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She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders as heat rushed up her neck. “I don’t have any things,” she said. Embarrassment was one way to get warm.
“Do you at least have a coat? It’s bitter out there.”
She didn’t point out that the outside was as bitter as it was inside, minus the wind. She didn’t say anything at all because she didn’t have a coat. Or snow boots or basic warm clothing besides a couple quilts. Paul seemed to read her mind and shrugged out of his coat.
“Here, put this on, and let’s go.” She did as he asked and followed him into the frigid air.
“What are you going to wear?” All he wore now was a thin t-shirt.
“We’ll walk fast.” He took her hand and she let him pull her along, reveling in the warmth of his skin on hers.
“What are you planning to do? Hide me in the basement?”
“Pretty much. You can sleep down there, and I’ll sneak you back home in the morning before we get caught. I should have thought of this months ago. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
He was apologizing for taking care of her. No one besides a social worker had even considered it, not once since her papa died. But she knew what would happen if anyone saw them together this late.
“Paul, I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“You won’t, and I’m not afraid of a little trouble anyway. Besides, I already made you a bed.” She nearly stumbled in the snow.
“You made me a bed?”
“Yes, and there’s a shower downstairs with shampoo and soap if you want to take one, and I left you some snacks in case you’re hungry. There’s some hot tea on the table, too. All we had was peppermint. I hope that’s okay.” They made it to his back door. He fiddled with the handle and stood back to let her in. Once inside, she nearly fell over when gratitude hit. And she would.
Right after she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She didn’t even flinch when his hands came around her waist and pulled her close. She hadn’t been hugged in so long that it felt too good to let go right away, so she didn’t. Just hung on, overcome with a desire to kiss him. Too scared to be thinking those sorts of thoughts, she touched the softest kiss to his neck, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
His shoulders stiffened, so of course, he did. It was a stupid thing to do, undoubtedly as unpleasant for him as being kissed by a diseased toad, but she hadn’t been able to help it. No one had ever been kinder. He offered her a shower and food. Just the thought of it. She hadn’t showered in so long that she wasn’t positive she would remember how. Just knowing she would walk out of that house cleaner than she had been in years made her feel better already.
The thought of a full stomach gave her hope. The thought of him making her tea brought a sting straight to her eyes.
Paul quietly pulled back and led her farther into the darkened room without looking up. She could swear she saw a smile before he turned his head away. Maybe he didn’t think she was gross after all. Something subtle had changed, something new and warm, but she didn’t dare question it. He switched on a lamp that illuminated the room in a halo, angelic as it felt. The room’s artificial heat tickled her nose and made her sneeze.
“Are you feeling any better?” he asked, and she nodded. She was more than okay. She was nearly perfect. Someone cared, and that was everything.
There was an old green, and gold floral couch pushed up against a walnut-paneled wall, but it was clean. A soft gray blanket lay on one side with another stretched across the cushions, a ready-made bed just for her. The linens smelled of lavender and cotton. A granola bar and a banana lay on a fluffy feather pillow, and a cup of water sat on the table, arranged like a bedtime snack. She’d never had one of those, but she read about them in stories.
A light shone from a tiny corner bathroom across the way, a clear plastic curtain peeking from it as though beckoning her forward. She took a step toward it in her excitement but stopped, not wanting to appear ready for Paul to leave. She didn’t want him to leave, but she wanted that shower and that food, and neither could happen with company. Paul showing up at her house tonight was the best thing that ever happened to her. You don’t know how lonely you are until someone arrives to make you less so.
“Okay, well,” he said, suddenly shy. Even the tips of his ears turned a little red. “I’ll leave you to it. My parents usually wake up at seven-thirty for work, so I’ll come wake you up at seven so we can get you back home before they notice. I’m sorry it isn’t more time. I wish you could sleep in more, but…”
She shook her head to stop him. “It’s perfect.”
And it was.
He couldn’t know that she hadn’t slept more than three hours at night since her father died. Houses made noises more pronounced when you lived alone, and thoughts of thieves and murderers and social workers who wanted to take her away kept her lying in fear most of the night.
Seven o’clock in the morning was seven hours from now. A lifetime of minutes to dream. An eternity of seconds to rest and regroup.
Her mind was happy. It had been a while, but not so long that she didn’t recognize the feeling.
Despite all herworry about getting Paul in trouble with his parents, the first month passed with no incident. Every night at eleven o’clock, there was a soft rap on her door one second before Paul saw himself in. He held out an extra coat for her to slip into, then led them across the open field to his house. Unlike the back of his property that was covered in fruit trees, the front was rolling and smooth with nary an obstacle in sight. Easy for maneuvering in the dark but risky for getting caught. So far, so good, but they couldn’t be too careful.
Like always, he opened the basement door for Sally to walk in first, but unlike the early days, now he waited for her to shower and brush her teeth. He even thought to leave her a toothbrush that first night, one that she kept hidden behind a stack of Charmin in the cabinet under the sink. He still left hot peppermint tea and a bedtime snack. Sometimes a granola bar, sometimes a leftover slice of pizza, sometimes a piece of fruit, but she’d taken to eating it on the walk home every morning to give her more time to talk to Paul before he headed upstairs to his own bed.
Tonight, Sally showered extra fast and got ready for bed in record time. It was nice to have someone waiting on the other side of the door, and she didn’t want to risk making him wait so long that he left. This arrangement only worked if they were careful, both knowing they were one wrong move from blowing their nighttime ritual to pieces. Sally had been through enough in life to know that she could get through almost anything with her head held most of the way up.
But the thought of going back to spend all night alone in her house…
