Cold Jesse

A Place To Stay, A Bite To Eat

FACE CLAIMS
MITCH NOESNER- MICHAEL SHANNON

Glacier Apartment Complex. Haines, Alaska. Later that day.

The first thing that Jesse needed was a place to live. A house of his own was out of the question. He didn't have and whatever job he was qualified for wouldn't make enough to afford even a matchbox style house on his own. He was going to have to settle for an apartment building.

Jesse drove around town for a few minutes until he found a 2 story building called Glacier Apartments. It seemed to be as good a place as any other. He pulled his old blue station wagon into the parking lot and walked in. The building looked clean enough for being a tiny ass apartment building. Pinkman walked around for a bit until he found a door that had a plaque with the word LANDLORD on it. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. About a minute later, a grizzled guy in what seemed like his late 40's answered the door.

"Well, hello there stranger." The man said with a dry look about him. "What can I do you for?"

"Hi, I was wondering if you had any rooms for rent. Just...just blew into town." Jesse said, trying not to arouse suspicion.

"You're in luck, I got one unit left. I'll give you a look." The landlord said as he grabbed a set of keys before closing the door. He led Jesse up a flight of stairs to the upper level. There were 14 rooms in the building and the 2 men stopped in front of number 14.

"Don't believe I caught your name?" The landlord said as he unlocked the door.

"Don't believe I threw it." Jesse said with a shy smirk, busting his balls a bit. "Name's Eli, Eli Driscoll."

"Eli Driscoll, huh? Mitch Noesner, at your service." The landlord said as he stuck his hand out.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Noesner." Jesse said as he shook the hand offered to him.

"Mr. Noesner's my old man, everyone 'round here calls me Mitch; Mr. Driscoll." He said as he showed Jesse into the apartment.

"Only if you call me Eli, yo." Jesse shot back.

"Deal." Mitch agreed as Jesse took a good look around the room. It was a studio apartment with 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom. It had a tiny kitchenette with a sink and stove. There was a small living room, which was meant to double as a dining room. There was a tiny closet in the bedroom and nothing else. It was clear that Jesse was going to have to spring for some furniture; amongst other things.

"So...it ain't much, but for a single fella like yourself, it's a good starting point." Mitch remarked as he let Jesse look about. "Rent's 850 a month; payment's due first of the month, every month."

"It'll do fine, I'll take it." Jesse said, liking the intimacy of the place.

"Wonderful, follow me down to my office, I'll get you the lease and your key." Mitch said with a smile as he led Jesse back down to his office. Mitch pulled out a lease agreement which was on a yearly basis and after reading it, Jesse signed it with his new name: Eli D. Driscoll. He then saw Mitch bringing over 2 shots of Jack Daniel's whiskey.

"Bit of a tradition." Mitch remarked as he handed Jesse a shot.

"Right on, yo." Jesse replied as the 2 men toasted and downed their whiskey. "So, do you know a good place to eat around here?" Jesse asked as Mitch nodded and motioned for Jesse to follow him out of the building.

Mountain Market and Cafe. Haines, Alaska. Later that evening.

Mitch took Jesse out to his truck: a red 2013 Chevrolet Silverado. Mitch then drive Jesse to his favorite place to eat: Mountain Market and Cafe. It was 2 places in 1; a store and a cafe.

"Trust me Eli, they got the best Reuben sandwich this side of Alaska." Mitch insisted as they parked outside and walked in. Jesse quickly stocked up on food, drinks, and other necessities that he needed. He's also bought a sleeping bag because it was too late to get a mattress. After Jesse had paid for his stuff, he and Mitch sat down and shared a dinner of Reubens, potato chips, and root beers.

"So, Eli, what brings you all the way out to Haines? Most everyone who comes to Alaska either wants to go to Juneau or Nome." Mitch inquired as he ate.

"To be honest, I've always wanted to live in a small town and Haines...it feels like...a blank canvas or something." Jesse replied as he ate. It wasn't exactly a lie as Jesse had selected Haines because it felt like he could disappear into it.

"So, that's it? Looking for a fresh start?" Noesner asked.

"Yeah...i'm from Milwaukee originally." Jesse answered. "I kind of wasted my...adolescence and shit."

"Drinking, drugs, raising Hell?" Mitch pretended to ask, even though he was really making a statement.

"Yeah...kind of burned my bridges, so I wanted to get somewhere that had people who didn't remember me as some dumb ass kid." Jesse said as he downed the remainder of his root beer. It was rather strange to him, the way this conversation was going. His intention was to spin a load of bull shit, but he instead, started telling the truth; albeit select parts of it.

"Well Eli, I was a teenager myself once, I raised a fair share of Hell in my day. Believe me, the stories some people could tell..." Mitch replied with a chuckle as Jesse joined in. "It looks like you've definitely matured some since those days and Haines is a real nice place. I think that if you work hard and put yourself out there, you can have a good life here; make something of yourself."

"That's what i'm hoping for." Jesse said quietly as he finished his meal. He felt like after all he had done, he didn't deserve this man looking out for him; but he did appreciate it.