He nodded, and then shrugged a little sheepishly. “Thank you. And, uh, maybe you could give me a hand carrying everything out to the car?”
Jacqui couldn’t help but laugh merrily. “Of course!” Then, she had an idea. “Actually, if you’d like, I’d be happy to go with you and just show you the places. I know the staff at each of them, and can call in advance to let them know we’re coming.”
He sighed in what sounded like relief. “That would be wonderful. I’d be delighted to have you along. That is, if you don’t have any work to do?”
Jacqui laughed again. “As it so happens, someone bought out all my stock, so I think I can close for the day. Let’s carry everything out, and then give me five minutes to lock up.”
They loaded the car—an extremely luxurious SUV, Jacqui noted. When they were done, she ran back into the shop, put the register drawer in the safe, turned off the lights, and flipped the sign on the door to closed. Everything was already clean, so the rest of her normal procedure could wait until later.
When Jacqui got back to the car, he was holding the passenger door open for her. She started to get in and then hesitated.
“I just realized I don’t know your name. I mean, I know the name on your check, but is that what your friends call you?”
He laughed. “Part of it, yes. I do have a rather lengthy name. My friends and family just call me Khizar, though.”
Jacqui shook his hand. “I’m Jacqui. Nice to meet you, Khizar.”
Once in the car, she directed him to a shelter that served meals throughout the afternoon and called the kitchen director, who was a friend of hers. On the drive, she pointed out a few Milwaukee landmarks and key buildings.
Once at the shelter, they were met at the kitchen entrance by a jovial woman with tanned skin and a wide smile.
“Jacqui! What have you brought me today?”
“Dessert!” She gestured to the man beside her. “Denise, this is Khizar. He bought a few things from the bakery today so that he could donate food to people that needed it.”
Denise shook Khizar’s hand. “That’s kind of you, Khizar. Why don’t you two bring what you’ve got inside?”
She held the door as Khizar and Jacqui carried several boxes and a few bags in. Jacqui pointed Khizar toward a long counter along the wall, where they set everything down, and then she gave Denise a quick rundown of the contents of the bags and boxes.
They left the shelter a few minutes later, and Khizar drove back along the route he’d taken in from the airport. They stopped at a few places, handing out bags of muffins and other breads, as well as cookies. Jacqui recognized a few faces from the local shelters, and she moved comfortably among the groups they encountered.
After a visit to another shelter to drop off more cakes and pies, Jacqui directed Khizar to a different location. He parked the car in front of a small building next to a large church, and Jacqui told him about the organization as they walked inside.
“Albert runs this program as a place for kids to go after school, while their parents are at work. At lot of the kids here have parents that work two jobs or an early evening shift. Albert keeps the place open later than other after-school programs so those kids have someplace safe to go rather than be at home by themselves or running amuck around town.”
They dropped off cookies and muffins for the kids, and Jacqui took a minute to greet the children, bending down to chat with a group at a table working on spelling quizzes.
Albert stood next to Khizar, both men watching the baker. “She’s something special, let me tell you.”
Khizar nodded. “I can see that.”
Jacqui, overhearing them, tried not to blush. She gave one little girl a one-armed hug and waved bye to the kids.
On the way to their next stop, Jacqui directed Khizar down a street next to a park. She pointed out a few monuments to the city’s history, and told him a story about the historic church across from the park.
At some point in their city-wide adventure, Jacqui realized that she was having fun. More fun, really, than she’d had in a while. Khizar was good company—talkative, amusing, attentive. He obviously had a good heart, which Jacqui appreciated.
He asked questions about the city as they drove from place to place, and Jacqui found herself being both tour guide and historian as she told him about her town. Milwaukee had a long and storied history, and Jacqui enjoyed sharing it with someone who was so interested.
When all the food was handed out, Jacqui gave Khizar directions back to the bakery. When he stopped the car in front of her shop, he insisted on her waiting to get out so that he could open her car door.