"No." I shake my head. "It's not like that. We're just friends."
"But you stayed with him last night?"
"Yeah. We went to dinner and he let me wash my clothes at his apartment. But I think I'll spend today back here at the tent. I don't want to crowd him, and I know he has work to do."
Gladys looks over at Miles, who appears to be playing hide and seek with the girls. They're trying to hide behind him, giggling.
"He's the one," Gladys says.
"The one what?"
She looks at me. "The one for you."
"Miles?" I laugh. "No, he's not. We're not even dating."
"You don't see it yet, but he is. He's kind and generous and he wouldn't hurt you like that other man did."
"You don't know that. I never thought Rob would hurt me."
"Oh, but you did. Deep down there was something inside you telling you he wasn't the man you thought he was. Something you chose to ignore because on the surface, he was the man you thought you wanted."
She's right, but I try not to think about that because it makes me feel stupid for staying with him. The signs were there but I ignored them because Rob was good-looking, successful, and had money and a house. All things I thought I wanted. I ignored my gut because I didn't want to listen to it. It's one of my biggest regrets.
"What if it happens again?" I say to Gladys. "Miles is good-looking and successful just like Rob was. He buys me stuff. Takes me out to nice places for dinner."
"It's not the same," Gladys says.
"But how do I know that? How do I know it won't happen again?"
"Because that feeling isn't there." She points her finger at my stomach. "Is it?"
I shake my head. "No. Not at all."
"Then trust it this time. Trust what your gut is telling you. And trust your heart."
"I'm not ready to. And it's not what I want. I don't want to get involved with a guy when I'm on the streets. I want to get out of this life and back on my feet before I start dating again."
"Life doesn't work that way. We don't get to choose when we'll find love. It finds us."
"If that's true, it has horrible timing."
"It has perfect timing. It's just not YOUR timing."
"Gladys, I know you like Miles but I can't be with him. Or any guy. I need to focus on myself right now. I need to get a job and be able to support myself."
"Honey, you've been saying that for over six months now. Isn't it time you let someone help you?"
"I don't want help."
"I didn't either. But now that I've accepted it, I can see that my stubbornness and pride were holding me back from what I really wanted. Zoe's been offering to help me for years but I wouldn't accept it. I didn't want to interfere with her life. But Zoe never saw it as interfering. I did, because I didn't want to be a burden. I don't want you to be like me. I don't want you still living here when you're old and your health is failing. Let Miles help you. He showed up when he did because it was meant to be."
"Gladys, you know I don't believe in that stuff. Fate. Destiny. It isn't real."
"Then trust what your gut is telling you. And trust your heart." She gives me a hug. "I love you, sweet girl."
My eyes fill with tears. "I love you too."
"Gladys!" The girls run toward us and I quickly wipe my eyes.
"What is it, girls?" Gladys asks, leaning down to them.
"Look what Miles gave us!" the younger one says as she holds up a lollipop.
"That was very nice of him," Gladys says. "Did you tell him thank you?"
They both nod. She continues to talk to them as I walk over to Miles.
"Where'd you get the lollipops?"
"At the bank. They have a bowl of them by the teller stand. I always take some."
"And carry them around with you?"
He chuckles. "No. Zoe said she might be bringing the girls with her so I brought the lollipops just in case." He reaches in his pocket and pulls one out. "Brought one for you too."
"Thanks." I take it and put it in my pocket.
"I think I got everything," Zoe says, holding a box filled with Gladys' stuff.
Miles takes the box from her. "I'll go pack it in the van.”
"Thank you, Miles." Zoe watches him leave, then turns to me. "He's a really great guy."
"Yeah. He is." I glance down at the ground. I'm still angry at Zoe for taking Gladys, and ashamed of myself for it. Gladys is where she needs to be and I'm grateful Zoe is helping her, but I'm still angry.
"Gladys said you might've found her a place to stay?" I ask. "Some lady at your church?"
Zoe's face lights up and a smile spreads across her cheeks. "Actually, she'll be staying with us. I haven't told her yet but I talked to my husband last night and he agreed she's a perfect fit for our family. She loves the girls and they love her, and although space will be tight, we just can't let her go."
"That's great." I look over at Gladys, who's still smiling as the girls both talk to her at once. "She'll really like it there."
"Raine." Zoe puts her hand on my shoulder. "I know it's hard to see her go but this isn't goodbye. I'll bring her by when I work here on Tuesdays. You two can have the afternoon together and then I'll take her home on my break."
"You'd really do that?"
"Of course I would. Gladys loves you. She can't go without seeing you. And if you want to visit her at the house, just let me know. I'll come pick you up. Or have Miles take you. You're both welcome at the house anytime."
"Thanks. That makes me feel better knowing I can see her again."
"Anytime. And feel free to call too. I'll see if I save up some money to get you a phone."
"No, don't do that. I can use Miles' phone. Or I'll use the one in the coffee shop."
"Mom, are we going?" Zoe's older daughter yells.
"Just a minute," she yells back, then she says to me, "We need to be going. The girls have ballet class."
"Yeah, go ahead. I'll see you on Tuesday."
She gives me a hug. "Stay with Miles again tonight. I'll feel better if you do."
"I'll be fine. It won't be as cold tonight."
"It isn't about the cold." She gives me a motherly stare. "Give him a chance. He only wants to help."
I nod, then watch as she leaves.
As they drive off, Miles comes over and puts his arm around me. "I'm not even going to ask if you're okay because I know you're not."
"I already miss her."
"I know." He pulls me in for a hug.
Thank God he's here. If he wasn't, I don't know how I'd be getting through this right now. Gladys was all I had and now she's gone. But at least I have Miles.
22
Miles
"What time tonight?" Mark asks Devin as I walk in the conference room. There's a staff meeting starting soon but so far only Mark, Devin, and I have shown up.
"Probably around seven." Devin smiles as I sit down across from him. "Miles, my man. It's your lucky day."
"I don't like the sound of that. Did I get assigned to a new case?"
"This isn't about work." He taps his pen on the table.
"Yeah. So what is it?"
"Giselle was on the elevator with me today and we were talking about you."
"What about?"
"About how you still haven't asked her out."
"I told you, I'm not interested in her."
"How would you know? You've never even gone out with her."
"I had lunch with her, remember?"
"Lunch doesn't count. You need to take her to dinner. Have some drinks."
"Which girl is this?" Mark asks.
"The one who works at the real estate firm on the third floor," Devin answers. "Gorgeous blonde. And she's smart. Getting her MBA. She graduates in the spring."
"If you like her so much, why don't you date her?" I ask.
"Because she wants you," Devin says. "Don't ask me why. I'm way better looking." He grins.
"Next time you see her, tell h
er I'm not interested."
"Just tell her yourself."
"I already did but apparently she didn't get the message."
"I've seen that girl," Mark says. "She's hot. Why don't you want to go out with her?"
"Because I already have someone."
"You do?" they both say at the same time.
"Who is she?" Mark asks.
"Wait, is she the girl who was at your apartment?" Devin asks. "Tiny brunette with the big breasts?"
Why the hell was he looking at her breasts? She does have really nice breasts but he shouldn't have been looking at them.
"Yeah, that's her. Her name is Raine."
"Where'd you meet her?" Mark asks.
"At a coffee shop near my apartment."
"Does she work downtown?"
"She's kind of between jobs right now," I say.
"She looked really familiar when I saw her," Devin says. "What'd you say her name was?"
"Raine."
He stops to think. "I don't know anyone with that name but I swear I know her from somewhere."
Not wanting him to figure it out, I change topics. "So what's the meeting about today?"
"No idea." Mark gets up and tosses his gum in the trash. "They're probably going to tell us we have to start coming in on the weekends."
"Fuck that," Devin says. "They get enough of my time as it is." He points his pen at me. "I know where I saw her."
"Just forget it. It doesn't—"
"The park," Devin says. "She's that homeless girl, right? The one who digs shit out of the trash?"
"You're dating a homeless girl?" Mark asks.
"We're not really dating. Not yet. For now we're just friends."
"You let that chick hang out at your apartment?" Devin's brows rise. "She's gonna steal from you, man, if she hasn't already."
"She wouldn't steal from me. She's not like that."
"Why are you hanging out with a homeless girl?" Mark asks.
"Because she's a good person. And she's trying to get back on her feet. She hasn't been homeless that long. It's only been a few months."
"How'd she end up on the streets?"
"Some asshole took everything she had. Left her with nothing."
Devin swipes through his phone. "She's hot, but that's way too much baggage if you ask me."
"I didn't. And I don't want to talk about her. I knew you guys would give me shit about being with her."
"I just don't get why you'd date her when you could be with someone like Giselle."
Ignoring his comment, I get out my phone and look through it. I wish Raine had a phone so I could text her. I hate not being able to contact her, and it worries me she doesn't have a phone to use in an emergency. I might have to get her one.
"The meeting's cancelled," Lisa says, poking her head in the room. "Get back to work."
She leaves and we all get up from our seats.
"Come with us to the bar tonight," Devin says. "Bring Raine so we can meet her."
"I can't. I have to catch up on work."
"We all do. Doesn't mean we're actually going to do it."
"I'll think about it," I say, but I have no intention of going and I'm definitely not letting them meet Raine. Not after the rude comments they made about her.
After work, I go home to my apartment. Raine's not there and it feels empty without her. She was there all weekend and I got used to having her around. I told her she could spend the day here but she took off this morning, saying she was going to start looking for jobs.
Wanting to see her, I change clothes, then head down the street to the alley. When I get there, I can't find her. I go in the coffee shop but she's not there.
I'm sure she's fine but I still worry something might've happened to her. Ever since she told me about her ex and what he did to her, I've been worried about her safety. Maybe she's right and he's moved out of the area, but that doesn't mean she's safe. He could have people looking for her, trying to finish the job of silencing her.
I'm not telling Raine this but I've been researching cases involving dealers selling pain meds. Given the rising problem of people getting addicted to them, or dying from them, judges are being tougher on dealers. If I could find that bastard who hurt her, I might be able to have him locked in prison for a very long time. But in order to do that, I'd need Raine to tell me more about him and she won't.
I get a coffee, then go wait in the alley, sitting in Gladys' lawn chair. I text Zoe to see how Gladys is doing.
She's feeling much better, Zoe texts back. The girls are having a tea party in her room.
Tell her I said hi.
I will, she texts back. I'm working tomorrow but I don't think I'll bring Gladys. She needs to rest. Let Raine know.
I will.
"Miles?" Raine walks up to me. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you." I stand up, putting my phone away. "Where were you?"
"Just walking around. Did you need something?"
"No. I just wanted to see you. I missed you."
"Okay, well, you saw me." She goes around me to the tent.
"Wait." I stop her before she goes in the tent. "You want to go to dinner?"
"I still have some of the food you left. I'll just have that."
"It's not enough. And it's not dinner. It's just snacks. Why don't we go somewhere? Or we could make dinner. Do you know how to cook?"
"A little but I'm not very good at it."
"I'm not either but I'm sure together we could figure it out. Let's go." I take her hand.
She pulls away. "Miles, I can't."
"Why not?"
"I just can't. I can't be at your place all the time."
"Why not?"
"Because then we'd be living together."
"What's wrong with that?"
"I can't pay you rent."
"You don't have to."
She folds her arms over her chest. "So I'd be living there for free? Letting you pay for everything? Sorry, but I tried that before and it didn't work."
"I'm not him. For the millionth time, I'm not Rob...or whatever his name is."
"It's Rob," she says. "Marchisis."
"What?"
"That's his last name. Marchisis. I never liked that name. Too hard to spell."
"How do you spell it?" I ask.
She spells it out and I quickly record it into my memory so I can look him up later. I never thought she'd tell me his last name. Now that she has, I can try to find him.
"What about mine?" I ask.
"You're what?"
"You like my last name?"
"Canfeld? Yeah. It's easy to remember. Easy to spell."
"Raine Canfeld." I grin. "Sounds good, don't you think?"
She laughs. "Never going to happen but sure, it sounds okay."
"Never say never."
She just smiles.
"Let's go." I reach for her hand.
"I'm going to stay here. It's not going to be that cold tonight."
"If you're not going, I'm staying here too."
"Miles, don't do this. Just go."
"I won't be able to sleep tonight if you're here alone. It was different when you had Gladys."
Raine laughs. "Yeah, because Gladys was great protection with her crippled hands and hip problems."
"You know what I mean. You'll feel better with someone else around. You're not going to like being alone out here at night."
"Let me try it and see."
I sigh. "Would you at least go to dinner with me?"
"Okay, but nothing fancy. How about the taco truck down the street?"
I agree to it and we head down there.
"Oh, I texted Zoe," I say as we walk. "She said Gladys is getting better but she's not bringing her here tomorrow because she wants her to rest. She asked me to tell you."
"Maybe I could call her tomorrow if you don't mind me using your phone."
"It's yours whenever you want it. Actually, I was thinking maybe I could b
uy you one."
"Don't. They're too expensive and I don't need one."
"I'd feel better if you had one, even if you only use it for emergencies."
"I don't need it. I've gone this long without one. I can go another six months or however long it takes to get a job."
"Speaking of that, how was the job search?"
She sighs. "Not good."
"Why? What happened?"
"I'll tell you while we're eating."
We place our orders at the taco truck, then take our food to the park, sitting down at a picnic table.
"So what happened?" I ask.
"I went in some fast food places and filled out some applications. But when they saw I didn't have an address or phone number, they told me they couldn't hire me. Apparently you can't be homeless and get a job."
"Use my address. And my phone number."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not mine. If I got hired and we were no longer friends, you'd get all my checks."
"If that happens, I'll bring them to you. I promise."
"It's not going to work. I don't want to use a fake address."
"It's not fake. And if it's the only way you'll get a job, then do it."
"Let me think about it."
We finish our meal, and despite me practically begging her to spend more time with me, she insists on going back to the tent. I return to my apartment and fire up my laptop. I'm really behind at the office but I have no desire to do the work. All my clients are rich assholes being sued by people they screwed over, but because they have money and can hire the best lawyers, they'll win their cases. I know it's my job but helping them win seems wrong, which is why I keep putting off doing the work.
Clicking on a file, I start reading through client documents but it's so boring I can't stay focused. My mind keeps going to Raine, which leads me to think of her ex and reminds me I have his last name. I open a browser window and type his full name in the search bar. The results pop up and I see listings for a guy that seems to fit the description of Raine's ex. He's in his thirties. Single. Has lived in several different cities in Colorado. He doesn't have much for an online profile. No social media links. No website. All I can find is basic information like where he's lived and his age. I'm sure that's intentional. He's trying to hide in case someone comes after him. An addict. One of his workers. The close friend of an ex-girlfriend he tried to kill.
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