The shine of linoleum begins to dull, and the clock crawls its way to midnight. As per usual, Susi barges in ten minutes past the start of the shift, but claims that this audition was her big break. She promises me tickets to the opening show, but I am already halfway out the door. The walk home is predictable. I walk until the sub shop on 47th Street, and take a left until I reach the synagogue, and then a right, and then in the door above the laundromat my key fits the lock.
I jump when I see the hollow face staring back into my direction. When did the lines in my forehead become so entrenched?
The biting cold follows me up the stairs, and I hear a mix of warm voices stirring in the breeze. I hear Rachel and Danna, but the other voice is unfamiliar. I turn the corner and see a petite woman on the couch. Her large eyes stare back at me like a doe, and her golden locks dance around her face like loaded springs.
I begin calculating where this new stranger came from and where they could be going, and my look must have given it away as she quickly introduced herself.
“My name is Marylou. I’m not from here. I just need somewhere to stay the night. I’ll be gone to by tomorrow.”
Although I didn’t know her, I recognized the story from the sound of her voice and the small bag at her feet. She too was full of hope and love, and now floats alone.
“Where are you headed?” It came out colder than I had expected. I forced a smile.
“Back home to Colorado. This city is too…” She drifted off.
I didn’t need to hear more. I understood.
"You can have my bed." I walked quickly to my room and put my book and shirts in a bag.
For so long I had been been watching people come and go as I stood stagnant, but I felt the wheels begin to move.
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