There stood the girl, shaking her umbrella again, but now she was wrapped in a robe.
“You’re awake,” she stated.
“So are you.”
I turned back to check and see how much longer it would be until my blanket dried, all while trying not to let her hear my teeth chattering.
“Your blanket is soaking wet,” she said with a small frown.
“It was raining.”
She let out a sigh. “Fine, come on.” I looked at her confused. “You’re coming in the house. I can’t leave you out in the shed during this storm to freeze to death. It just isn’t humane. Let’s go,” she said, holding up the umbrella.
“You want me to go in your house?”
“Yes, come on.”
“But that’s not safe.”
“I won’t pepper spray you, I promise.”
“I meant for you. You shouldn’t be inviting strange homeless men into your home. What if I was a criminal?”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you coming or not?”
Another loud clap of thunder shook the shed, causing her to jump a little. “Holy beejebus, you can’t stay out here. Come on,” she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me out after her.
I looked down at where she was touching me. I wasn’t used to being touched. People didn’t touch homeless people. I had almost forgotten how it felt. We stumbled in through the back door, and the warmth of the house engulfed me. I closed my eyes and hummed in appreciation.
“Sit at the table, and I’ll make you some warm milk,” she said.
I looked at her confused. “Milk?”
“Yes, to warm you up. Can you have milk? Are you lactose intolerant? I also have tea and cocoa.”
“Ooh, cocoa, please,” I said excitedly, and she smiled.
I sat down at the table, a little embarrassed at my display of enthusiasm for such a childish drink.
To my surprise, she sat down next to me with two cups of cocoa. “I love hot cocoa, too,” she said, sipping from her mug.
“It warms up your insides,” I said and then felt like an idiot for saying it.
“That it does,” she agreed.
Once I was done with the cocoa, I let my eyes wander over her house. It was pretty torn up inside. “What happened to your house?”
She pouted a little. “Nothing happened. I bought it this way. It was a HUD house.”
“Well, I hope you got a good deal.”
She scowled at me. “For your information, I did. I only paid fifteen thousand dollars for it. I put ten percent down and got a really good low fixed interest rate.”
“Really? That is a good deal.”
She shrugged. “The plumbing is mostly okay, but someone had stripped all the wiring from the inside and from the A/C for the copper to sell. I ended up wiping out the rest of my savings buying new wiring to replace it and to get some lights working. I can’t afford to hire another electrician to install the rest of it, though.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for.”
“You’re an electrician?”
“No, but we’ll figure it out, right?”
“I did have the directions all looked up on my phone, but some idiot stole it along with my GPS earlier today. I don’t have a computer, so I have no internet access.”
I really wanted to beat Jeremy for stealing from her. The poor girl was obviously struggling, trying to make ends meet, and he had stolen that from her.
“We can go to the library,” I suggested.
She perked up, excited. “Of course, why didn’t I think of that?”
“Glad to be of help.”
“I’ll have to go in between shifts,” she said, scrunching her forehead in thought.
“I can go. I mean, I’ll look through the directions we have in the shed in the morning and then go to the library while you’re at work.”
She looked at me hopefully, and I felt kind of bad, as I saw tears form in her eyes. She suddenly jumped up and hugged me. “You’re really going to do this?” she asked in disbelief. “You’re really going to help me?”
I patted her lightly on the back, not sure what the heck had happened. Normally, people didn’t hug homeless people, and they didn’t like to be touched by them, either. “Well, yeah. I told you I’d work for food.”
She giggled a little. “I can’t believe how lucky I am that I found you.”
I was thinking the same thing.
“Oh, look at me, I’m a blubbering mess.”
“It’s alright, I don’t mind,” I said.
She giggled again. “You know…I don’t even know your name.”
“Matthew,” I offered.
“Matthew, huh? I guess it works.” She reached out to shake my hand. “I’m Addy. It’s nice to meet you, Matthew.”
I took it nervously, so much touching was almost making me feel human again. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Addy.”
Her house was very sparse. We sat at an old worn folding table with mismatched folding chairs. There were only two, but that was all that would really fit at the tiny table. I glanced toward the front room and saw there was a old chair and a low bookshelf. There was no TV, couch or coffee table.
When I looked back at her, she was blushing. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have much.”
“You have more than me,” I pointed out.
She sighed. “I just realized I don’t have a couch for you to sleep on or anything.”
“The floor is fine. I’ve slept outdoors on cold dirty concrete and park benches for a month, so a wood floor indoors will be an improvement.”
“Ugh, these floors are horrible. They desperately need to be sanded and refinished. They’re so bad, but it’s just so expensive to do it,” she said yawning.
“Well, the chair will work.”
“It doesn’t recline, just rocks.”
“I guess I’ll get to rock myself to sleep then,” I said smiling.
She nodded okay and glanced at the clock on the stove. “I have to get to bed, or I’ll be dead on my feet tomorrow.”
I nodded in agreement. It was going on midnight. She disappeared down the hall, and I went to settle into the chair, bringing one of the folding chairs over to prop my legs up. I was surprised when she came back with a blanket and pillow in her arms. “Here, just in case you give up and are brave enough to try to sleep on the floor. I don’t know how comfortable the chair is to sleep in, but at least you’ll be warm.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. She hurried down the hall to what I assumed was her room. I settled into the chair, glad to finally be warm. I fell asleep to the sound of the storm raging outside.
Chapter 3 – Public Opinions
The next morning, I slept later than I usually did and woke up to the smell of breakfast. I stumbled into the kitchen to see Addy already dressed in a waitressing outfit.
“I hope oatmeal is okay,” she said, sliding a bowl over to me.
“Oatmeal is perfect,” I said, thanking her. I glanced up at the clock and saw it was almost six o’clock.
“I have to get to the diner, but if you drop by at lunchtime, I can get you some food. Do you know where Sally’s Café is?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Good, will you be able to get there alright?” she asked.
“Yeah, not a problem, I’m used to walking everywhere.”
She started for the door and then stopped. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She pulled out a handful of change. “This is so you can print out the stuff at the library.”
“Cool, I’ll see you at lunch,” I said, waving her off with a smile. She turned and hurried out the door, leaving me in her house alone.
I sat awkwardly, feeling out of place, as I ate my food. I knew the library didn’t open until 8:00 AM, so I had some time to kill. I decided to clean up the breakfast dishes. I put the leftover oatmeal in her little fridge and did the dishes. I noticed she didn’t have much in her cabinets, just two of ever
ything: two plates, two bowls, two cups, and two of every piece of silverware. Other than that, her cabinets and countertops were empty. From the looks of things, this girl had just the barest of necessities.
I folded up the blanket and walked down the hall, looking for a linen closet of some sort. I opened the first door I found and saw a stacked washer and dryer. I opened the next one and found some towels and cleaners. I didn’t think the blanket went in there, so I opened the one across the hall and found the bathroom. The next door I found was an empty bedroom. The walls were stripped, and it had an empty two-by-two closet with no door. I noticed one of the windowpanes was boarded up as well.
There was only one more door in the house, and I opened it to find her room. She had a little full-sized bed, with an alarm clock sitting on the floor next to it. I noticed there were no blankets or pillows on her bed and frowned. She had given me hers. I set them on the foot of her bed. My blanket would be dried out tonight. I hoped she had gotten enough rest. I would not be taking her blanket or pillow from her again.
I went to the bathroom. It was clean, but you could see where it was badly in need of repairs. I used the restroom and washed my face in the sink. I would not be so bold as to use her shower without her permission first.
I headed out to the shed and pulled out the directions. They all seemed pretty basic. I looked at the clock on the stove through the kitchen window and saw it was after seven o’clock. If I started walking now, I would get to the library right as it opened.
I tucked my pack into the shed and made sure I had the change she’d given me in my pocket. I realized I would pass the pawn shop where Jeremy had tried to pawn Addy’s phone and GPS. I knew they wouldn’t have them, since Jeremy had been hauled off by the cops, and I was sure they had been confiscated. I wished I could get them back for her. I didn’t think she had any other phone.
I arrived at the library a little early and sat down on the steps, waiting for it to open. A police car drove by and slowed when he saw me. He swung back by and rolled down his window. “No loitering,” he stated, pointing to the sign.
“I’m just waiting for it to open. I need to look some stuff up on the internet and print it out,” I said, tapping my pocket with the change. “My friend’s GPS and phone were stolen yesterday, so we couldn’t look up what we needed on it.”
The guy eyed me suspiciously. “Who’s your friend?”
“Her name is Addy. She’s working at Sally’s Café right now.”
His eyebrows rose. “I know the waitress you’re talking about. If you’re lying, I’ll come back and throw you in lockup.”
I crossed my heart. “I’m not lying, but if you could get her phone and GPS back for her, I’m sure she’d greatly appreciate it.”
He nodded at me and drove away. I hoped he would find her and help her.
The librarian scowled at me sitting on the steps, but when I asked her for help to find some books on electrical stuff, she gave me a tight smile and helped me. I searched the internet and made sure I had up-to-date information. I went to print out some of the pages, but I realized I only had enough for a few of them. It would be best if I could check out the books. I wondered if my old library card was still valid. I was sure I hadn’t used it in more than a year. I pulled it out of my mostly-empty wallet, only to see it was expired. I knew I would need an address to renew it, and I wondered if I could get Addy to check the books out instead.
I took the stack of books I had been looking through and asked the librarian to hold them for me. I felt bad for having to ask Addy to come down and check them out for me. I glanced at the clock and realized it was already after noon. I hurried out to meet Addy for lunch, practically running. It was nearly one o’clock by the time I made it to the café. She smiled when she saw me walk in. I held up the papers I had printed out, and her smile widened. She seated me close to the kitchen and surprised me by coming back out with two plates and sitting down with me. “I’m taking my lunch, too. So, what did you find?”
“Well, I got this stuff, but printing is a bit expensive, so I only printed out what I didn’t find in books. I put the books on hold, but I don’t have a library card,” I said, scratching my neck. “You need an address for one of those.”
“Okay, I’ll get them. Or hey, I can just give you my card, and you can pick them up,” she said excitedly.
“Yeah, that’ll work.”
“So, I hear you had a run-in with Officer Nelson at the library this morning.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, for loitering, but he left me alone when he saw I was there legitimately. I told him about your phone being stolen.”
She grimaced a little. “I know.”
“What’s wrong? Can’t he help you get it back?”
“Oh, he can, but he wants me to let him take me on a date to do it,” she scowled.
“Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. He’s been coming in here for months, trying to get me to go out with him. I’d rather go without a phone than date him. He’s just…not my type.”
I laughed a little. “Well, after I pick up your books, I’ll stop by the station and see what you have to do to get your things back, without having to humor the good Officer Nelson.”
She gave me a sweet smile. “Really?”
“Sure, I don’t have any other plans, so why not. I wish I could do more for you.”
“Thank you so much. That’ll help me out.”
She wrote down her full name and address on her order pad, just in case I needed them, and then she passed me her library card. “Tell Mary to call the diner if she has a problem with checking the books out to you.”
“Thank you.”
“No, Matthew, thank you. I really appreciate it.”
I held up my sandwich smiling, “Likewise.”
Once Mary called Addy at the diner, she had no problem checking the books out to me. I carried the stack out the door and headed toward the police station. I wished I had a bag or something to carry the books in. I made my way up the steps and was passed by a smirking Officer Nelson. I really didn’t like that guy.
The woman at the front desk smiled tightly, when I walked in and set the books on the counter. I guess they didn’t have many shaggy-looking homeless people walking in here of their own volition.
“Ma’am, my friend had her phone and GPS stolen yesterday, and I was wondering what she had to do to get them back?”
“Hold on, let me see if we even have a lead or a report filed.” I knew they would have something, because they had picked up Jeremy, who’d had them in his possession at the time. “We do have some, but we’ll need her to come in and fill out some forms before she can get them. We want to make sure she receives the right property.”
“Of course, is there any chance I can take the paperwork home to her, so she can fill it out there?”
“Sure, no problem,” she said, pulling out a few forms and handing them to me. “She’ll have to come in herself to pick them up and bring some ID with her.”
“Great, thank you,” I said, tucking the papers into one of the books and headed back out the door.
I made it to Addy’s house without incident and sat out in the shed, waiting for her to come home. I did not want to presume I was welcome to be in her home when she was not there.
I did my reading and checked where her electrical box was outside of the house. She had breakers, but there were no wires going to them except for a few new ones. They were marked “Kitchen/Laundry” and “A/C.” There was another one marked “Bedroom/Bathroom” as well, but that was all, leaving the hall, the other bedroom and the living area unlit. It was then I realized she’d only used the stove light in the kitchen last night. I looked through the window and could see there was a hole in the kitchen ceiling where a light fixture should have been.
We had a lot of work cut out for us.
Chapter 4 – Revealing Ourselves
The sun was setting by the time I heard her truck pull up. She ca
lled my name, and I hollered that I was in the shed. She walked back smiling and then suddenly frowned. I wondered what was wrong. I looked in the shed. Everything was in order.
“You don’t have to sleep out here. You can stay inside,” she said with a pout, looking at my bedroll I had lain out to relax on while I read.
“Oh, well, whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Come on, bring your stuff inside.”
I quickly packed up my things, and she picked up the stack of library books.
“The papers to get your stuff from the cops are in one of the books. I brought them home for you to fill out, but you’ll have to take them in with your ID to claim them. They said they have them, so you can go pick them up if you get a chance on your lunch break or something.”
“Thanks, Matthew. I really appreciate your help.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”
She smiled, shaking her head and pulled out a couple of tins from the fridge, popping them into the oven. She looked over at the sink and noticed the dishes were put away. “You did the dishes?”
I shrugged. “You were busy, and it was my mess, too.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Matthew. That was really sweet.”
“No, you letting me sleep inside is really sweet. Cleaning up the dishes was the least I could do.”
She pulled the tins from the oven and peeled off the lids. She took the plates out of the cabinet and dumped the contents onto them. It was lasagna with a piece of bread.
“This smells delicious.”
“I’m glad you think so. I get the leftovers from the diner and break them down into single servings and freeze them.”
“Wow, that’s really smart.”
“As long as you don’t mind eating the same things for the rest of your life, it’s a good deal.”
Home Is Wherever You Are Page 2
