Chapter 3 – California Dreamin'
The next few years were turbulent for Nelly, who's world was in a constant state of flux. As long as her mother, Ellen, was alive, her father kept his dark tendencies in check. She kept him in line, he loved her and wanted to make her happy. Their life wasn't' exactly white-picket-fence perfect, but Nelly's mother kept their lives as normal as possible, while her father moved them from one town to the next to stay ahead of creditors and collection agencies. In Nelly's mind, Troy was always a tense man on edge, constantly looking over his shoulder. It was true during his life with Ellen, but intensified once they moved to Charming. Her father's vices, the drinking and the gambling, were percolating for years, barely under the surface; now he had abandoned himself to them completely, effectively disappearing from Nel's life.
Perhaps, that was for the best, as Troy made debts with the Nords, a skinhead gang under the leadership of a snake of a man called Ernest Darby. To pay those debts, Darby employed Troy as the gang's drug mule and all around butt boy. That, in turn, lead to Troy's multiple arrests for variety of reasons: public intoxication, fraud, assaults, drug-related charges, or his known association with the Nords. Whenever that happened, Deputy Unser made sure Nelly found her way to aunt Linda's house and not the system of Child's Services.
Living with Aunt Linda had it's own challenges. She looked so much like Nelly's mother, that often Nel was caught by a gesture or a smile, or the sound of the voice, and was reminded of what she'd lost. And then, there was Linda's boyfriend, Simon "Say" Moriarty. A brickhouse of a man and a brutal enforcer for the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. Every time Nelly heard his bike rumble up to the house, she ran to hide away in her little room at the back of the house Linda and the biker shared. He was a "good provider", her aunt said on many occasions, but there was no one to provide for, no children, and her aunt did pretty well for herself running the only nail salon in town. Many times Nelly would be woken up in the middle of the night by her aunt's cries and Simon's drunken ravings, witnessed bruises on her aunt's body the next morning. Despite dealing with her own problems, Linda cared enough for the girl to sheltered her from the violence, and did her best to care for Nel and protect her.
From the very beginning, it was obvious to Nelly that her aunt wanted to keep her as far away as possible from the Motorcycle Club at all times. She never allowed the girl to attend any of the club events and would only take her to the compound when she had on other choice. Even then, it was only for a brief time and with strict orders for the girl to stay in the car. Nel gladly sat in the back seat, her nose in a book. She respected her aunt's rules, but the sight of men wearing tattoos and leather vests, like Simon's, was the most effective deterrent. Linda also made standing arrangements with Sue Parker, ensuring that if at any time, for any reason, she could not take care of Nel, Sue would step in.
The Parkers never faltered, but as much they wanted to help, there were no legal basis for their involvement. Still, they provided the stability Nelly needed to keep her life normal in some little ways. Donna and her family had been there for all of Nelly's milestones: Sue helped her through start of her period, they all attended grade 8 graduation together, and Donna's dad was the one to give Nel her first driving lessons. Most of all, Nelly was thankful for Donna's friendship, for always being able to rely on her and her mom, for a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to.
As Nelly finished her freshman year of high school, changes came swift and furious. First, her father moved her away from Donna, the school and neighbourhood she knew to the west end of town, the Sons of Anarchy territory. This was a strategical move orchestrated by Darby, and Troy had no say in it. Then Nelly's tall, slim frame had filled in with girly curves, and she noticed that boys and men, even Troy, had started paying attention. She watched other girls giggle and flirt back, but not Nelly. Some part of her brain, a primal and hidden sixth sense, sounded an alarm every time she noticed that stare, setting off an impulse to run. Because, in her gut, she felt that behind that admiring look was a need to possess and dominate, and she was afraid. And Nelly was never as scared as when she saw that look in her own father's eyes.
She took to avoiding him whenever possible and in an attempt to disappear, Nel got into the habit of wearing long hippie skirts and loose peasant blouses, which suited her fine, as the only clothes she could afford to buy were at the Salvation Army store. But contrary to her intent, the flowing clothes only emphasized her willowy grace, intensified her delicate beauty, and the stares and cat calls continued. The world of the peaceful and loving hippie movement had captivated her imagination. She spent hours thinking what would it be like to live during the Summer of Love in San Francisco or to have been there to hear Jimi Hendrix live at Woodstock in 1969. She watched the movie Hair over and over, in her head running through Central Park with Burger and the gang. The music of the Age of Aquarius, of The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Led Zepplin, and The Doors have become the soundtrack of her life. It was so much easier for Nelly to loose herself in this fantasy than to face every day life with her father. Believing that the world could be better, that we could all get along, that love would save the day, Nelly became a modern day hippie in more than just the way she dressed. Despite the storms and uncertainties in her life, by spending time with the Parkers and having her aunt's affection, Nelly cultivated the belief in the goodness of human nature, every day making the choice to be kind to others, as most people were to her.