Baby Bootlegger
Meet five-year-old Helen, whose first job wasn’t quite legal. This post is a subscriber bonus.
Helen Mazunas hauled her ratty little wooden wagon along the rough sidewalk in Nashua, New Hampshire, intent on making her deliveries. The bottles clattered under their canvas as the wagon bounced, and she turned to make sure none had fallen out. She knew that the clear liquid in them was for grown-ups only. She was just five years old—the stinky stuff that Mr. John called his “namie” (home-made) didn’t interest her. But when she knocked on doors, the adults who answered were always happy to see her, but only after a few furtive glances up and down the street.
Subscribe to see the rest of this post and
other bonus content from The Relatives.
The Smuggler
A boy in a Texas border town lands an unusual job. This post is a subscriber bonus.
Jimmy Ellington sat in a bar in Villa Acuna, waiting for his contact to arrive. He was wearing his suit and a hat, trying to look the part of a respectable adult. The suit didn’t fit him as well as it had last year when he got it. Mother had said she’d let it out a bit, but she hadn’t had a chance to do that yet. He took a drag on his cheap cigar and swigged a drink of his beer. He was trying his best to look hard and serious, trying to convince everyone that he wasn’t just 14 years old.