Let the Rain Come Down - ch5

Disclaimer: All characters owned and created by Stephenie Meyer.

This chapter is unbeta’ed – any errors are mine and I apologise in advance.

Next chapter will be posted in time for Christmas – the boys will be celebrating too.

~o.O.o~

Chapter 5

Edward’s POV

I hastened home, tightening my arms to keep the food close to me for warmth, the bag of books hanging from my wrist. I hurried as fast as I dared – it wasn’t yet icy underfoot, but it wouldn’t be long – and the cold air would cool our food far quicker. The idea of a small microwave oven danced in my mind’s eye, some way to reheat food, especially now it was bitter outside. Home was so cold that we were going to have to use the heater regularly and I guessed how much that would cost, but at the very least we needed clean, dry clothes and bedding. Jasper had mentioned that the windows iced up on the inside when it got really cold, and I was glad that we had each other for warmth. His chest didn’t need cold and damp. Not when it was now starting to heal.

I sighed.

At least we lived inside, out of the elements. I could cope with the cold if I had food and shelter. I considered another trip to the clothing bin to see if I could find us some warm clothing and more towels; the more towels we had, the longer we had to get the used ones dry. I knew Jas wouldn’t like me doing it, but it was worth checking it out again.

Almost home, I kept an eye out for any strange cars after our altercation from the previous night. I had no intention of engaging if anyone stopped, but my temper knew no bounds when it came to defending my boy. Scouring the street, I saw nothing suspicious, the odd car that did pass me was moving at a reasonable speed for the street.

Allowing my mind to wander was never a good move. I tried to understand how Jasper felt every day, standing outside waiting to be propositioned by some stranger who cruised by. I shuddered at the thought of someone’s hands pawing at me, undressing me, touching me in places they had no right to. Did he feel his body was worthless now? Nothing but a commodity to be sold no matter how low the price offered?

I had seen his body when we bathed together and when I had had to sponge-bathe him. He was beautiful, lean and firm, someone to be adored… worshipped. I ached to hold him naked in my arms, just hold him skin to skin, and know how his body fit against mine with nothing between us. My head was full of him, dreams of us together, carefree and in love, making love with abandon. My heart wanted that with him, wanted all of him, but my head blocked it, backed away from it, the fear an ever-present brick wall before me, separating me from the one thing I wanted so much. When Jasper was well again, I planned to discuss it with him. It was a subject we had never broached, but from the way he held me, the way he kissed me, his hands stroking my back in time with his own breathing, the way he played with my hair when he thought I was sleeping, I figured we both wanted the same thing.

I just needed to find the words when the time felt right.

My hand reached out to open the door, my happy smile refusing to budge.

“Jas? I hope you’re hungry!”

He looked up the moment I spoke, his beautiful smile blooming, so happy to see me. My heart ached with love for him. His face was curious when he saw I carried a bag as well as our food.

I grinned, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ll tell you in a minute. First up, let’s eat. It’s chili and rice today.” I unpacked the plates, the smell drawing hungry protests from my empty belly. I glanced back over my shoulder, my smile widening. “And yes – there’s cake.”

His crooked grin was all the thanks I needed.

We ate, and I struggled not to inhale it. When I had scraped my plate clean, I remembered.

“We have cheese sandwiches too – we can save those for supper. Esme said they had a lot of donations this week so we got extra.”

His eyebrows raised, much like mine had. Swallowing his mouthful of chili and rice, he wiped his mouth with his knuckle.

“Really? That’s brilliant. I was going to say we needed bread when you go to the market. Cheese is great – I love cheese.”

“I know you do.” I chewed and swallowed, a happy smile touching my cheeks. “I’ll get us more bread later – I’m liking having sandwiches to take with me for lunch. I’ve got more energy.”

His eyes crinkled.

“I don’t know how you kept going on water and apples all day. You make sure you take enough to keep your strength up. See if you can stretch to some more peanut butter when we run out. I like that for breakfast.”

“I’ll do what I can. There’s the other soup kitchen to check out too. I’ll go there later this week and check it out. They’re a church-run group, I think.”

“Okay, but they might not be so keen on helping us if they know about what I do.”

“Then I won’t tell them. I have to try, Jas. It’s temporary until we get on our feet. I’ve seen first-hand that these places are a permanent lifeline for some people.”

He nodded, reaching out to cover my hand with his.

“That won’t be us, love.” He squeezed my hand before letting go. “If you’re all done, can you pass me my pills and some water?”

I took my dirty plate to the sink, and filled a glass with fresh water, tipping out his pills into my hand. He finished his meal and laid the plate down on the bed, taking the glass and swallowing half the water and both the pills. Clearing away his plate too, I picked up the bag of books and took it over to him, hoping he would like the ones I had chosen. It was silly to be nervous, but I always wanted to make Jasper happy, to never let him down, even with something as simple as reading matter. Biting my bottom lip, I sat down, the paper sack in my lap.

“There was a woman at the kitchen today who distributes old library books and magazines to the homeless. She does it for free all around Chicago. Anyhow, I went to see her and …” 

I didn’t say anymore, handing him the bag. I wondered if this was what it felt like to give someone you loved a special birthday or Christmas gift.

I watched the excitement bloom in his eyes, the helpless smile that widened when he scrabbled in the bag and fished out the contents, heaping them onto the bed.

“Terry Pratchett! You star!” He grabbed the Discworld titles and read the blurb on the back of each. Next he found the bulky Robin Hobb trilogy I had found, plus the David Eddings and Terry Brooks novels. He looked so excited, like he didn’t know where to start. Then his attention snapped straight back to me, a little happy colour staining his pale cheeks, and his arms wound around my chest, pulling me close. His face was in my neck, his warm breath spilling across my throat.

“Thank you, love. Thank you. This is amazing. I can’t believe you even knew what genre to get!”

“I can’t have you getting bored, can I? I’m glad I did good.” My thumbs rubbed comforting circles against his shoulder muscles.

“You weren’t worried were you?” He pulled back to examine my face, looking for signs. My weak smile gave me away. “Edward, I’d have read a phone book for something to do, but you… you go and do this... for me. Have I told you I think you’re amazing?”

I felt my face heat at the compliment, tilting my face to meet his kiss. We both jumped when the loud electronic tune filled the silence. My eyes widened.

“It’s the phone!” I ran to grab it from my coat pocket, looking for the right button to press.

“Hello?”

“Edward? Hello, it’s Tanya. I could use you tomorrow for that trial we talked about. Can you be here at ten?”  She rattled off an address and I scribbled it down on the envelope still in my pocket.

“I’ll be there. Thank you for this opportunity, Tanya.”

“We’ll see how you do tomorrow. We’ll talk more when you get here. See you then.”

“Thank you. Bye.”

I fumbled with the unfamiliar phone, finding the end call button, before turning to Jasper who was watching me with excited eyes.

“I have my trial tomorrow with Tanya.” I was almost bouncing with excitement. “I hope I’m up to her standards, Jas. A regular job would make us enough money to pay rent without touching my market wages.” I shook my head. “I’m getting ahead of myself, but I’m really excited.”

The pride in Jasper’s eyes warmed me from my head to my toes.

~o.O.o~

My shift at the market was uneventful, but with the thought of work the following day, I couldn’t control the smile on my face. Perhaps it was that, or maybe it was the stirrings of the approaching festive season, but a few customers tipped me for carrying their bags to their cars, and I pocketed the coins with an even wider smile of thanks. I used the money to buy bread and our usual spoils from Tony, barely touching my earnings.

“You’re looking more cheerful tonight, kid. Good day?”

Taking my bag, I smiled and nodded.

“I had some good news. If it works out… well, let’s say it will make a big difference to Jasper and me. Especially with only one of us well enough to work at the moment.”

He looked at me for a long moment.

“Promise me you’re both eating enough? Don’t want you getting sick too.”

I felt my cheeks warm.

“We’re doing okay, Tony. Thanks to your advice.” Remembering, I felt my smile spread. “I even got some books for Jasper while I was at the kitchen. Now at least he has something to keep him occupied while I’m working.”

“Glad to hear it.” His voice was gruff. “Best you get on home to your boy. It’s so cold out - won’t be long ‘til the snow gets here.”

Didn’t I know it. I needed new boots before the bad weather hit. Something else to add to my mental list of things to not worry Jasper with.

Tony wasn’t wrong about the weather – it was bitter once the weak winter sun disappeared. I wrapped my scarf around my chin and neck, and headed toward home. Christmas lights were appearing in a few windows, families excited for the coming season. I smiled, feeling a lightness that was unfamiliar. Perhaps next year we could decorate our room – a little bit of sparkle could go a long way to lifting the spirit. My happy mood was tested when the wind almost buffeted me off my feet when I turned a corner, but I stayed upright and, head down, made my way home as swiftly as I could.

Jasper was snuggled up under the covers, lying on his side with a new book open by his head. He looked relaxed and miles away when I set the bag of food down on the counter. Walking to the bed, I leaned over and kissed him hello before setting some water on to boil for coffee. While I waited I checked our box of provisions and saw that, other than having eaten almost all of the peanut butter, we still had plenty of tinned goods and instant snacks to keep us going, plus the bread, vegetables and fruit I had brought home. Making the coffee, I found the cheese sandwiches in their bag from that morning and put them on a plate, carrying them to the bed.

“Time to eat, love. Can you sit up?”

He turned his book over and managed to get himself into an upright position, albeit with obvious pain. Once I had him settled, I fetched his pills. The sandwiches were good, the bread fresh and the cheese just warm enough to give it a little flavour. It would have been so easy to demolish mine in about three bites, but I made myself savour them. After all, we had already had a hot meal that day. I then shared out the cake we hadn’t eaten at lunch, giving us a delicious sweet treat to round off our small meal.

I watched Jas lick every last trace from his fingers and thumb, chasing every crumb from the plate.

“I could get used to cake. I didn’t know what I was missing. So, how was work?”

I fussed with his covers in the already chilly room, kissing his nose when he tried to protest, drawing a giggle instead.

“Something was in the air today I think. I got tips for the first time in forever, and they almost covered the cost of the bread and vegetables. A really good day.” I took a mouthful of coffee. “Decorations are going up for Christmas. A few houses are already lit up. Makes the walk home more fun.”

Jasper looked around the room. “I guess being alone I never really thought about Christmas. Well, other than the few extra customers I got who came looking for what they wanted while their wives went shopping.” He looked at me and I read his mind easily enough. I shrugged.

“Christmas was fun at the foster homes. We got a gift and a nice dinner. But, like you, once I was alone it scarcely seemed important.  I always did like the lights and the trees though. They made the world look so warm and hopeful, even though I was sleeping rough. I guess I was lucky – I hadn’t been on the streets long enough to have it knocked out of me.”

Jasper listened to me, the way he always did, making me feel that everything I had to say was important. I watched his face fall and wondered why when I was so happy just being here with him. His eyes fixed on the blanket, he sounded contrite.

“I wish I could give you a proper Christmas – the kind you deserve. We don’t even have a tinsel garland. Perhaps we can get something special to eat for Christmas dinner? Maybe If I’m working by then we could buy a cooked chicken from the market and a cake…”

I cupped his flushed cheek. “Hey. We have food and we won’t go hungry. You’ll get well and next year we’ll be in a different place. We’ll have money and we’ll make ourselves a proper Christmas. I say that for this year let’s just appreciate that we have a home and each other, and thanks to our friends, we have food in our stomachs. I reckon that’s worth celebrating; we’ve come a long way since last Christmas, yeah?”

His eyes were shiny and the corner of his mouth wobbled. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.  I didn’t mention it.

“How’s the pain, love? Are the pills working?”

His voice was rough.

“They’re starting to. A few more days and I should be feeling a lot better I reckon.”

I felt relief seep into my cold bones.

“That’s really good. Now – let’s get you to the bathroom before we turn in. It’s so cold tonight.”

Helping him shuffle his legs out, I made sure he was bundled up to go out into the sub-zero bathroom. He was soon back and it was my turn. I shrugged on my coat and made short work of my ablutions, glad we didn’t have to bathe in that room. My teeth were chattering when I ran back inside, locking our door and turning off the light. I pulled on a fresh pair of old but dry socks and the bright Christmas sweater before climbing into bed alongside Jasper. We had the knitted blanket on the bed on top of the others to add weight and warmth. Soon, snug and warm, we slept.

~o.O.o~

The next morning my insides bubbled with a mix of excitement and anxiety.

It was the day of my trial shift and I wanted to impress Tanya, and also make Esme proud. That in itself was so important to me. Esme had been such an angel to us, and I wanted to show her that we were worth the trouble.

Jasper watched me over breakfast and did his best to ground me. When I’d finished my sandwich and coffee and was ready to go, he kissed me, telling me to go and ‘show ‘em how it’s done’.

Smiling at his enthusiasm, I made sure he was set up for the morning before I left, a long walk ahead of me before I even started my new job. In my pocket I had two sandwiches and some raisins, neither of which, I hoped, would be of much interest to a dog. Pass or fail today, I would be doing this without bribes and incentives. It was early out, my breath pluming in front of my face, and I tugged my scarf up under my nose. Making my way down the block, I kept walking straight, ignoring the street that led to the familiar hustle of the market, heading out to the start of something new and exciting. I had no idea of time, not having a watch, but by the time I had walked over a mile and a half there were more people around, more cars passing me. Checking the directions Tanya had dictated, I turned right, walking for three blocks. The Chicago River was not too far ahead, the wind whipping off of the water, icy and cutting, and stealing the breath from my lungs.

Looking around I spotted the small building and its friendly sign: ‘Chicago Happy Tails’. Eager to be out of the cold for a few moments, I pushed open the heavy door and stepped inside a brightly lit room. It looked a little like how I thought a vet’s office might look, with a reception desk and a strong smell of disinfectant. Somewhere in the building I heard barking and whining, and the skittering of claws on the shiny floor.

“Edward!” I turned to see Tanya’s smiling face appear from a door behind the desk. “Come on through. It’s good to see you. I hope you found us okay?”

I nodded with a smile, feeling a little shy all of a sudden.

“Right, well I expect you’d like to know what you’ll be doing for us today. So – we offer two types of service here at Happy Tails. We have a home visiting service where the walkers go to each house on their list and exercise each dog on its own for the requisite amount of time. Now, that works well if they’re all very local, but for obvious reasons it isn’t practical to ask people to walk dogs and have to walk long distances between each job. So for those we use walkers with their own transport. What I would like your help with is with our boarding residents. We’ll try you with one today and see how you do. If it works well, then in the future we can send you out with two or three to maximise your time and energy. How does that sound?”

I blinked. “That sounds great, Tanya. I’m happy to get started.”

She rubbed her hands together. “Right then. Come and meet Alice, our main carer here at the centre. It’s playtime at the moment, so it can be a little manic.” She led the way through two doors, opening the third into a bright, airy room where three, no, four, no five dogs of differing sizes were bounding around the room after balls and squeaky toys being thrown by a short, dark-haired girl who was beaming at them. The smallest dog was a dachshund, a sneaky player who could zip under the bigger dogs and steal the ball out from under them. The girl, Alice, was laughing at the antics, and I found myself joining in at the sheer audacity of the little dog.

“Alice? This is Edward! He’s going to be helping out with the exercising today to see if he fits the bill as our new casual walker. Can you show him the ropes and introduce him to Jupiter? Thank you.”

She turned to me. “I’ll leave you in Alice’s capable hands. Ask any questions you want to – we want you to feel comfortable. We’ll have a chat when you get back.” With a smile, she turned and disappeared back through to her office.

Alice stepped carefully through the melee of dogs and held out her hand.

“Hi Edward! Welcome to Happy Tails. As you can see, it’s entertaining! So – what experience do you have? Tanya said something about looking after a large dog belonging to a friend of hers?” I nodded.

“That’s right. Rosie is a cross – Labrador and something else, not sure what! She’s full of energy and so clever.”

Alice nodded. “That’s good, because Jupiter isn’t exactly small.” She waved her hand at the blur of playing dogs. “These guys are all small fireballs of energy and for the most part we can burn off some of that energy indoors between walks. Jupiter would trample poor little Fritzy over there.” She pointed to the dachshund. With a smile she beckoned me. “Come on, follow me.”

She led the way through to the back of the building, to where the residents spent their time. It was rather luxurious – they each had a pen long enough to allow them to stretch their legs, with comfy beds and toys, plenty of water and natural light. It was warm and I couldn’t help but compare it to mine and Jasper’s home.  I followed her to an enclosure towards the end of the room and saw a huge red setter watching, ears pricked, tail swishing.

Alice went over to the enclosure and started talking to the dog, who was by now vibrating with excitement, clearly knowing that a walk was imminent.

“Come and say hello, Edward. Let him hear your voice and get familiar with you. While you do that, I’ll fetch you some bags for your pocket, and show you how the leash works. He has a chest harness and an extender leash that his owner reckons she uses because he likes to run off.” She pulled a face. “I’ve walked him and he’s a sweetheart. Full of beans and loves to run; he just needs a firm hand and a definitive tone. When he knows who is in charge, he obeys with no problem. She should have trained him when he was a pup. Or maybe someone should have trained her.” She turned to me. “Think you’ll be okay with him? Keep him on the leash and see now he is with you. I’ll fetch you a ball too. Jupe loves to play.”

I knelt down and was immediately licked by the happy dog, whining and scrabbling to get out of his pen. “Hiya, boy. Want to go play? We’ll go and burn off some of that energy, okay? You going to be a good boy for me?” The short bark and pant told me he was ready to get going.

Alice reappeared, laughing. “Coming, Jupe! Let’s get your harness on.” She unlocked the pen and we were ambushed, beaten across the face and arms by the whipping tail while he danced around, desperate for attention. She showed me how to get him into his chest harness and make sure he couldn’t slip it, before attaching the leash. I commented on how quickly she did it and she looked up.

“Jupe’s a frequent flyer here. He’s one of a few that we offer a doggy day care service for. His owner works long hours and he gets bored on his own which is bad news. He gets to come out during the day for playtime here, plus he gets socialised with other dogs. It’s good for him. In fact, he often has the run of the place here because he hates being left on his own for long. But, it means that he’s getting more attached to us than his owner. It’s a shame.”

Hot breath blasted in our faces, his tongue lolling from his wide open smile in response. “If you can give him at least half an hour, longer if possible, that would be great. Have you got your phone with you?” I patted my pocket. “Good. Any problems, call in. Otherwise, we’ll see you both when you’re done.”

So, all equipped and ready, I followed Alice out of the building, Jupiter at my heels. She pointed to a good route that led to a small area suitable for play, and I nodded understanding. Rubbing Jupiter’s silky ears, I spoke to him while we walked down the sidewalk. He had no fear, didn’t flinch at traffic or people, and stayed close to me. When the space opened out, I let him have a little more leash, expecting him to pull ahead, but he carried on, ears cocked, his gait jaunty and carefree, tail waving. It was liberating to be walking the streets with a purpose. I discovered that people actually saw me, rather than their eyes sliding past me. Faces smiled when they looked at Jupiter, one or two people nodded to me when they passed us and I smiled back.

When we reached the play area I threw the ball and gave Jupiter the full length of lead to chase after it. He loved it every bit as much as Rosie, and the time flew by. I checked the phone for the time to make sure we didn’t run late. When he was panting, his tongue hanging out at its full length, I decided to see how well he obeyed simple commands. Shortening his lead, I ran him through the basics using a firm tone and strong eye contact. I was impressed when he sat immediately, watching me, his tail wagging the entire time. Next I tried a lie down command and he dropped to the grass again without hesitation. Lastly I decided to try a harder one, asking him for a paw. His head tilted to one side, not understanding, and so I crouched down to fuss him before repeating the command with a light tap to his foreleg. He looked down and then at me, so I did it again, holding out my hand, palm up. Head still on one side, he lifted his leg and tapped my hand. I laughed in delight, telling him he was a good boy and he danced around my legs, panting, happy with the praise.

Together we walked back to Happy Tails, stopping to drop off Jupe’s deposit into a pet waste bin. We arrived back almost an hour after leaving, and were met by Alice who looked at my flushed cheeks and a happy Jupiter with satisfaction.

“So – how’d it go?”

She removed Jupe’s harness and he went straight to his water bowl, noisy slurps filling the room. I told her about the walk and play session, mentioning the commands I had tried out. Raising an eyebrow, she cracked open the lid on a plastic tub and reached inside. Offering her hand to me, she dropped two biscuits into my palm.

“Show me.”

Jupiter smelled the biscuits and left his water bowl to eye me with undisguised hope. I looked at him for a long moment. “Jupiter – sit.” His bottom hit the floor, tail swishing. His tongue swiped his teeth, anticipating the biscuit. “Jupiter – down.” His front legs slid forward until his belly was on the floor, his eyes on my hand. I gave him a moment before calling him and rewarding him with a biscuit. Two crunches and it was gone with a loud smack of his jaws. Here goes nothing. I knelt down in front of him. I held out my hand, palm up. “Jupiter – paw.”  He sniffed my hand before understanding, touching his paw to my palm. I had no doubt that in time he would give me a paw to shake. “Good boy!” I rubbed his ears and neck, offering him the remaining biscuit which he accepted in a gentle fashion, despatching it with a quick crunch.

“I’m impressed, Edward.” Alice fastened the lid back on the tub. “Did he pull on the leash? Try and get away from you?” I must have looked confused because she tilted her head just like Jupe. “Tanya was right. You do have the touch. Well, he seems a happy boy. Come on – let’s go and let Tanya know how you did.”

I looked back to Jupiter and she shook her head. “He can come too. He hasn’t been out of the pen much today. Come on, boy.” He bounced ahead of her, leading the way to Tanya’s office, tapping at her door when we arrived. I heard her laugh from inside the room.

“Come in, guys. Hello, Jupiter!” He was at her side in a moment, wriggling with happiness and demanding more attention. “So how did you do?”

Alice repeated what I had told her and I watched a slow smile spread across her face.

“Well, I think we can consider this trial a success, Edward. As I said before, once you’re ready, it’s common to walk two or three at once, especially with the smaller dogs. They have their own pecking order and it works well. With the bigger dogs it will depend on the temperament. Some don’t want to play, so it would be a walk and that’s it. Are you happy for me to call you when we need you?”

I felt my smile almost break my face.

“That would be amazing. We had so much fun today! Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing from you.” I went to leave and she called me back. When I turned I saw her offering me twenty dollars. My face must have said it all.

“You deserve payment for a successful trial. You did a double session with Jupiter which was very much appreciated. He needs lots of exercise.”

I reached forward, feeling like I was in a dream, and accepted the money, folding it and tucking it inside my coat.

“Thank you very much. I hope I’ll be hearing from you soon.”

With my smile showing no sign of slipping, I said goodbye to them both and to Jupiter and set off for the market to see if they needed me before that evening’s shift.

By the time I arrived it was lunchtime, and my stomach was demanding food. I sat on the bench and ate my sandwiches, not feeling the cold as acutely with the blood pumping through me from that morning’s exercise. It was a wonderful surprise when I saw Esme and Rosie walking towards me, not in any hurry.

“Hi, Esme! I didn’t expect to see you!” I moved up on the seat to allow her some space.

She sat, Rosie between her knees while I ate. Once I finished, she let her rush over for attention and there was much sniffing of me before I got my usual exuberant hug.

“I smell of another dog. I’ve been unfaithful to you, Rosie!” I rubbed her ears and cheeks, loving the way she let me do whatever I wanted. Esme laughed at my comment.

“So, you started work then? Tell me all about it.”

We sat and I told her all about Jupiter and what Alice had said about him. She nodded and smiled, seemingly unsurprised.

“I had faith in you, Edward. Hopefully you’ll get plenty of calls. It’s easier money than running yourself ragged here, that’s for sure.” I couldn’t deny that she was right there. A thought occurred to me.

“Esme, forgive me if I’m out of line, but do you have a husband and a family? Someone to be proud of all the good you do?”

She looked down and I felt guilty. Clearly I had overstepped the mark. Then she looked at me, her eyes bleak when I was used to seeing them shine, full of compassion. I felt my face heat up and tried to backtrack.

“I’m sorry, I should never have asked…”

She touched my hand.

“It’s okay, Edward. I don’t mind.”

She took a deep breath and shifted on the bench, seeming nervous, her hands twisting in her lap.

“I did have a husband. We were married for a year when I fell pregnant. I was so happy.” Her face twisted into a weak smile before her eyes fluttered shut. “I had a son. He was… stillborn.” Her voice was no more than a whisper and my hand reached for hers to offer comfort. “He would have been 19 now.” She was silent for a long moment. “My husband, he couldn’t take it. I needed him and he… left. We were divorced not long afterwards.”

He abandoned her? When she was grieving? What a prince.

“Esme, I’m so sorry. I never meant to bring up such hurtful memories. Forgive me.”

I leaned in and pulled her into a gentle hug. Her head fell onto my shoulder, her body slumping against me, trusting me to hold her. We sat together in the cold air, me trying to offer her all the possible support I could.

She squeezed my hand, her smile resigned.

“It was a long time ago. Life moves on and you have to move with it.”

“You never met anybody new? That’s such a long time to be alone.”

She sat up, her hand still in mine. I was happy to see that her eyes were dry, just full of painful recollection.

“I’ve got Rosie, and a circle of wonderful friends. That’s more than so many people get in this life.”

I looked at her, making sure she understood.

“You have me as a friend too. You’ve done so much already for Jasper and me, so much we can never repay.”

She nodded, a small smile curving her lips.

“Oh, Edward. Don’t you understand? I don’t need repayment. I just want to see you on your feet and leading a full life. You and Jasper. Do I get to meet this man of yours some day?”

I grinned.

“When he’s feeling up to it, we’ll both come and eat at the soup kitchen. I can’t wait to introduce you; he’s heard all about you, believe me.”

She reached for Rosie, stroking the soft head that rested on her knees, big eyes watching her sad mistress.

“Did he like the books you took home? I bet he was surprised.”

I felt my face brighten.

“Oh yes! He couldn’t believe it! I don’t think they’ll last him too long. I’ll have to hope Lillian comes again before Christmas - I could sneak in a few more as a present. He wouldn’t expect it. Maybe get some paper to wrap them.”

“You know, Edward, the soup kitchen serves lunch on Christmas Day if you and Jasper would like to come? It’s always a very well attended event. We sing some carols and there’s a little gift for everyone, something useful – socks, gloves, something like that. It would be lovely to have you there.” Her hopeful expression spoke volumes about her own loneliness.

“That’s amazing – I can’t imagine anyone ever says no to that. We’ll be there. We were only talking about that last night, about trying to buy a cooked chicken and take it home because we don’t have any way of cooking one…” I tailed off with a small laugh. She knew this, and I wasn’t out for sympathy. We were going places, Jasper and me – things were changing and we just needed to be patient for a bit longer.

“That’s wonderful. Come be in the warm with friends and good food for a bit. It’s good for the soul. So, what are you asking Santa for this year?”

I looked at her with a quizzical expression and she laughed. Rosie’s tail thumped at the sound. My thumb rubbed the weather-beaten wood of the bench and I looked at the ground when I answered, suddenly bashful.

“Santa? Well, I think he delivered well enough on last year’s wish. I have a home and someone special, plus a new job. What more could I want? I won’t bother him this year. He’s a busy guy you know.” I half-laughed at my own joke, looking up at her kind face. “You know, I spotted a Goodwill store while we were on the bus to the clinic. When Jasper’s well and I’ve earned a bit more money, he and I should go there and see what we can get. Maybe a kettle or a toaster. I know I need more boots before the snow comes.” I looked down at my boots, heavily worn when I had found them, that were now on the verge of giving up the ghost. “This new job means so much and it’s going to make such a difference. I really can’t thank you enough for helping us.”

She leaned over, her face wreathed in smiles, and kissed my forehead before standing up.

“I better be going and finish this girl’s walk.” Her hand patted Rosie, who was nudging my knee. “I’ll see you soon, Edward. Look after that boy of yours.”

I beamed. “I promise. I’ll see you soon, Esme. You too, Rosie!” With one last rub of her ears, I patted her and sent her off with her mistress, watching them walk away before I headed inside to see what work I could drum up to add to the day’s profits.

~o.O.o~