by CeeCee James
A second later a teenage boy popped out, holding a grease-stained pizza box. He gripped the metal sides of the dumpster with his free hand and hauled himself out. It wasn’t until he slid down the wall that he realized he was being watched. He offered them a shy smile, then bowed his head. The teen opened the box, revealing half eaten slices and quickly shoved one into his mouth.
Miranda’s stomach dropped. “I’ve seen this kid out here before.”
“Yeah me too.” Jason let go of her hand and walked over to the teen. “Hey, you doing okay?”
The boy looked up and grinned again, displaying gapped and crooked teeth. “How are you doing, sir? I’m doing very good.” His voice was simple and slow. He hesitantly held the pizza box out to them. “It’s pepperoni. My favorite. You can have one.”
Miranda closed her eyes as tears welled up.
“Wow, that’s really nice of you.” Jason crouched next to him. “You’re kind of young to be out here. You have a home?”
“Oh, I do, sir. It’s a good home. I live with Betsy and Bill. They like to sleep with me.”
Jason’s eyes widened at the declaration, and he jammed his hands inside his flannel coat pockets. “Betsy and Bill, huh? Are they your friends? Family?”
“Oh, they are very good friends sir.” The boy stood up. His sweat pants rose three inches above his ankles, a pale knee poking through a hole. His drab olive-colored coat showed dark charred marks up one arm. Miranda saw the bare skin of his bony wrists and her heart hurt. It was a cold night.
“Good friends, huh? Do they know you’re out here?”
The boy’s gaze seemed to swim in and out of focus. “Yes, sir, they do. I’m bringing pizza home for them.”
It was then Miranda noticed a pile of old pizza boxes stacked on the ground next to him.
“They like pizza, huh?” Jason continued.
The boy nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, sir, they do. If I’m not careful they’ll eat it all.”
“What’s your name?”
“They call me Danny, sir. My name is Danny.” Each statement the teen made was underscored with the same open grin.
“I’m Jason.” He held out his hand. Danny studied it for a second, then grabbed it awkwardly and began to shake.
“My name’s Danny. How do you do?”
Jason grinned. “I’m good. Want to go get something to eat?”
“And leave these? Oh, no, sir. I’d like a cheeseburger, but I must bring these back to my family.”
Jason nodded. He bent and picked up the pile of boxes one by one. Danny watched him anxiously. “Good?” Jason asked when he stood.
“Yes that’s a good haul for today. It’s a good day!” Danny pumped his fist in the air and danced in a circle, his feet nearly tripping over what appeared to be size thirteen sneakers. “Betsy and Bill will be happy tonight!”
Jason handed them to Miranda. Danny’s forehead instantly creased in concern. Jason raised his hand. “Don’t worry, she isn’t taking them. She’s going to keep them safe while I get you a burger.”
Danny’s anxiety visibly ratcheted up. He rocked from heel to toe and pulled on his coat sleeve.
“She’s coming with us,” Jason said. Danny immediately calmed when he saw Miranda follow them with the pizza.
The three of them walked down the street to the fast food joint. Jason ordered Danny several cheeseburgers and a couple of pints of milk.
“Can we drive you home?” Jason asked.
Danny stared at him suspiciously. “Momma always said don’t go with strangers in a car. I better not.”
Jason nodded. “How about I walk you home? Help you carry this?” He gestured to the food.
Danny’s simple face visibly brightened. “That sounds a-okay with me. And then you can meet Betsy and Bill.” His mouth turned down briefly in a frown. “But they might be shy. Yes, if they hear you, they might hide.”
“Okay, I’ll be quiet.” Jason held a finger over his lips. “And if you want me to stop, I’ll stop.”
Danny nodded again, happy with that resolution. “Four boxes of pizza! It’s going to be a great day today. Today is a great day!”
Jason leaned over to Miranda and spoke quietly in her ear. “I’m not sure how safe it is. So stay with the truck and wait for my phone call.”
“Lovely,” Miranda murmured. “What happens if you need help and can’t make a call?”
Jason looked at her like she was silly. “Trust me. I’ve been in worst situations. I can take care of myself.” He winked and then headed up the sidewalk with Danny. The boy led Jason down an alley and they disappeared.
The wind blew down the front of Miranda’s coat, the ground squelching under her feet from an earlier cold rain. She shivered and pulled the coat around her tighter as she unlocked the truck door. Once inside, she swiveled the knob for the heat and held her cold fingers close to the vent. An oldies song came on, making her smile. Jason suddenly had a new affinity for the 60s channel. It cracked her up to watch him lip sync (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.
She fished out her cell phone and began surfing Facebook. After a while, she checked on the time; just ten minutes had passed. It might be a long night. She flipped to her Kindle app and began investigating her top one hundred places to visit list.
Thirty minutes later there was a tap on the window and Miranda stifled a scream. Jason motioned her to unlock the door. She clicked the button and he climbed in.
“Wow,” he said, staring straight ahead. He shook his head and then glanced over at her.
“I thought you were going to text me to pick you up?”
“You couldn’t have gotten to me. We left the road just about there,” He indicated two buildings ahead. “He took me through a maze of buildings that eventually led to an overpass.” Jason blinked, still seemingly in disbelief. “Miranda, he lives under a bridge. He doesn’t even have half the stuff we had when we were homeless.”
“What?”
“Yeah, no tarp, no pots, no blankets. Just some cardboard boxes. Yet, he was really proud.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “His friends are animals. A stray cat and some black bird that appears for the pizza crusts.”
“Oh, no.” Miranda was horrified. “How did this happen? Can you bring him back to TECH?”
Jason shook his head. “He said he didn’t want to go.”
They both sat there in silence. Miranda digested the news of the suffering of this homeless teen.
“What do we do? Should we call the police?”
“I’m not sure that would be the best thing. Tonight I want to get him some blankets.”
“How about a tent?”
“I’d love to do it,” Jason said. “But somehow, seeing how proud he was of the home he’d made…well, I think it would hurt his pride.”
Jason started the truck and drove to Target.
Once inside, Jason cautioned. “I don’t want to overwhelm him. I’m just going to get some basic camping gear and a warm sleeping bag.”
“And a hat.” Miranda added.
“Okay, a hat.” Jason agreed.
“And maybe some new clothes? A new jacket?”
“I don’t think he’d understand why we were giving it to him. He thinks what he owns is good enough.”
Miranda nodded. “How about some fire starting stuff?”
Jason’s eyes flickered with worry. “I don’t know. His coat was pretty scorched. I’m not sure how that happened, but giving him access to fire might not be a good thing. But we’ll figure out the next step soon. This is just for tonight.”
They quickly located what they needed in the camping aisle. On the way to the cash registers, Miranda snagged a Seahawks beanie from a display. Jason arched his eyebrow at it. “You better hope he’s a fan.”
“He doesn’t have to keep it if he doesn’t like it,” she said matter-of-factly.
They loaded the truck and Miranda drove them back to the alley. Jason pulled out the bags and tucked the sleeping
bag under his arm. “Hopefully this is going to go well, and he doesn’t freak out when I show up uninvited.”
With that, he headed behind the building.
Miranda bit her thumbnail. The area was dark although she’d parked under the one remaining street light. She didn’t want to look to closely at the buildings, afraid to get spooked. She reached for the radio, but hesitated, feeling like she need things to be quiet, to listen, although she didn’t know what she was listening for. This is silly. Miranda opened Facebook. But she was so distracted, the posts blurred into a meaningless jumble.
Jason finally walked out of the alley, a big smile lighting up his face. He drew closer and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Everything went well?” she asked, a little breathless as he climbed in.
“Yeah, well, Danny was shocked to see me again. Told me not to come any closer or he would sic his friend Bill on me. But he calmed down when he remembered who I was.
“How could he even see you?”
“He had a flashlight. Which reminds me, I need to get him some batteries. Anyway, he liked all the stuff. But guess what his favorite thing was?”
“What?”
“The beanie! Man, Miranda, you hit it out of the park with that one! He was so excited. Yanked it on his head right away and told me all about how they played last season.”
“How does he know?”
“I guess he watches the game where ever he can. Probably outside pub windows.”
Miranda’s eyes glistened. Jason pulled the collar of her coat warmly around her neck, then brushed a tear off her cheek. “We’re a good team. I know this is hard. He’s going to be okay tonight. Tomorrow we’ll see what else we can do for him.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Spring
A few days later, Jason brought Danny to the TECH. The moment he saw the teenagers bustling inside, Danny backed around the corner, too afraid to enter. Miranda stayed outside for a while and tried to coax him in. He’d grinned shyly and ducked his head. When Miranda brought him a peanut butter sandwich and some water, he pocketed them and walked away.
They always knew where to find him. Every night he was outside the pizza place after it closed. Over time, they’d learned more about him. A former foster kid, he’d aged out of the system at the end of the school year on his eighteenth birthday. The crew at TECH exhausted all the resources they could find trying to find help for him. All the adult homes were full, or didn’t have openings for someone in his situation.
Danny showed no interest in moving and when Jason brought out a catalogue of tents, he simply shook his head, confused. “Why do I want that, Jason? It might scare Bill. Bill doesn’t like new things. No sir, he does not.”
“He might like this. Hey, here’s a spot Bill could rest on the top.”
Danny studied the picture with a worried frown. He stood up. “Nope. Bill would not like that. No sir.”
Jason gave up. He pulled out some new socks emblazoned with the Seahawks logo. “Okay, no worries. Hey, look what I found the other day.”
Danny took them with a big grin, dropped to the floor right there and began untying his shoes. Even though his socks were in tatters, he carefully peeled them off. After laying them aside, he pulled the new ones on, yanking the blue and green socks right over the cuffs of his pants. Jason opened his mouth to mention something to him but Danny was so proud. “Look at my socks. WOW! I’m a real Twelve!”
“Yes, you are, Danny. The Seahawks are lucky to have a fan like you.” He clapped Danny softly on the back.
Jason hoofed it around the local businesses to see if anyone might be willing to give Danny a chance. He finally found a place, Hanger’s Bar and Grill, that offered Danny a part-time job.
The Grill had been there for twenty-six years, with gouged tables and a dark planked floor. The walls were stained a sticky yellow from years of cigarette smoke, although new laws made it illegal to light a cigarette within twenty feet of the door. The owner, Mike, was a crusty old man who always dressed in worn Carhartts. His back pocket had a permanent white circle from carrying a can of chew. “It’s just cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen. Nothing glamorous.” He spit.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Jason said. Later in the afternoon he rounded Danny up and walked him over to the Grill.
“Nice socks,” was the first thing out of Mike’s mouth.
Danny’s face reddened as his mouth stretched into an enormous grin. “I’m a real Twelve, sir.”
“That’s great. You’ll fit in fine here. Think you can push a broom and wipe stuff down?”
Danny nodded, his dark eyes following Mike’s every move.
“Welcome aboard.” Mike held open the back door for Danny, following after him with a cursory wave to Jason.
“I’ll come by tonight and check how it’s going,” Jason said and jumped down the cement steps.
* * *
That night, when Jason arrived he found Danny sitting in a wooden booth with a cheeseburger in front of him. The teen had on a new pair of jeans and a thick flannel jacket. Jason shot him a thumb’s-up and walked over to Mike standing behind the counter.
“New clothes?” Jason tipped his head in Danny’s direction.
“Kid earned it,” Mike said, wiping out a beer stein. “He’s a hard worker. He did a better job than my wife scrubbing the house on Easter morning when my mother is coming.”
“That’s awesome news.”
“Don’t go thinking I’m getting soft about the clothes.” He blinked, appearing exactly like a man with a soft spot. “I had some old stuff lying around.”
Jason bit back a laugh. Danny was about six inches taller than Mike, although Mike probably outweighed him by fifty pounds.
“I think this is going to work out. Not sure how to pay him though.” Mike set the stein on the counter and reached for another from the soapy water.
“We’ll figure that out,” Jason said. “It’s kind of new for me too.”
“The thing is, I do have a back room. Maybe he’d like to stay there. It’s still pretty cold outside at night. “
Jason sighed. “I’d love for that to work out. But we’ve got an issue to deal with because he doesn’t want to leave his pets.”
“Pets?”
“Yeah, he’s got a crow he calls Bill and a stray cat he feeds.”
Mike nodded his head and continued to wipe. “That would be a problem. Can’t imagine the health department being too excited about me having animals here.”
“Yeah. It’s been something we’ve been trying to figure out.”
Danny chortled along with the laugh track on the TV and took another bite of his hamburger. Jason squinted to see what he was watching. Saved by the Bell. He smiled, a kid after his own heart.
“Listen, you find a home for his pets, and he’s got a place to stay. Easy as that,” Mike declared firmly. He loaded the glasses on the shelf behind him. Jason nodded. Not quite as easy as Mike was thinking.
Jason thumped a double beat on the counter and stood to go talk with the teen.
“Hey, Danny,” he said as he slid into the bench across from him. Danny pulled his gaze down from the TV long enough to say a quick, “Hello,” before his attention was drawn again by the laugh track.
“You like working here with Mike?”
“Yes, I surely do sir. It’s a good job. He’s a Seahawks fan.”
Jason smiled. “I’m glad about that. I’m proud of you. You keep making me proud, okay?”
Danny nodded as he chewed on a French fry.
“And you know how to find me. You know where TECH is, right?”
Danny shifted nervously on the bench and nodded.
“You need me, come there. You don’t have to go inside. One of us will see you and come out. Okay? Deal?” He held out his hand to the teen.
Danny looked at it a second, and grinned. “High Five!” He raised his hand to slap Jason’s. Quickly, Jason raised his hand to catch the slap.
“All righ
t, buddy. I’ll see you soon.” Jason lifted his hand and waved goodbye to Mike on his way back to his truck.
Outside, his breath clouded in white. Jason pulled up his coat collar and hurried to his car. How am I going to get this kid indoors?
In the truck he called Miranda. “Hey, babe. Good news, Mike and Danny seem to be getting along.” He went on to explain the housing idea Mike had and his concerns about Danny’s animals.
Miranda said, “I have an idea.”
Jason paused, all ears.
“Is there any way we can convince Danny to reconstruct the cardboard home for the animals? We could make a cat bed, and a special bird stand just for them. And he can bring food and check on them every day?”
Jason thought about it. “I don’t know how well he’d receive that suggestion from me. I’ll call Mike later and run it by him. Hopefully, as one Seahawks fan to another, he can do some convincing.”
“All right. You’re doing a good job by the way.”
Jason smiled in the darkness.
“I don’t know if I’ve said it, but I’m so proud of you.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get too proud yet. I don't know if this will work.” Jason started the truck, quickly jumping to turn down the radio that blasted.
“You’re doing the best you can. I think you’re awesome And you can’t stop me.”
“I think you bring out the best in me.”
“That’s not true, Jason. You did this on your own. You brought out the best in you.” Her voice was soft on the other end.
He squeezed his eyes with his thumb and fore-finger. Wow, he was becoming a sap. “What are you doing right now?” Jason ran his hand over his chest, and smiled. He couldn’t wait to see Miranda. He hoped she’d like the surprised he had planned.
“Me? Getting ready to eat dinner.”
Jason groaned. “Tell me it’s not Toasty O’s.”
In answer, Miranda crunched in his ear.
He could imagine her smile. “I’ll be over in ten minutes. And I’ll bring Chinese. If,” he paused with a wicked grin, “you’re still hungry.”