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Then there’s the matter of this man. He had seen two men chasing me down the street and had taken in how disheveled I was when he picked me up. Instead of filing that away under “not my problem”, here he is asking if I’m okay and offering to help me.
Maybe things aren’t so horrible, after all.
“I’m okay. Neither of them would hurt me.”
The look he gives me via the rearview mirror has me wanting to confess all my sins to him.
“Certainly didn’t look that way to me.”
“It’s just a really embarrassing story.”
“Your secret is safe with me—cabbie/passenger privilege, you know?”
I sigh. “Well, we were right in the middle of…”
“Activities?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Let’s go with that. So we were in the kitchen—the darker-haired man and I—and we were right in the middle of activities and Jamie, the more silvery-haired guy, walks right into the house and gets a full view of everything.”
“Oh, that’s bad,” he says sympathetically. “But how did that turn into you running down the street with them chasing after you?”
“Well, they gave me some privacy to cover up and I overheard what Jamie was saying about me and what he saw. All I’ll say about that is that none of it was very nice. I was already embarrassed and more than a little humiliated, and that was the last straw. I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit down with them and talk things through after I’d heard all that. So I panicked and ran.”
“But nobody hurt you?” he asks.
“Aside from my feelings and my pride, no.”
“Good.”
“You know, not many people would care that much. Thank you.”
His shoulders sag. “I was halfway across the country when my sister got mugged on a trip to the city. I wasn’t there for her, so I figured I could make it up to her by being there for someone else.”
“Is she alright now?”
“She is.”
When we pull up to my building, I give him a hefty tip and thank him again.
I unlock the front door of my building and groan when I see all the steps I have to walk up. There’s only three floors, so the builders didn’t see the need for an elevator. Most of the time, I don’t mind, but today, I’d rather walk on hot coals than deal with all these steps.
At least today’s my day off.
Any hopes of Leo still being asleep are dashed when I walk in and see Leo in his high chair shoving pancake pieces in his mouth.
“Well, you certainly look like you had a good night.” Mom winks.
Heat rises to my face. “I?—”
“It’s about time, Missy. Good for you.”
“Thank you?”
I make my way over to give Leo a kiss, but as soon as he gets a full view of me, he scowls.
“No kiss. I’m mad.”
“Why are you mad, Leo?”
