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Balance recovered, I’m now faced with the impossible task of resisting his hold on me. Well, I’m not going to try. On the back of a date-gone wrong, if there was a time to be helpless, it would be now. Rob puts his arm around me, guiding me as I hobble one-footed onto the passenger seat. I settle into it, and he lets go of me.
“I live at the end of the street.”
“Sure.”
After using my split shoe as an excuse to escape Rob’s stare, we’re moving. I haven’t had a close look at his car, but I really hope Gianni hasn’t caused much damage to it.
“Thank you,” I say to my savior.
“Don’t mention it,” he says, keeping his driving at a slow speed. “I’m Rob.”
“I’m Amber.”
“I thought your name was longer than that.”
Most people would’ve taken Amber as my name, and they wouldn’t usually want to deal with the rest of it. I should’ve chosen a simpler name when I was given my new identity. My birth name is Amalia Rae Scifoni. I chose Amber because it’s my birthstone (and it also rhymes with ‘Mender’), Rose is my favorite flower, and Cannizzaro is my Mama’s maiden name.
“Amber-Rose,” I reply as I wonder why Rob is keen to know my proper name.
“Nice to meet you, Amber-Rose.”
Say my name again?
Coming out of his mouth, it sounds deliciously smooth. Maybe I have picked out the right name, after all.
Rob steals glances at me. “Tell me where.”
“Keep going.”
Seeing me wince when I shift my leg, he says, “You ran pretty far. Your shoes didn’t stand a chance.”
“Well, got ’em from the Shoe Warehouse. Can’t really complain.”
“Even Manolo flats wouldn’t have made it. I saw how you ran.”
I respond with a laugh. “Here. That’s my house.”
He pulls over.
“Good night.” I let myself out.
Suddenly Rob says, “Wait. I’m actually here to see you.”
His statement pings in my head like a starter’s pistol going off. What would a guy like him want to see me for? At eleven o’clock at night?
“It’s an emergency,” he says. “You’re Amber The Mender?”
I compose myself before I pivot. Despite the unexpected turn of events, I put my professional face on. He’s a potential customer, after all. “Yes. What can I do for you?”
Rob grabs a teddy bear from the back seat. The man looks off-the-charts cute with that toy, but the teddy itself…
His snout is almost torn off his face, his left arm is missing, and so is his left ear. His right eye, though still there, is badly cracked. His left leg is barely hanging on to his body.
From a quick look, I think it’s a replica of a Steiff Papa Bear.
“Can you save him?” It’s a plea, a hope, and desperation packed into one tired voice.
“Well…” I murmur. I should say I can. That I can save him, but it will take time. He said it was an emergency, so I’m guessing he’s expecting me to fix it tonight. “Why don’t you come in?” I take the teddy with me as I hobble my way inside.
