blog about my experience of publishing a book at the e-frontier and supported the book launch. Thanks to all of you.
I took a bit of a leap of faith signing on with e-publisher Iguana Books, and Iguana’s publisher, Greg Ioannou, took an equally big leap by agreeing to publish this writer’s first novel. Thank you Greg, and thanks to all the other wonderful people at Iguana –especially Emily Niedoba, who keeps everything going. It’s been a terrific experience, and I have all the confidence in the world in the future of e-publishing and Iguana Books.
The biggest acknowledgment of all I save for my partner Sascha Hastings. Sascha has been with me since the beginning of this journey. Every night I would read her what I had written that day. Sascha edited every single draft and shored me up every time she saw me falling down. Sascha crosses the t’s and dots the i’s in my life. This book wouldn’t have happened without her. I can never thank you enough, Sascha.
And finally, I thank my entire family. You are vast in number and even stronger in spirit. That indomitable Scots Presbyterian character that soldiers on through any tragedy, head held high.
I’ve written this book for all of you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cathi Bond was written extensively about contemporary culture, worked in television, was a columnist on CBC Radio’s DNTO, and is a regular contributor to Spark. She is also one of Canada’s podcast pioneers. Night Town, which has been optioned by Back Alley Films, is her first novel. Follow her at www.cathibond.com.
Iguana Books
iguanabooks.com
If you enjoyed Night Town…
Look for other books coming soon from Iguana Books! Subscribe to our blog for updates as they happen.
iguanabooks.com/blog
You can also learn more about Cathi Bond and her upcoming work on her blog.
cathibond.com
If you're a writer…
Iguana Books is always looking for great new writers, in every genre. We produce primarily ebooks but, as you can see, we do the occasional print book as well. Visit us at iguanabooks.com to see what Iguana Books has to offer both emerging and established authors.
iguanabooks.com/publishing-with-iguana/
If you're looking for another good book…
All Iguana Books books are available on our website. We pride ourselves on making sure that every Iguana book is a great read.
iguanabooks.com/bookstore/
Visit our bookstore today and support your favourite author.