Cody doesn’t answer her.
“Your name’s . . . Cody?”
He doesn’t respond. He doesn’t smile. Cody sits back down and closes his journal. He reaches for his cell phone and calls for a taxi. He pulls out a twenty dollar bill and hands it to Miriam, explaining that she needs to use this to pay for the taxi that is coming, the taxi that will take her home. More tears trickle and burn down Miriam’s cheeks. Her eyes squint and her lips quiver insanely. She covers her lips with her hands and cowers down into the sullen table. She doesn’t understand what’s fully going on. Her head is spinning, trying its best to grab hold of reality.
“Cody, you . . . told me to be . . . good . . . to myself.”
He stares at her tossing head, grabbing her chin gently and staring deeply into her eyes, asking tenderly:
“What’s his name?”
“Wesley.”
Cody smirks and she wonders if he knows Wesley. Her eyes are drooping and her mouth yawns. Exasperation everywhere. Tears still coming. Cody grabs his things and comfortingly takes hold of Miriam by the waist and helps her to her feet.
“Where . . . you takin’ me?”
“We’re going to wait outside for your taxi. Don’t lose the twenty in your hand. You’ll need that to go home.”
“I have . . . no home. I’m movin’ out . . . He’s with some whore!”
Cody grabs her purse and helps her to the exit, where he tells Geneva that she’ll be in good hands. He explains that a taxi’s on the way. Geneva first frowns then smiles and thanks him because she knows Cody is an honorable man. Geneva can trust him: he’s proven his honor before.
Outside the air is brisk and the sun still hangs high, casting shadows everywhere along the busted sidewalk of the Mission. Miriam yawns more and wipes away tears and feels acid creeping up her throat. She sees a trashcan to her left. She immediately leans into it as if the garbage were a toilet. Niagara falls. She unleashes the gin from her gut and spills a bit on her legs and sandals. Cody grabs her by the stomach and leans her gently onto a nearby bench that houses an advertisement for male enhancement. He leaves her briefly as he enters Last Call for a damp towel and napkins. Geneva again thanks Cody and gets him the damp towel and napkins. He rushes back to Miriam and begins to clean her.
“Thank you, Cody. I’ll . . . be good . . . to myself,” Miriam submits.
He only smiles, “I was once you.”
“ . . . wanna . . . know . . . my name?”
“Tell me.”
“It’s Miriam.”
He cleans her face and wipes down her legs and sandals, Miriam smiling away with her eyes closed and tears drying slowly on her cheeks. Her new life that began three weeks ago is now over, but a new life will begin tomorrow. Miriam has always been good to herself. Miriam never saw this hurt coming. Cody has been in her shoes. Cody is trying daily to flush his past horrors from his mind, but it will take time.
“Your taxi will be here soon. Where will you go?”
“Home.”
“Where’s home now?”
“ . . . with family . . . in Belmont.”
“In that case you’ll need more than twenty dollars. Here.” Cody pulls out another twenty and gives it to her, instructing that she needs to give it to the taxi when it arrives.
“I’ll . . . pay you back.”
“That’s not necessary.”
Miriam closes her eyes and wraps her hands around her sensitive cheeks, squeezing them gently. She begins to display her emotions in the form of liquid again, more dampness running down her cheeks. Cody leans closer to her, hugging her with his head, looking up toward the graying sky, the sun now hiding somewhere east behind tall buildings. There are thick clouds above that will take hours to burn away. He rubs her back and says nothing, allowing her to squeeze him and dampen his shirt with her melancholy. He sits up straight and continues to soothe her back: firm strokes crossing over her spinal cord, then shoulder to shoulder. Moments later the taxi pulls up. Cody leads her to the backseat and explains his concern for getting her home safely to the cabby. Miriam mentions the address and holds tight to Cody’s arm. He hugs her again deeply and tells her that he was once like her. |
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