Daisy stands up. “Well, since you’re here, I’m going to head inside.” She sticks her hand out.
Noah grasps her hand. “You don’t have to leave on our account. All three of us could hang out.”
Em bites her lower lip to stop laughing. Usually, by this time on past trips, you’d find Daisy in front of a slot machine donating money.
Daisy, hands in her front jeans pocket, shakes her head from side-to-side. “No thanks. It was nice to meet you, but I’m pretty sure there’s a machine in there calling my name.”
Noah chuckles. “It’s a nice sunny day out here, which translates to Vitamin D.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. Em, I’ll see you tonight for dinner,” Daisy says.
“Yep, you will.”
Daisy turns on her heel and heads to the doors that lead directly onto the casino floor.
Em smiles, watching Daisy go and turns to look at Noah. “Sorry about that. I’m surprised she stayed out here this long.”
Shrugging, Noah says, “It’s okay. I think I understand the excitement aspect of gambling. I equate that to the feeling I get after successfully pulling a kid off the streets or getting them clean. I didn’t have lunch today. You wanna grab a slice with me?”
“I’ll go with you, but I’m not hungry. Where’s the best place for a slice on the boards?”
“Follow me. There’s actually a couple of good places.”
A smile on her face and her head high, she matches his pace as the sun continues to warm her face. Thanks to the breeze, she occasionally catches the scent of the salty brine from the sea during the trek to the pizza shop.
Noah stops occasionally to hand out a zip-lock bag containing a bottle of water, a pack of peanut butter crackers, a pair of socks, and a sundry of other dry goods to kids and adults. A card with the address and phone number for his center is also included.
Each recipient thanks him profusely with words, a handshake, and sometimes, a hug.
He didn’t shrink from any of them, returning the handshakes and the hugs. He even took the time to introduce his friend, Em.
Body odor, urine, and something she didn’t recognize assault her nose, with each encounter and she fights to keep her face neutral. She shakes their hands and receives their hugs.
Continuing to walk, Noah says, “Thank you. Most people ignore them. The personal contact helps remind them they exist and they are human. I know this is probably tough for you.”
Her heart flips. “My heart hurts for them because I am sure they each have their own story about why they are out here. Homeless. Many of these people are odorous. That is tough.”
“Yeah, it is, but you will get used to it. Here we are,” Noah says, pulling open the glass door of a pizza shop.
She pulls in a deep breath. The delectable smells of baking bread, hot tomato sauce, and a variety of meats cooking make her mouth water. “Now this, this smells wonderful. I think I will have a slice. If that’s okay?”
Chuckling, “Yeah, it is. Do you want a plain slice?”
“You’re kidding right?”
“Uhm, I wasn’t but I guess I was.”
“You can’t have just cheese on a slice. There’s gotta be meat and other goodies. Today though, I’ll have extra pepperoni.”
“You got it,” Nick says, stepping up to the counter. “I’ll take two pig slices and one extra pepperoni. Oh, and two bottles of water.” He turns back around to face Em. “Or do you want pop?”
“No, water is fine.”
Noah hands some bills over to the cashier.
The cashier hands over two bottles of waters.
Noah grabs the waters. “They’ll bring our slices to the table. Do you want to eat outside?”
“Is it safe?”
“Ace will not bother you in my presence. You will be safe. C’mon.”
They select a table in the sun and sit down.
“This is nice,” Em says, facing the ocean and people watching.
“This is my favorite time of the year here. It’s sunny, warm, and there’s people but few people. How’s your life? Why did you call me the other night?”
“Daisy and I like this time of the year but also the fall for the same reasons. I don’t know what I was thinking the other night and I shouldn’t have called you. We barely know each other.”
“Okay. You still didn’t answer one question.”
“What’s that?”
“How’s your life?”
She gazes into his nut-brown eyes. Her breathing slows. “Right now it’s good. It’s better than a year ago.”
He leans forward over the glass topped, small round table. “Why?”
Tipping her head back, she pulls in a deep breath. “My brother-in-law was killed in a car accident and I had to move in with my sister to help care for my adorable niece and nephew. My sister broke with the news of his death. He was her everything just as she was his.”
“Wow,” he says, leaning back in the metal chair.
“Yeah. My life for the past year has been caring for my sister, my three-year-old niece, and my one-year-old nephew. Ruby, my sister, had good days, but she had more bad days than good. Then a couple of months after the death of my brother-in-law, my mom is diagnosed with Alzheimers.”
The pounding of feet on the boards along with screaming has Em turning around. She pales and her hands begin shaking.