THE SHELTER WAS EMPTY DURING LUNCH. RUBY HAD BEEN there for almost a week. Dani came and sat with her. She had a slice of pie in each hand. She set one in front of the girl and then set the other across from her and sat down. She said, You mind if I sit?
No, the girl said. Her voice was soft. Almost a whisper.
No, you don’t want me to sit? Dani asked. She said it in a playful sort of way. A way that made Ruby smile a bit.
There it is, Dani said. I knew there was a smile in there. It’s a nice one too.
Dani sat down.
How are you liking it here? she asked.
Ruby shrugged.
Sure, Dani said. What a dumb thing to ask. It’s a shelter, not a Howard Johnson.
Ruby smiled thinly with her lips together. Her shoulders were slumped. Her hands in her lap.
It’s chocolate cream, Dani said, pointing at the pie. You like chocolate cream?
I don’t know, Ruby said. I’ve never had it before.
Never?
No.
Well, Dani said. I think you’ll like it.
Dani cut a bite with her fork and leaned across the table.
Here, she said. Try it.
Ruby reached for the fork and took the bite. She chewed and nodded.
You like it? Dani asked.
Ruby nodded again.
Good, Dani said. You have as much as you want.
Where do you stay at night? Ruby said.
I have an apartment down the street.
How long?
How long what?
How long you been there?
Almost a year. I was in a halfway before that. When I stopped using, I had to prove that I stopped using. That halfway helped.
You live with someone there?
The halfway? Of course.
No. Your apartment. You live there with someone? Your boyfriend or something?
The corner of Dani’s mouth lifted.
You trying to find out if I got a sweetheart at home?
No, Ruby said, I was just—
I’m teasing, Dani said. She put her hand on Ruby’s. I’ll show it to you one day, okay? Have a girl’s night. Watch a movie.
Okay, Ruby said.
That night Dani left the shelter thinking Ruby was asleep, but when Ruby heard the door close she opened her eyes and got dressed. She followed Dani at a safe distance so as to not be seen. Ruby kept looking back so she wouldn’t forget where she had come from. At a building with the name and year it was built carved into the stone, Ruby watched Dani greet a woman standing near the door. Dani and the woman embraced and kissed and then went in through the doors holding hands. Ruby waited to see if they were going to come out again but they never did.
Ruby was making her way back to the shelter when a car passed. Driving slowly. Ruby couldn’t make out the driver but it looked like they were searching for the numbers to the address of a building. The brake lights flared and the car came to a stop in front of her. Ruby kept on and when she passed the car she noticed the passenger window was cracked a bit and a voice said: Maybe you could help me?
Ruby stayed on the sidewalk. Squinted as if to see into the car but it was too dark to see anything.
You live around here? the man said.
No, Ruby said.
You know of any good hotels in the area?
No.
The man didn’t say anything. Just his outline against the wet street. The exhaust was smoking up from the car. As it passed the taillights it burned cherry red.
A police cruiser was coming up the block and when it saw the car idling in the street the cruiser flashed its light. Ruby saw the man wave to the cruiser and then put the car into drive.
I better get out of this rain, Ruby said.
Yes, the man said. That’s a very good idea. Thank you for your help.
Then he drove off. The cruiser turned and Ruby was left alone on the sidewalk.
The next night Ruby asked, Why are you being so nice to me?
It was raining and the rain was popping on the glass of the girl’s room.
Dani was sitting behind her, combing her hair. Dani said: Why am I what?
Why are you being so nice to me?
Dani stopped a moment. Then continued combing. Said, Because the world is cruel and some people don’t deserve to be treated the way they have.
Like I’ve been.
Yes, Dani said. Like you’ve been.
You make me feel safe.
Good.
Ruby turned around toward Dani and tried to kiss her. Dani leaned away. Ruby tried again and Dani grabbed her shoulders and held her there.
That’s not what this is, Dani said.
What’re you trying to get out of this then?
Helping you, Dani said. That’s what I’m trying to get out of this.
Ruby moved away on the bed.
Ruby looked down into her lap. She started to pick at her nails. Dani reached and quieted her hands.
He’s going to find me, Ruby said.
Who?
The one who’s chasing me. If I leave here, he’ll find me.
Then don’t leave. We’ll go to the police, okay? File a report.
They’re not going to know anything.
That’s their job.
Not this, Ruby said. Not about this.
You don’t have to be afraid, Dani said. I’ll be there with you.
Dani finished combing Ruby’s hair and stood from the bed and lifted Ruby’s legs onto the mattress and pulled the covers up to Ruby’s shoulders. She went to the door and turned and looked at the girl.
That life you lived, Dani said. You never have to go back to that. That all happened to someone else. Okay?
She turned off the light. She said, I’ll be just outside if you need me.
Then she closed the door.
About a half block away a car was parked with its engine running and the wipers swishing back and forth in the rain. The driver of the car was sitting behind the wheel with his arm laid over the back of the seat. He watched the shelter, watched the small square of light from Ruby’s room snap off and the whole building go dark save for the neon cross glowing on the roof.
Found you, he said.