31. Go Easy On Him
THIRTY-ONE
Go Easy On Him
STEVE & TARA
Steve
Cutting across the park in the square, Steve rounded the corner of the town hall and caught the movement of what looked like a foot sticking out of the small recessed entryway that led to his apartment. As he drew closer, he could make out the shape of someone sitting on the ground in the doorway, clutching a duffle bag for dear life. Whoever it was, it looked like he’d nodded off to sleep. Grant’s Crossing only had a few unhoused people, but they typically found places to sleep by Taft Park, closer to the river.
Steve gave him a wide berth and stepped onto the street to view him head-on. What he saw wasn’t pretty. The young man looked like he’d been through one hell of a fight.
His wrist was already in a cast.
Steve stepped closer and recognized him. It was the kid from the car accident earlier in the week. He rushed over and crouched down beside him. “John.” He squeezed his shoulder to rouse him. “Jonathan.”
With a yelp, John jumped to his feet, protecting his face with his arms. He squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them to pick up his bag. Since he also wore a backpack, he clutched it against his chest like a shield.
Steve took a step back and held his arms up, palms out. “It’s me. Steve Cook.”
John narrowed his eyes and looked him up and down to verify he was who he said he was.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Steve said.
John closed his eyes and slouched, falling back against the door with a relieved exhale.
“What happened?”
John looked up at Steve with tears in his eyes. “Me and Dad...” he said, starting but unable to complete the sentence.
“What about your dad?” Steve’s eyes darkened with anger. “Did he do this to you?”
He just nodded. His body shook as the tears fell.
“Son of a...” Taking a deep breath, Steve closed his eyes for a moment, figuring his own anger at the kid’s father wouldn’t help the immediate situation.
“Let’s get you out of the cold.” Steve put a reassuring hand on John’s shoulder and entered his code to open the door.
Tara
Ready to start her day, Tara placed a box of Christmas lights in her car to have at the shop for when the days shortened and the sun hid behind the buildings opposite hers on the square. Christmas was still a few months away, but she loved the idea of stringing bright lights around the window displays so no matter what time of day, passers-by could read the titles of the latest and greatest books for sale.
She made one last trip inside to grab her purse and jacket. If last night’s cool weather was anything to go by, Tara wanted to make sure she was warm even when there wasn’t an annoyingly good-looking firefighter to offer her his jacket. He and Kiro were on shift so he wouldn’t be coming to her rescue..
She parked her car in the alley just behind the square and arrived at the back door to the shop just as Lydia was unlocking the door. They exchanged greetings and walked in together.
Lydia pulled a taped note off of the door. “Hey, there’s a note for you,” she said.
Tara walked inside, set the box in the office, and accepted the folded piece of paper with her name handwritten on the outside. She ignored Lydia’s amused expression as she unfolded the note.
“Is that from your firefighter friend?”
Tara scoffed. “Firefighter friend?”
“Yes,” Lydia confirmed. “Your mom said something about a firefighter living above the shop.”
Heat rushed to Tara’s cheeks. “Oh. Yeah. Um…” She fidgeted with the note. “Yeah. There’s a guy up there.”
Lydia’s smirk let Tara know she wasn’t buying it.
“Right.” Lydia hung up her jacket and stashed her purse in her cubby. Pointing over her shoulder with her thumb, Lydia backed out of the office. “I’ll just go ahead and open up the front.”
“Okay,” Tara opened the letter and started reading as Lydia disappeared down the hall to the main shop. Tara waved at the empty doorway without looking up. “Thanks.”
Mornin’ Sugar,
Remember the kid I told you about from the car accident? He got kicked out last night and didn’t have a place to stay. He doesn’t have a key, so I told him you could help in case he got locked out. He can use a friend, so go easy on him. Please. His name’s John Hayden.
I’m on shift, but I can get away in an emergency. My cell is 636-555-1924.
Enjoyed keeping you warm last night.
Steve
Tara reread the note.
Poor kid.
Where did this non-cocky, softer side of Steve come from? She put a pin in that thought and joined Lydia up front to ready the shop for opening.
Around an hour after the first customer arrived, Lydia was shelving a handful of books when there was a knock at the back door of the shop.
“That’s probably Mom,” Tara said as she tore the receipt off the printer and handed it to the town realtor. “Here you go, Ms. Redfield. Enjoy!”
“Thank you, Tara, but how many times do I need to tell you to call me Jackie? Tell your mom I said hello.”
“I sure will.”
Tara headed down the hallway and opened the door. “Hey, Mom.” She must have pulled it open a bit too fast because the young man standing on the other side flinched. She offered a friendly smile. “Oh. Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
He kept his head down, but Tara caught the makings of a black eye, and he cradled his wrist close to his stomach. It was secured in a hard brace, fastened with Velcro.
This had to be Steve’s guest. She softened her voice. “Hi. You must be John.”
He directed his eyes anywhere but at her as if he expected someone to jump out at any moment. He mumbled in the affirmative.
“Steve said you might stop by. I’m Tara. Would you like to come in?” Tara stepped away from the door and held it open. She gestured toward the office. “You’re welcome to have a seat in our office or…”
“I’m locked out, and… I’m hungry. Steve’s refrigerator is empty, and…” He bit his lip as he finally lifted a watery gaze toward Tara. “I don’t got a car ‘cause I wrecked mine. No phone, neither. And I have to pee and… well… Steve said you’ve got a key.”
Tara masked her shock at John’s face. In addition to the black eye, he had cuts on his nose and lip. Plus, he had quite a bruise on his jawline.
She wondered what the other guy looked like, though he did say he wrecked his car.
It was a lot to take in, so Tara started with the basics. “Of course.” She welcomed him inside the back door. “The bathroom’s right through here. I need to run up front real quick, but come back here when you’re done so we can tackle the rest, okay?” She gestured toward the office.
Tara waited a moment as John gingerly made his way into the bathroom. While he was in there, she hurried up front to make sure Lydia had everything covered. Fortunately, Helen had just arrived so Tara greeted her mom with a quick hug. “Steve has a friend over who needs a few things. I’m going to give him a hand, okay?”
“Sure, honey.”
Tara took her mom’s jacket and purse and returned to the office where John stood waiting. She quickly hung her mom’s jacket and stowed the purse in the designated cubby, then turned to face John.
He was a skinny thing, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Probably a little taller than Tara, he made himself seem smaller by slouching against the wall. He stared down, taking inventory of everything below knee level.
“So how can I help, John? Do you need a ride someplace?” She kept her voice soft. “You’re welcome to join us for lunch.”
“I’ve got money to buy food. I don’t got a car,” he spoke in a low voice as if he were expending all his energy to release the words. “I can walk to the store.”
“Connor’s?” Tara asked about the locally-owned grocery store a good mile and a half away.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s pretty far...” Tara exhaled. “Tell you what.”
“What?”
“I’ve got to run out for a few things anyway. Why don’t you join me?”
He finally lifted his eyes and met hers. “Join you?”
“Sure,” she spun around to grab her jacket off the rack.
“But, why?”
“I’m going there anyway.”
“I...”
Steve was obviously helping this kid out. And for whatever reason, he felt John was safe enough to send her way.
“What do you say we start by getting you back into Steve’s apartment so you can get your jacket?”
John hesitated a few seconds and glanced at her sideways, so Tara smiled.
“Steve said you could come to me if you needed anything, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, he was right.” She gestured toward the back door with a big smile. “You coming?”
Tara and John bagged their groceries and headed back to her car.
“I can’t believe you bought all that extra food,” John said while loading the bags into the truck of Tara’s car.
“You said you’d be staying with Steve for a little while. You’ve gotta eat!”
He loaded the last few bags while Tara returned the cart to a corral. She climbed into the car and turned the engine. As she was backing out, John turned serious.
“Thank you for driving me to the store.”
“You’re welcome,” Tara said while maneuvering through the parking lot at Connor’s Grocery.
“Steve...” John paused a few seconds before finishing. “Took me in last night.”
Tara glanced his way for a moment as she waited at the stoplight. He turned away from her and looked out the passenger window.
Did he just sniff?
“Dad kicked me out.”
“Kicked you out?” What kind of parents would do that to their son? Tara couldn’t imagine her parents ever doing that to her or her brothers and sister. They were always welcome there.
“Yeah. I’m...” He stopped talking and stared out the window.
“You’re what?” She asked casually while watching a large truck cross the intersection before her. When he didn’t speak, she glanced over. “John?”
He huffed out a response. “I’m gay, alright?”
What is with people?!
“Okay, but what does that have to do with... wait.” She swore under her breath. “He kicked you out for being gay?”
When he didn’t answer, she said the only thing she could think of. “I’m glad you had someone you could go to.”
He shrugged and mumbled out a response. “Yeah.”
When the light turned green, she smiled. “And now you have two.”
From the corner of her eye, she caught a hint of a smile cross his face.