AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well in that case, thank you,” she chirped with a smile.
Dressed in pretty much the male version of Ava’s outfit, John must have gotten used to the looks around here. He was one of the few social workers at the shelter and had started around the same time Ava did, so they’d gotten to know each other as much as work would allow. Tall, with an athletic build and black hair, his arms seemed always ready to rip through his shirt. Much to the joy of everyone at the shelter, he’d asked her out on a date once. For days she’d fumbled with her excuses. He was a nice guy and not bad on the eye either, but the last thing she needed was a workplace relationship. Plus, the spark just wasn’t there on her end. Their friendship had taken a hit since that incident, but she was okay with that.
John checked his watch. “We still got, uh, fifteen minutes. How about a cup of coffee? Judy’s brewed a fresh pot; it’s pretty good.”
It was still early, so the lines for breakfast hadn’t formed yet. Coffee sounded good but unfortunately she had to decline. “Father Brown called me this morning about an incident with Maria; I have to check in with him first.”
“Oh yeah, that. She finally came back, after all these weeks.” He shook his head. “She is a mess, Ava. Don’t get too disappointed.”
“I’ll try not to,” she said reassuring him—to some extent, herself. “See you inside?”
“In a bit, yeah.”
She entered though one of the side entrances and took the stairs straight to Father Brown’s office. He was the director running the shelter, and the priest who’d graciously given his large church to the homeless.
She squeezed the edge of her sweater as she bounded up the stairs. When she’d first gotten the call about Maria, she’d let out a sigh of relief; but then the skepticism crept in. Where had Maria been all these weeks?
Father Brown had an open-door policy in his office—the door was literally broken off, so anyone could pop in, anytime. He sipped a cup of coffee and flipped through some papers when Ava stepped in. He raised his gaze from the papers and smiled. An older man, dark-skinned with grey hair, Father Brown often joked that he had the best part of his life still ahead of him.
“How are you this morning?” he asked waving her to one of the two chairs opposite his desk.
“I’m alright. How about you?” she responded, sitting down.
“Life’s a joy, although I wish I could say the same about these poor souls under this roof.”
She nodded. “Is Maria still here or did she leave again?”
The pastor pushed back in his chair and got to his feet.
“Come with me,” he said walking out in his usual, slow limp. He was a bit on the robust side, but he looked healthy enough to just be considered ‘well-fed.’ Ava followed him.
“She showed up some time around midnight. Maybe one a.m. She looked…” He sighed, his voice grave. “She looked really bad.”
Ava’s face was drawn, her lips pursed into a frown.
"I think she must have relapsed," Ava confided.
“That’s what I think too. She asked for you as soon as she came. She looked battered and flushed, and she was soaked from the rain. Almost ran away again when she heard you weren’t here.”
"I wish I’d been there."
“You are here now, Ava, and that’s what matters. She wouldn’t stay initially, but with the promise of getting you first thing in the morning, and also a hot bowl of soup and a fresh change of clothes, we were able to get her to stay.”
Ava sighed and shook her head. Maria had come to the shelter several months ago after she had finally left her abusive boyfriend. She looked pretty beat up. Rough hair that didn’t look like it’d seen a brush in a while, or even shampoo; tattered clothes; bruises on her hands. She even had a red patch on her swollen right eye.
“I’m not a charity case, you know…” were Maria’s first words when she first met Ava. “I’m just out of luck and in need of a dollar.”
Her tone was aggressive and her eyes hard, but Ava remained smiling. She’d seen them all before—the ones who’d beg and the prideful ones. It really didn’t matter; here they were welcome and safe. But unfortunately, just like Maria’s case, if there were drugs involved, the road to recovery and to a better place was as long as the Great Wall of China—if not longer.
They pushed into the main auditorium, which now mainly served as a dormitory for the women.
“Morning, Ava!” Gloria, an elderly resident waved her wrinkled hand.
“You’re looking swell this morning, Mrs. Gloria,” Ava responded warmly. Bobby, a toothless man in his 70s, chuckled.
“You don’t have to say that to old Gloria, Ava. You’re the one looking swell,” Bobby joked. Gloria did not take that well.
“Funny you think you get to make such comments. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Gloria chastised him.
