I wrote the following story in December as a writing exercise. Many thanks for fellow author J.A. Marlow for her support during that class. You can see her blog here: http://jamarlow.com/

A New Life

A sleek, black town car pulled up to the curb across the street. A tall white woman, sandy blonde hair pulled to the back of her head in a French twist, got out of the back right door.  Settling her patent leather handbag in the crook of her arm with leather gloved hands; she turned to her right and began a quick walk along the sidewalk. A woman sat on a sheet of cardboard against the front wall of the haberdashery. She pulled her crocheted knit cap down to cover her ears. The raveling yarn of the hat made a hole where graying black hair showed through.

A torn piece of cardboard with the words, Please Help, scrawled on it lay in front of her crossed legs, held down with two broken pieces of brick. The woman in the mink stopped, bent down, and dropped a folded bill into the red plastic can. She stood and walked quickly to the 5 star restaurant a quarter block away. She looked up the street as she opened the door and a rush of warm air stirred the fine hair around her face. The woman on the cardboard nodded and she went inside.

Two hours later, the woman in the mink left the restaurant. Her town car was parked up the block, the only available parking space. The knit cap woman was standing, arms wrapped around herself, shifting from foot to foot. She saw two men, three day old beards shadowing their faces, lurking in the alley and peeking around the corner to the sidewalk. At two in the afternoon, foot traffic along the block was thin. People were at work or in the stores. She stopped shifting when she saw her benefactor walking toward her, face down out of the cold wind.

She hesitated. She’d been attacked before and hospitalized for days with a broken arm, broken ribs and a concussion. The men looked mean, and desperate. Junkies, she thought, as she saw how thin they were. They wouldn’t like her interference. Her benefactor grew nearer. If she didn’t do something, the two men, whispering and pointing around the side of the building would attack the woman.

She stepped out to the middle of the sidewalk. The men glared at her. The woman in mink was getting closer. The beggar saw the older woman slow down. The men pushed at each other and pointed at her. Her heart rate skyrocketed. Would they come after her? The well dressed woman approached the alley corner. She had to do something fast. The men shook their fists. She turned around to look behind her. The men couldn’t see what she was looking at.

“Cops comin’,” she hissed.

The men froze. She turned around to face them. “Cops!” One of the men punched the other in the arm. They turned to run, knocking over a pile of crates in their hurry. They were out of sight down the alley when the well dressed woman passed the edge of the building. She turned to look at the noise.

She sighed and walked the last 10 feet to her savior. She held out a hand. “Thank you.”

The older woman hesitated. People rarely talked to her. They never shook hands. She reached out her right hand tentatively. The woman took it with both of hers. “You saved me from a mugging, maybe saved my life.” She stepped forward and hugged the older woman.

“My name is Elaine Manking. What’s your name?”

She didn’t know what to do. “Uh, Mitzy. Mitzy Polanski.”

“Ms. Polanski, may I ask why you’re on the street? Do you live out here?”

Mitzy thought that was too personal a question. She backed up a step.

“I’m sorry. I’ve distressed you. I didn’t mean to be so nosy. I just wanted to know if I can help. Do you need a job?”

Mitzy edged her way back to her coffee can. “I could use work.” She broke down her barriers enough to admit, “I left my husband. It’s hard to get a job if you don’t have a place to live.”

Elaine nodded. “I think I can help. Would you be willing to come with me?”

Since escaping her drunken, brutal husband, no one had offered any help at all. Mitzy stared, trust in the kindness of strangers was long gone. “Where to?”

“My apartment. You’ve saved my life, I need to repay it. You can stay in my guest bedroom. We’ll get you set up, new clothes, a job, an apartment. It’s the least I can do.”

Mitzy nodded. “Fair enough.” She thought for a moment. “Your husband going to be OK with this?”

Elaine smiled. “He will be once I explain.” She held out her hand. “Come, the car is just up the block. Let’s get out of this cold wind.”

Mitzy picked up the can and tucked it under her arm. She picked up the cardboard and brick and tossed them into the dumpster in the alley. “I’m ready,” she said.

They walked to the car and got in. A new life was waiting.

The End

852 Words

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