"Tomorrow morning," she said, looking up at George. "My husband and I had been planning this off and on for a few months. We finally locked in the reservations last month.*
"Sounds wonderful," George said, his features sunny, carefree. He looked immaculate in his white shirt and blue satin vest. "You driving up 101? It's a beautiful drive.
"Yes, it is," Lisa had agreed. "We're going to take a nice, leisurely drive up"
"How long does it take to get up there?" Danielle had asked.
"Four hours," Lisa had said. "Brad has a few things to do tomorrow morning, then we'll probably leave from there, around ten or so."
"Sounds like you're going to have a good weekend," George had said, nodding at her."Have a good time." He had turned and headed to his office.
Of course, Lisa had been bursting at the seams to tell Danielle about her impending pregnancy, but she didn't want to jinx it. So she had kept it to herself and somehow found the strength to not let that little secret out.
Thanks to George Brooks's suggestion, she made reservations at Bonito's in Cambria that afternoon for the following evening. She found out the restaurant had an elegant setting, with a fireplace, soft music, and candlelight. She was going to give Brad the news there. The anticipation she was feeling was nerve-racking. She knew Brad was going to be ecstatic. But she wanted the right setting to tell him; she wanted to surprise him.
When they were finished eating lunch, Brad paid the bill and Lisa went to the ladies'room. When she came out and joined Brad outside near the entrance, she found him talking to a tall blond woman dressed in blue jeans and a cream-colored blouse; both garments looked stained with dirt. The woman looked like she had been crying recently, tearstains had tracked rough furrows in the remnants of her makeup and made her mascara run. Resting on a small concrete ledge by the woman was a travel bag, a diaper bag, and a baby seat with an infant swaddled in a blanket. The infant was awake, its eyes staring upward, making cooing sounds. Brad turned to Lisa as she stepped out. "Do you have any change?" Brad said. "I've only got large bills and-"
"Sure," Lisa said, reaching to her wallet automatically. She looked curiously at the woman. "What fort
The woman turned toward Lisa, her features pleading. "1'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but… I… I asked your husband if he could spare some change. I'm..
Homeless, Lisa thought. Her fingers dosed over her wallet. She hesitated, her eyes meeting Brad's. She normally didn't give money to homeless people. All they did was buy booze or drugs with it anyway. Besides, there were shelters and organizations designed to help those legitimately in need. If this woman was really homeless, why didn't she just go to a shelter? "Let me see what I have" Lisa said, opening her wallet.
'I really appreciate it," the woman said. She looked defeated, ragged and tired. "I've… I'm so sorry to have bothered you.. "She sounded on the verge on tears.
"It's okay," Lisa said, flipping through her bills. Something about the woman's tone of voice spiked through her emotions. The baby started to cry.
"Shhh, it's okay, Mandy," the woman said to the infant, crooning to her. "Mommy will feed you in a minute."
Lisa flipped through ones, fives, a few tens, and rested on a twenty. She glanced at Brad; she knew Brad had twenties, but knew he was apprehensive about giving homeless people such large sums of money, too. However, this woman seemed different. She truly looked like she was in a desperate situation.
Lisa pulled the twenty out and handed it to the woman. "Here. I hope this can help"
At the sight of the bill, the woman's eyes widened. "Oh, thank you! This is-I don't know how to thank you. I've… I've never… I never thought this would happen to me and-" She burst into sudden tears.
Brad shuffled awkwardly, looking uncomfortable. Lisa felt uncomfortable, too. "Everything will be okay," she said. She sounded stupid saying it. Obviously, the way the woman was crying indicated that everything was not okay in her world.
"1'm sorry." The tears suddenly stopped and the woman pulled a ragged Kleenex from her purse and dried her eyes with it. She struggled to hold the tears in. "I'm sorry, it's just that… I never thought this would happen to me. 'Fwo weeks ago I wasn't homeless and I had a job and now.. " Her features screwed up, threatening to unleash a flood of tears again, but she fought them down. She looked at them through tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry. You don't need to hear my sob story."
"It's okay," Brad said, embarrassed. He reached into his wallet and rifled through it. He handed her another twenty. "Here, maybe you can get a motel room for the night."
The woman looked at the offered twenty, then slowly took it. "'Thank you," she whispered.
Lisa couldn't help but be affected by the woman's plight. Homeless and with a small infant, she didn't appear to be the typical homeless person she encountered from time to time when she had to drive into downtown Los Angeles or Santa Ana for court appearances. The homeless people she encountered there were dirty, ugly, smelly, and lazy. This woman reminded Lisa of herself in a way; she appeared intelligent and headstrong. The fact that she mentioned that she had once held a job told Lisa that the woman had the ability to earn a living. She wondered if drugs had caused her downfall. She glanced at the infant, who had reduced her crying back down to simple mewling. The baby seemed fine, not the kind of baby she thought would have been born to a drugaddicted mother.
"There's YWCA centers all over the place," Lisa heard herself say. "% can help you find one if you want!
"No, that's okay.' The woman shook her head. She had gotten herself under control now She shoved the two twenties into her purse. "I've already tried them, but… they're all filled up. I've been doing okay, really. I've only had to sleep in my car for the past two nights. I was staying with a friend, but her husband told her that she didn't want Mandy and me to stay with them anymore, and I ran out of money three days ago."
"I'm sorry," Lisa said, softly.
The woman looked at Lisa with a strong resolve. "It's okay. I… he's a jerk anyway. He's friends with my former boyfriend. He's the one that kicked us out of the house and fired me. He was cheating on me the whole time I was pregnant with our daughter. I didn't find out until three weeks ago. When I confronted him with it, he got angry and had me fired, then he threw us out of the house.'
"How could he have you fired?" Brad asked.
"Easy; the woman said, turning to Brad. "He was my boss at my job. It was stupid of me to fall in love with the guy who hired me, but I did. I thought we had a good thing going, especially when I found out I was pregnant." She sighed. "1 was so stupid! He came across as so lonely and broke and… I helped pay his bills. I literally ran the limit of my credit cards up to help him out, and now… She shook her head. "He took me for a fool"
"What about your parents?" Lisa asked.
"My mom died ten years ago and my dad disowned me not long after,' she said. "He has his own problems. The chief one being he's a dosed-minded, bigoted preacher. I was married once before and left my hus band for the same reason that got me kicked out of Richard's house. My father sees marriage as this strict thing. If you leave your spouse, you're committing adultery if you remarry. I started dating right away and…" She shrugged. He disowned me. We haven't spoken in seven years. I called him when Mandy was born, but he refused to speak to me."
Lisa felt heartbroken over the woman's story. She joined Brad, feeling awkward and embarrassed.
The woman turned to them. She looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry I burdened you with this. Thank you for helping me out. I promise you that the money will be put to good use. I've got a little one that is more of a concern to me right now."