I swallowed hard, wondering if sitting down with Nancy would make this whole thing seem more real. I felt like the bottom had fallen out of my world, so I couldn’t imagine what she must be going through. But she might be the only person on earth who could truly understand how I was feeling.
“I’d like that. Thank you,” I answered. “I’ll stop by when I get into town. I’m in Europe at the moment, so it’s going to take me a while to get to you, but I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”
“Well, have a safe journey then,” she said. “I’ll text you my address when we get off the phone and the funeral details as soon as I have them.”
We said our good-byes and, sure enough, my phone buzzed with a message a few seconds later as Nancy had promised. Sliding it back into my pocket, I turned my face up toward the sky. The pollution of light above the city hid a myriad of stars. I’d spent my whole life sleeping under a blanket of constellations. Knowing that they were always there meant that I had stopped looking up. What had always seemed boring and predictable, I now knew was comforting and reassuring. A shame then that my epiphany only happened when they were gone.
The piercing laugh of a party guest pulled me from my thoughts. Behind the glass doors, vintage champagne was being sipped from the finest cut crystal glasses, and beautiful dresses adorned beautiful people. The room was a showcase for wealth and power, and I’d been the focus of everyone’s attention. It was everything I ever thought I wanted, and I’d never been so lonely in my entire life.
Chapter Two
Lauren
It was somewhat ironic that I now found myself perpetually trapped in a town called Friendship, yet I’d never really had what you’d call a good friend. Of course I was fully aware that I hadn’t really helped myself in that department. You see, I was a liar. Not by choice of course, but I was a liar nonetheless. A grafter, a thief, a con artist. Call me what you will, but I scammed and stole and did whatever I needed to do to eat. I wasn’t proud of the fact. In fact, I was bitterly ashamed. But the view from the moral high ground wasn’t so attractive when you barely had the energy to walk and your stomach was seized with hunger pains.
On the rare occasions when I had a hot meal, I allowed myself to indulge in foolish, pointless fantasies. My favorite was the one where I was heavily pregnant, my husband laughing with our three children in the garden of our house by the sea and with the smell of baked goods filling the kitchen of our home as I watched my family play. I’ve never baked a day in my life. But one day, somehow, I was going to learn to bake a cake so big it would feed a family of six for a week. It was a stupid fantasy, and I scolded myself every time I thought of it. Happy ever afters weren’t for the likes of me. Dreaming was dangerous, and I should know better.
Dumpster diving was just the dose of reality I needed to bring me back down to earth. Everything I’d saved for the last few weeks was gone. No matter how well I hid money, every place we stayed, Dad found it. You’d think a bank would keep it safe, but bank accounts were for people who earned money honestly and had identification. I’d be surprised if Dad even had a birth certificate for me. I knew my age and date of birth because I’d seen him write it on a school admissions form once, but there was a fairly good chance that he’d made it up on the spot. He promised me this time that I could look for legitimate work. But Friendship was a small town, and I had no references. With Christmas around the corner, I felt sure that someone would be hiring, but the locals looked at me with suspicion, and they were probably right about me. I wasn’t honest and trustworthy.
But I wanted to be.
By the time I arrived back at the motel, I was tired, hungry, and cold. When I realized that Dad had stolen what little savings I had without leaving me anything for food, I was desperate. Desperate enough to wait for the local fast food restaurant to close before rummaging through their Dumpster in the hope of finding something edible. On the fifth Styrofoam container, I hit the jackpot. The juicy cheeseburger and fries, probably trashed as a wrong order, were still warm. Most people would have gagged at what I was about to do, but I hadn’t eaten in two days. To me, it looked like nirvana.
“You gonna eat that or just stare at it droolin’?” a voice from the shadows asked me. I screamed and jumped back in shock but still managed to keep hold of my prize. Slowly, the grubby face of an old homeless guy emerged from the darkness. The way he was staring at my dinner made me squeeze it a little tighter.
“You scared me half to death. What were you doing down there?” I demanded.
“I was getting some sleep before I was rudely interrupted,” he explained.
“Behind a Dumpster?” I asked suspiciously.
“What? You know of anywhere else where folks are less likely to hassle a homeless guy?” he said. He had a point.
“So, you gonna eat that or what?” he asked me. I eyed the burger and then the homeless guy and sighed deeply. Inside I was crying at the thought of losing half a meal, but this guy looked like he’d been on the streets a while. No matter what the circumstances, there was always someone worse off than you.
“How about we split it, then I’ll keep searching for more?” I suggested.
“Well, you sound
like an enterprising young lady, and those are my favorite kind. Please, come and partake of my humble abode, and I’ll fetch the linen and silverware,” he said, indicating his cardboard hovel. He bowed like a butler, making me smile. Whoever he was, he was charming. It looked as though he was stockpiling old sleeping bags and blankets, so at least we had something soft to sit on. Sitting down, I left plenty of room as he eased down with a weariness that spoke of old age and aching bones. Splitting the meal down the middle, I handed him his half, and we bit into them together, groaning simultaneously.
“This is so good,” I mumbled between bites.
“The best burger I’ve ever had,” he added. All too soon, it was gone, but those precious calories on my empty stomach were heavenly.
“Thanks for letting me share your pallet,” I said.
“Thanks for letting me share your meal,” he replied.
“I’m Lauren.” I introduced myself, holding out my hand. He wiped his own hand back and forth on his coat before shaking mine firmly.
“Nice to meet you, Lauren. I’m Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe,” he answered.
“Do you really sleep here?” I asked him. “It’s freezing out tonight. Isn’t there somewhere warmer you could go?” Despite the pile of bedding, I had no doubt he’d feel the cold through to his bones. The snow that had started to fall earlier was now coming down thick and fast. Gabe had propped up a few flattened boxes to form a roof of sorts, and the fence to our back offered a little protection from the wind and snow but not much.
“Ain’t no homeless shelter in a town this size. Besides, you get used to the smell pretty quick, and it’s safe. Well, as safe as it can be on the streets. Speaking of which, what’s a lovely young lady like yourself doing out here at this time of night?” he said.
I wrapped my coat around myself a little tighter and shivered as a cold breeze blew down the alleyway.