“I wonder how manyfriendswould stand by you if you were homeless,” I sneered. “They aren’t friends. Get real. None of them would give you a roof over your head or buy you a sandwich if you were on the streets. Don’t fool yourself.”
Tiffany went to argue when she was stopped.
“Katy!” someone called, and I turned around.
“Mrs Ellison,” I said. Tiffany straightened and wiped the sneer from her face. Not a surprise, because the woman quickly approaching was the secretary for Mr Armstrong, the CEO.
“I hear you’ve been donating time at a local food bank. Mr Armstrong was highly impressed with your charitable endeavours. He asked us to give you a cheque to donate to them. I have it here if you wouldn’t mind giving me their name,” Mrs Ellison announced.
Tiffany, Emily, Sami and their crowd began whispering. I ignored them.
“That would be wonderful. I can give it to them tonight. The food bank also doubles as a soup kitchen,” I explained.
“What name do I put on it?”
“The Elizabeth’s Phoenix Foundation. They’ll cash it and buy the goods,” I replied. “Thank you and Mr Armstrong so much, Mrs Ellison. This will help so much.”
“No problem, Katy, keep up the wonderful work. Mr Armstrong isveryimpressed,” Mrs Ellison repeated. She wrote on the cheque and handed it to me. Wow, ten thousand pounds. They’d go nuts at the food bank.
“This is so generous, thank you on their behalf,” I gasped, seeing the amount.
“You’re welcome. Have a good evening,” Mrs Ellison replied and left. The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside. What a great gift for the soup kitchen.
???
“Hi everyone,” I called as I entered the church hall where the soup kitchen was set up.
“Hey,” people replied. I peered around and located who I was searching for.
“Jenny! Here, my company donated this,” I said and handed the manager the cheque. Jenny’s mouth dropped open as she glanced at it.
“Wow. This is amazing, Katy, how wonderful!” Jenny exclaimed.
“Yes, I was shocked,” I admitted as I cast an eye over what was cooking. Tonight, it looked like jacket potatoes and chilli.
“Where am I needed?” I asked.
“Could you hand out the bread rolls and plates?” Jenny asked.
I nodded. Jenny preferred me at the start of the service because I talked to everybody, and that meant the dinner queue didn’t get slammed with everyone demanding food at once. I took my place as the doors opened and began serving.
Chapter Two.
Alex
Tonight was cold. I had my sleeping bag and the food Katy had bought. There’d been genuine kindness in her eyes, which was a rarity in today’s society. Usually, I faced intolerance and damnation, which made me laugh. I’d given everything for my country for this, and this was the thanks I got. When Katy had torn into that bitch, she’d not been too wrong in her assessment. I was ex-army. When I came home, I was unable to relate to everyday life. Loud noises scared me to death; flashing lights offered flashbacks, and finally, I couldn’t cope with being inside.
I was thirty-eight going on fifty. Katy was young; despite her story, there was still innocence in her eyes. She believed goodness could be found in the world, and Katy was doing her best to help that along. If only Katy knew the truth. People lacked genuine kindness now. Humans were damned. Principles that once mattered no longer did. This was a dog-eat-dog world, and Katy’s generation excelled at it.
Social media was a cesspool, full of trolls and haters. Say something someone didn’t like, and they ripped you to shreds, cancelled you, your voice and ideals. What the hell was that about? That behaviour wasn’t what I fought for, but that’s what Icame home to. The streets were safer than living in society. What did that indicate about life? Christ.
Tiredly, I walked to the bridge where I usually slept and paused. There were blue flashing lights. A police raid or had something happened? Slowly, I turned away from the safe spot and headed into the park. A couple of years ago, I’d discovered a bush that, while thick on the outside, had a small hollow inside. Tonight, I’d be fine sleeping there. Crawling in, I opened the bag that Katy had given me. The remaining items included a sausage roll, crisps, and two bottles of drink.
Katy’s kindness was touching. She’d been genuine when she explained why she’d never seen me before, and I’d believed her. Katy seemed apologetic for not seeing me before today. Idly, I wondered what soup kitchen she worked at. I reckoned she was a good cook. No doubt they loved her there. Katy was gentle, listened and didn’t pry. She let you tell your story when you were ready. A world this cruel would destroy somebody like Katy. That thought made my protective instincts stand up. The truth was harsh, but Katy was way out of my league.
Katy
Happily, I smiled as I spotted Alex sitting on the bench and headed straight for him. Alex looked up and blinked in surprise when he saw me.
