The two figures walked slowly towards the coffee shop. Kate watched from the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s car. The two figures dropped their bags and settled down on the side of the building on a rainy night with nowhere else to go. The taller figure unzipped the bag and took out a blanket and wrapped it around the smaller figure. Kate’s heart ached when she realized the smaller figure was just a child. She was about six or seven years old.
“What do you think their story is?” Kate asked George. They had been sitting in the car for half an hour before it rained. They were supposed to go to the coffee shop to have a nice warm dinner but instead, her boyfriend had been busy with calls and text messages since he got behind the wheel. One call led to another then, a few text messages and a few calls later, his attention was still on the phone.
“George?” Kate called out again. “Just a few more minutes,” George reasoned. “What do you think happened to them?” Kate tried again but received the silent treatment instead. Kate tapped her feet, trying to annoy George. She did it for the next few minutes and all he said was that it was still pouring outside and there was no way that they were going to make it into the coffee shop without getting wet. “I don’t mind the rain,” Kate answered. “Well I do. It is not good for people like me to get wet. You’ll understand.” “I will meet you inside then,” Kate was furious and opened the door.
She jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut. George finally looked up from his phone and wanted to stop her but it was too late. She was already running towards the coffee shop opposite from where he parked. Kate was dripping wet when she got to a sheltered place. Her pink t-shirt, jeans and sports shoes were soaking wet. She twisted her hair and squeezed her shirt, hoping to stop herself from dripping. She shivered in the cold while she wiped her face with her wet hands. “Here, take this,” the man she saw from the car offered her a cloth. “Thanks, but no thanks,” Kate smiled. “You need it more than I do.” “Well, you are dripping wet and you don’t want to catch a cold,” he tried. “It’s okay,” Kate declined. “I am not being proud or anything.” “I know.
We are just different,” he nodded. “Just my daughter and I.” “No, it is not that,” Kate said. “I am going in for some food. Would you like to join me?” “I don’t think I can, miss,” he let out a sad smile. “After all, someone gave me food earlier on.” “I could use the company,” Kate waved to the little girl who was wrapped in a yellow blanket. “I am sure your daughter would like something warm on such cold night.” He looked at his little girl and turned to look at Kate, “You know I can’t pay right?” “It will be my treat.” George watched as Kate, the homeless man and his daughter entered the coffee shop. He saw them taking the seat by the glass window and a waitress walked towards them with a laminated menu. They ordered and when George saw it, he was angry. He was supposed to be in there with Kate but due to some problem at work he had to make a few calls which took longer than he expected.
“I am Kate,” Kate introduced herself after the waitress left with their orders. “Luke and this is my daughter, Alyssa.” “Hi Alyssa. How old are you?” “Five,” Alyssa answered and turned to her father. “Is your boyfriend going to join us?” “Probably not since that he has a date with his phone,” Kate answered, still mad at George. “Do you have any place to stay tonight?” “No,” Luke sighed. “We were evicted two months ago. The building has been demolished.”
“You’ve been living on the street for two months?” Kate asked in disbelief. “Yeah I have no place to go and my funds ran out after…” Luke paused. “Say no more. Both of you can stay at my place until you find a place,” Kate offered. “Oh no, Kate. That is very kind of you but I can’t take advantage of you. You are already buying us a meal and we can’t –“ “You can and you will,” Kate held Luke’s hand. “I have two spare bedrooms.”
“What about him?” “He has his own place.” They were eating when George finally joined them. After hearing Kate’s plan of taking Luke and Alyssa in, George wasn’t too happy about it. He went as far as listing out the disadvantages of having Luke and Alyssa over. At the end of the night, they went their separate ways. “Why did you go through all the trouble to take us in? You even broke up with your boyfriend,” Luke asked when he joined Kate in the kitchen later that night.
“It opened up my eyes to see the ugly side of George. People like him won’t understand people like us.” “Like us?” “The street was once my home too. That was long time ago,” Kate replied. “We will be fine.” Carina Lim bears different messages through her fiction. These messages could be useful in life. She can be contacted at mermaidgal03@ yahoo.com
