“One ticket to Boston, please,” Jack said as he fumbled around for his wallet. He patted the empty back pockets of his perfectly ironed trousers but felt nothing. Above him, a floodlight flickered on just as the sun faded away behind the mountains. Jack, thankful for a light in the midst of a dark street, began searching through his pocketed, soft-shell briefcase.
Behind the counter, a rather rotund, half-bald man sat in his seat. He stared at Jack with dull eyes and a motionless face, and a thin cigarette hung from his grey lips. “One-thirteen ninety-five,” he grunted, coughing when the words left his mouth. His oversized hand barely fit through the small hole in the glass that separated the two men, but he shoved it through nonetheless.
“Well, I know I have it here somewhere,” Jack mumbled to himself as he checked the many compartments of the bag he was carrying. He shifted his laptop computer and his stack of papers around in sudden panic, searching for the old black leather wallet that he had carried since college.
Jack dropped his bag on the ground and bent down over it, continuing his search. He sat his worn laptop on the bench next to him and quickly pulled out a few folders stuffed with endless paperwork. He strew his many pens and contracting tools on the ground, emptying the contents of the small satchel. In a last desperate attempt, Jack shook the bag upside down in the air, waiting and hoping for his wallet to fall out. But as only a few coins slipped from their hidden places deep in the briefcase and fell to the dark cement, Jack let the bag down and sighed.
Where could it— Before Jack finished the thought, it hit him. His mind raced back to that morning in his small hotel room when he had shoved his wallet in the inside pocket of his suit coat. He had hoped to avoid this very situation, but between the many phone calls and taxi rides he had taken between then and now, Jack had lost track of the small wallet’s whereabouts.
He stood up and, for the first time, realized the mess he had made, the contents of his briefcase scattered across the ground. “Sorry,” he mumbled to the attendant, who was glaring harder than ever. Jack stood up, pulling at the front of his coat, and stuck his hand into the wallet-sized opening. The familiar leather was warm, and he sighed, a cloud of frozen breath rising from his mouth. He pulled out a couple bills and put them in the man’s hand. Jack, frustrated and a little embarrassed, bent down and began packing up his things.
“Here’s your change.” Jack glanced up to see the fat hand protruding from the glass again and hurriedly gathered his pens and tools, shoving them into his bag. He zipped the briefcase and stood up.
As he reached for the change, he pulled his bag over his shoulder, and something caught his attention. His arm fell mid-stretch. Across the street, in the dark alleyway between a small sandwich shop and a towering corporate office, Jack saw two bare legs extending from the shadows. “What in the world?” He squinted his eyes, trying to make out the silhouette of a person, but the darkness masked any further detail. I think that’s a girl. Jack took a step towards the road as he looked into the darkness.
“Sir, your change!” the man barked, still holding his hand out.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Jack thrust his arm out as he continued to look at the mysterious person. Just before his hand reached the window, the attendant dropped the money, and Jack looked back to see coins and bills scatter across the ground. The attendant slouched back in his seat as Jack bent down again.
“Your train leaves in half an hour. Don’t think it’ll wait around on you either.” Grabbing his ticket from the counter, Jack ignored the brusque comment from the attendant. He looked around for any forgotten items and then made his way to the road. He waited for nearby cars to pass along the busy downtown avenue, and when he saw the light change from green to yellow and finally to red, he hurried across the street.
※
“Hello... Are you okay?” Erin felt a hand slightly shaking her forearm. “Wake up.” She opened her eyes a bit, but her vision was blurred. “Wake up!”
“Huh?” she grumbled, straitening as she rubbed her eyes. When she could see, she looked up into the face of a strange man. “What!” she screamed, pushing herself away from the tall figure. Her back slammed into something hard behind her, and she couldn’t move any further. “What d’you want?”
“Oh,” he said, stepping back and holding his hands out. “No, it’s okay. I’m not— I’m just making sure you’re alright.” He paused for a second, and Erin pulled her hair behind her ears. “Are you alright?”
“What’s going on? Who are you?” She looked around at the brick walls on either side of her, recognizing the downtown alleyway.
“I’m Jack,” he said as he looked at her. He was crouched down next to a black briefcase and lowered his hands a bit as he stared at Erin. “I don’t know what happened. I was just across the street, and I noticed you here.”
She sat against a green dumpster lining the wall of Johnson & Emery Law Firm. Her muscles tense, Erin noticed a cut on her forearm and looked at the ground. Her purse, its contents strewn across the cement, lay next to her, but her wallet was missing.
“I think,” she said, fumbling through the pile of objects, “I think I was mugged!” She picked her phone up, which was snapped in half, the screen shattered. “Ugh!”
“Well, are you hurt?”
“I d’know,” she looked around at her arms and then her legs.
Still crouching, Jack stared at her. “Uh,” he said, touching the skin under his own eye, “your face is—”
Erin pulled her sleeve over her fist and wiped at a gash on her cheek, blood staining the white cotton. She winced a little at the pain as she stared at the red smudge. Looking up, she noticed Jack’s business suit and felt more at ease, but her eyes were still wide, her thoughts racing back and forth.
“I can’t remember what happened,” she said, staring down at the sidewalk and wrapping her arms around herself. “Last thing I know is I was at the coffee shop.”
“Today?” Jack asked.
“I think so. What’s today?”
Jack paused for a moment, scratching the stubble that covered the bottom half of his face. “Thursday.”
“What?” she exclaimed, pushing herself upright. “I left the coffee shop on Tuesday!” Erin shivered as a breeze raced through the dark alley, and slouching back, she pulled her legs close to her chest. “How have I been here this long?”
A moment passed before Jack said,“Here,” standing up and slipping out of his suit coat. “Looks like you need this more than I do.”
“Thanks.” Her eyes gazed up at him, and she pulled the coat around her body. Another person could have fit inside, but she was thankful for the warmth.
“You hungry?”
“Uh,” she mumbled, looking back down at the ground. “Kinda.”
“Well, hold on. I’ll be right back.”
She watched, running her hands through her blonde hair, as Jack walked around the corner of the alleyway and into Arnie’s Sandwich Shop. His briefcase sat on the pavement. When he disappeared, Erin grabbed the top of the dumpster and pulled herself up. Her legs shook, but she gripped the green metal and finally found her balance.
What am I gonna do? she thought to herself. Her eyes jumped back and forth, looking around the alley. “My wallet’s gone. My phone’s broken. Mom and Dad are gonna kill me! I shouldn’t have even left in the first place.” The silence was thick for a second as Erin paced back and forth.. “But this is not my fault!”
She leaned against the dumpster, wondering when Jack would return. Staring down at her wrist, she noticed the red and orange bracelet Cameron had given her. Tears fell to the ground as she caressed the small band, and the memory of Cameron’s smile filled her mind.
No, she thought, immediately pushing the thought out. Stop crying, Erin. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t even be here right now. Everything would be just fine! She wiped her eyes as she continued to argue her own innocence, but nothing seemed to work. She couldn’t help but miss him.
※
“Welcome to Arnie’s. You can sit wherever you like.” A short, dark-headed woman made her way around the counter towards Jack. She pulled a pen and notepad out of her flannel apron as he walked towards the cash register, staring at the large menu board on the back wall.
“Let me just get a turkey and swiss to go,” Jack said, reaching in his pocket for his change from the train station.
“Oh, okay,” the woman said through a mouth full of bubble gum. “Turkey and swiss!” she screamed through the kitchen window. As she turned back to Jack, the stench of cheap cigarettes met his nostrils, and he coughed a little. “Anything else, hun?”
“Uh, I’ll get a cup of hot chocolate too, I guess.”
The woman pulled a paper cup from under the counter and sat it in front of him. “Hot chocolate’s over there,” she pointed, and Jack looked over his shoulder. She pushed several buttons on the cash register and printed off a receipt. “That’ll be five sixty-four.”
Jack handed her a five dollar bill and a few ones. “Keep the change,” he said with a crooked smile as he picked up his cup. He walked across the room and filled his paper mug, grabbing a lid and a couple napkins. As he waited, he glanced out the window over towards the train station, looking to see if the young girl had walked away.
“Here’s your order, sweetie. Have a good night.” Jack turned to see the woman throw his receipt and a peppermint into the brown paper bag with the rest of his food. He walked over to the counter, still wondering where the girl had come from.
“Thanks,” he replied as he walked back out onto the sidewalk and rounded the corner of the building. He found her sitting exactly where he had left her.
※
Erin sniffled as she heard the door to Arnie’s open and quickly slid down against the dumpster where she had been sitting before. She stared up at him, touching the ground just as Jack came into view. Noticing a brown bag and a cup in his hands, a weak smile spread across her face.
“Here y’go,” Jack said, his breathe visible in the cold air as he spoke. “You like hot chocolate?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Great. I figured this would help with the cold.” He handed her the cup, steam pouring from the tiny hole in the lid.
Feeling a little skeptical, Erin waited before drinking. “You really didn’t have to do this, y’know? I live close to town. I would’ve been fine.”
“No, I wanted to,” Jack said, sitting down in front of her. “It’s freezing out here, and even a two-mile walk is bound to be hard when you haven’t eaten in days. I couldn’t just leave you here.” The corner of his mouth pulled up into a half-smile, and he looked down at the paper bag that he was still holding. “Here.” He thrust it toward her. “This is for you too.”
“Thanks.” She returned his smile and drank from the steaming cup, deciding she could trust him. Reaching into the small bag, Erin pulled out a sandwich wrapped in white paper.
“I hope you like turkey and swiss. I figured everyone does, right?”
“Yeah,” she said looking up at him. “This is great.”
Welcoming the warm turkey and cheese into her mouth, Erin took bigger bites than she usually would have. She remembered the countless times she had eaten that same sandwich but, until then, had never appreciated it so much. In between bites, she sipped hot chocolate and answered Jack’s questions.
“So, I don’t think I ever got your name,” Jack said.
Erin paused for a second. “It’s, uh, Susan.”
“Oh, okay. So you’re still in high school?”
“Yeah. This is my last year.” She finished the first half of her sandwich and started on the second.
“I bet you’re happy about that,” he said, chuckling.
“You have no idea. I just can’t wait to leave Weisville. I hate it here.”
“Really?” Jack looked puzzled. “I don’t mind it so much. I mean, I’ve only been here a few days, but this has been a nice break from the city.”
“I wish I lived in a big city. This place is so boring.”
“Nah,” he said, smiling. “You’d get sick of it pretty quick.”
“Yeah right!” she scoffed at him before taking another sip of hot chocolate. “Anything is better than here.”
He laughed. “Why d’you wanna leave so bad? It can’t be that terrible.”
“I d’know. I guess because everybody knows everybody here,” she said. “If you mess up, they all know about it.”
He nodded, still staring at her. She looked up at him, taking in the details of his face. The dim streetlights cast shadows across the creases of his worn skin, and his kind eyes were nearly hidden by the darkness. Erin saw, cradled in the cracks of his smile, a caring nature that her father had once worn. She paused for a moment, reminded of the comfort she had felt years ago.
“And nobody forgets anything,” she added. “If I lived in a big city, I could just be alone. Nobody could tell me what to do, and if I didn’t like my friends, I could just find new ones! Not so much here, though.”
“Hm,” he grunted, scratching his face. “I guess that makes sense. But that’s just it for me. I hate not really knowing anyone. I’d love to live somewhere like here, where I could get to know people. Everything in the city is just too busy.”
“That’s better than too slow,” she looked up at him. “Trust me.”
The two sat in silence for a few minutes as Erin finished her sandwich. When she was done, she leaned back against the dumpster, letting her head rest on the cold metal. “Ow,” she screamed, grasping the back of her head. “What is that?” She flinched as she felt something wet in her hair. When she pulled her hands back around, blood trickled from her fingertips.
“Wha—,” Jack stuttered. “Are you okay?”
“I d’know,” she mumbled, her face grimacing. “I think it must’ve happened when I got mugged.” She continued to rub the back of her head. “Gosh, that hurts!”
“Okay,” Jack said, standing up. “We’ve gotta get you to a hospital.” He reached down to help Erin stand.
“No,” she protested. “I just need to get home.”
Just then, the ground began to rumble, and a large black train screeched into the station across the street. Silence fell again over the quiet hum of the town, but then, a voice boomed from a loud speaker. “Eight o’clock to Boston boarding in fifteen minutes.”
Jack looked up. “Oh, that’s me. That’s my train.”
“Wait, you’re leaving tonight?” Erin asked, still holding her head.
“Yeah,” he said, still panting. “I’ve got a business meeting in the morning. Listen, I don’t have time to go with you, but I can call you a cab to take you to the hospital.” He shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “Or home, or wherever,” he added.
“We have cabs here?” Erin asked, puzzled.
“Yeah,” he looked at her as he pulled a business card from his pocket. “I had one bring me to the train station tonight.” Jack looked over his shoulder as he talked. “Here, I’ll call one for you.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed several numbers, pushing the speaker up to his ear.
Erin stared at him as he looked down at the ground. She was sad that Jack had to leave so soon and was somewhat mad at him as well. The pain had finally subsided, so she stopped rubbing the back of her head and peered around Jack at the black train, wishing she could go with him.
“Hi,” Jack said suddenly. “I need a cab at, uh,” he stepped back and looked at the sign above the small restaurant, “at Arnie’s Sandwich Shop on Main Street.” He was silent for a second, and Erin could hear a faint voice coming from his phone. “Uh huh. Yes. Okay, thanks.” He closed the phone. “They’ll be here in fifteen minutes. I think I have time to wait with you.”
“Thanks,” Erin said. “But I really am okay. My head barely hurts anymore, so it can’t be that bad.”
“Let me see,” he said. Erin turned around, lifting her hair where the cut was. “Ugh,” he groaned. “Looks like you might need stitches.”
“Well, I’ll go home, and my parents can take me,” she assured him. “It really is okay.”
“Alright,” he said, breathing out heavily.
The two stood facing the road, and neither of them said anything for several minutes. Another hard gust of wind blew down the street, and Erin was almost thrown off balance. Jack looked over at her as she made eye contact with him.
“Thanks for everything you’ve done,” she said, smiling. “I d’know how I would’ve made it without you.”
“No problem, Susan. I’m happy to help.”
Her eyes fell to the ground at the sound of her fake name.
Again, the voice sounded from the train station. “Last call for the eight o’clock to Boston.” Jack picked up his briefcase, which he had set on the sidewalk next to him.
“Well, I’ve gotta go,” he said. “I wish I could wait, but your cab should be here any minute.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
“It was nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out, and Erin shook it. His grip was tight.
“Yeah, you too.” For a second, she wanted to hug him but forced herself to refrain.
“Have a good life, Susan.”
“Yeah,” she paused. “You too.”
He pulled a ten dollar bill from his pocket and put it in her hand. “Here’s for the cab.” She watched as Jack jogged across the street and barely noticed the yellow car roll in front of her. “Goodbye,” he called over his shoulder.
“Bye,” she whispered, holding her hand in the air.
“Did you call a cab?” Erin shook at the sound of the voice and looked down to see a man’s head sticking out of a car window.
“Oh.” Her hand had moved to her chest, but she lowered it. “Yeah, I did.” She opened the back door and started to climb inside when she realized she still had Jack’s coat. “Oh, hold on just a sec’,” she said to the cab driver. “Jack!” she screamed.
Jack, about to board the train, turned around. Erin waved his suit coat in the air, glad for the chance to talk to him once more.
“You left this!” She watched as he moved down from the steps leading up to the cabin. He paused for a second and turned his head back toward the train.
“Just keep it!” he called. “The train’s about to leave!” Jack turned around, looking over his shoulder. “Good luck!”
For a moment, Erin stood still, not saying anything. She watched as he continued to board the train and saw, through the small window, him sitting down. “Thanks!” she yelled back, standing with one leg in the yellow cab.
“You ready?” the man asked, breathing into his hands. “It’s freezing.”
Erin looked down at him and climbed into the car. “Yeah, I’m ready.” She closed the door behind her, still looking over at the train.
“Where to?”
“Uh, one fifteen Brookshire Avenue,” she said without turning toward the man.
“Okay.” Erin felt the car begin to pull away. For half a mile, the train rolled alongside the road, and she stared at Jack. She couldn’t help but cry as she thought about how easily he had been able to leave.
I wish that were me, she thought to herself. But eventually, the train veered to the right and disappeared into the winter night, leaving Erin behind.
The cab sped away from downtown Weisville and into the dark suburban mountains. Erin sat silently in the back seat, thinking about Jack and what had happened the last few days. She missed him already, but her jealousy was almost immediately replaced by anxiety when she remembered that she had to somehow break the news to her parents.
What am I even gonna say? she thought to herself, her hands beginning to sweat. They’re gonna be so mad! Until then, she had been leaning up with her face nearly touching the window. But when Jack and the train were out of sight, she slouched against the worn leather seat.
As she sat back, something heavy within the jacket fell against her chest. She was startled at first, wondering what it might be, and pulled the left flap outward. Noticing a large pocket, she shoved her hand inside, suddenly clutching leather against her cold palm.
