It was late and cold. We were walking from a toasty apartment to a soon-to-be warm car. She was walking alone and shivering underneath a heavy, saturated fur coat. She moved our direction, then hesitated, twice. I broke the awkwardness and asked if she needed help. Lost. She was lost. She stuttered and sputtered. Her car wouldn't start. It was more than the battery. The alternator wasn't working. It would cost money, money she didn't have. Her car was on Pershing. Where was Pershing?
Minutes later she rode in the front seat of my car, the air turned from cold to warm, then hot. My friend rode in the back. Her hands hugged the warmer we gave her. Her body and voice shook, from more than the cold. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said. "I work for ElderCare. I just moved here from Kansas City. I have my identification." I was sad that she justified herself. I believed her, before she tried to convince me.
We found her Explorer and the man who had tried to start it earlier. The car was dead for the night. She lived with her daughter on Connecticut, not too far from my friend and me. We offered to take her home. She refused. She needed to be at work in the morning. She needed to be with her car. The man said it would cost $15 to fix. He could do it in the morning. A loud crash made us jump as we tried to solve problems that weren't ours. A tree loaded with ice landed a few feet from my car.
We didn't have cash, just a check with too much information on it. We called another friend who lived nearby. We waited for the cash to arrive in the warmth of my car, at her suggestion. She called us angels. She told us that she would pay us back. He came with the cash and gave it to her without a second thought. After hours of poker playing, I believe it was his safest bet of the night. An arrangement was made, and she stayed with the man who would fix her car the next morning. He got permission from his wife. She paid him the cash he needed. He put a roof over her head. She would be at work on time.
The time, the money, the gamble - all worth it. On one of the coldest nights of the year, I felt more warmth than I had in a long time. I hope she did too.
Minutes later she rode in the front seat of my car, the air turned from cold to warm, then hot. My friend rode in the back. Her hands hugged the warmer we gave her. Her body and voice shook, from more than the cold. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said. "I work for ElderCare. I just moved here from Kansas City. I have my identification." I was sad that she justified herself. I believed her, before she tried to convince me.
We found her Explorer and the man who had tried to start it earlier. The car was dead for the night. She lived with her daughter on Connecticut, not too far from my friend and me. We offered to take her home. She refused. She needed to be at work in the morning. She needed to be with her car. The man said it would cost $15 to fix. He could do it in the morning. A loud crash made us jump as we tried to solve problems that weren't ours. A tree loaded with ice landed a few feet from my car.
We didn't have cash, just a check with too much information on it. We called another friend who lived nearby. We waited for the cash to arrive in the warmth of my car, at her suggestion. She called us angels. She told us that she would pay us back. He came with the cash and gave it to her without a second thought. After hours of poker playing, I believe it was his safest bet of the night. An arrangement was made, and she stayed with the man who would fix her car the next morning. He got permission from his wife. She paid him the cash he needed. He put a roof over her head. She would be at work on time.
The time, the money, the gamble - all worth it. On one of the coldest nights of the year, I felt more warmth than I had in a long time. I hope she did too.
1 comment:
It's a honor to be your mother.
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