Warm Welcomes

I stepped out, and thanked Tak as best I could.

"You're sure you can make it that far?" he asked, eyeballing my jacket. "Here, take my coat."

"I really can't, unless you don't mind it getting destroyed," I replied, stepping back.

"Then it gets destroyed, I'll just get another one. You're going to catch pneumonia. They're not even going to let you in, are they," he stated, rather than asking, holding out the thick coat. I accepted and fastened it around myself as best as I could. He started to speak, then stopped for a moment.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he finally said, opening his car door. "Just text me when you get off your other job, and I'll be right over."

"All right," I said quietly, as he shut his door. He remained idling there until I turned into my driveway, then his car reversed into a driveway, disappearing into the night.

I checked the front door- locked. I wasn't trusted with a key. I risked a tiny, soft knock, with no response, not even a shouted string of profanity at the intrusion. I lowered my face into the warm coat wrapped around me- it smelled so nice, like sunshine, somehow. I curled up on the porch, and checked my phone battery- I had managed to keep it on low power mode most of the day,so I still had most of the charge left. I made sure to set an alarm for 530AM, enough time to hopefully get inside, get changed, and head back to work.

I wrapped my arms around myself, not daring to lay down on the icy porch, instead leaning up against the wall of the house. It wasn't really much of a house, especially my room, but it kept most of the rain off. Some of the city officials had been coming by over most of my life, throwing around the word 'condemned,' but after a few bills that my father slipped them that I'd earned, they'd wander away, warning that next year they wouldn't be so lenient. Every year.

I shivered, even with the warm coat. I pulled it to cover most of my face, not even caring I was being a creep and enjoying the smell of Tak in the jacket. It's not like I was hurting anyone, right? He looked so kind… I guessed I drifted off that way.

Too soon, way too soon, I woke to myself crashing off the porch onto the frozen grass and muck beside me. I had received a stunning blow on my head that sent me careening into the ground, without enough time to try to catch myself. The sun was up, allowing me to see the dried scrape along my fingers and palms begin to reopen on contact with the hard dirt.

Not even bothering to dodge the punches and kicks, I curled up into a ball on the ground, waiting for my father to tire himself out. It didn't take too long, but there was an amazing amount of strength still left in his aging body. When he ran out of breath, I slowly got up on my hands and knees, and staggered to my feet.

Sucking my breath, I could feel my knee protesting against any weight being put on it. I couldn't favor it in front of him, though, or he would pay special attention to it with his fists.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood and made sure to walk slowly but surely inside, betraying no weakness. The screamed insults of whore and degenerate followed me, until a rough fist grabbed my hair, and another the back of Tak's jacket.

"Whose is this?" my stepmother screeched at me. I could still smell the cheap alcohol on her breath over my shoulder, the rankness of the entire situation turning my stomach.

I couldn't say I found it. I grabbed at any stray idea.

"It was on the clearance rack, my boss let me take it because it was cold," I lied.

"You're a lying whore!" my father yelled. "It's some man's jacket, isn't it! You better have earned some money for being a-" his speech degenerated into more insults as he articulated how I clearly sold my body for some meager coat to keep warm.

I didn't even know why I cried any more. They weren't worth the tears, and I knew it, but I couldn't help it. Clearly, I came broken off the assembly line. Broke breeds broke, right?

"Do you need anything?" I asked them, and received a slap on the back of my head in return.

"Clean up the smell of sex off your body, and make food. This place is a wreck," my stepmother instructed. "Stop crying."

"Yes ma'am," I mumbled, trying not to touch where she'd struck me. I stumbled into the shower after grabbing my charger and leaving it on the counter. I wasn't allowed to lock the door, of course, so I made sure that my alarm was still set, and left it in plain view. I could hear the door open before I was done, but by the time I turned off the water and pulled back the curtain, whichever one had come in to review my phone had left.

On a hunch, I checked- Takoda's number was gone. Of course. I felt the tears rise again, but I just turned off the alarm and turned around to find my stepmother studying me critically.

"I removed that jacket from the house and threw it in the burn barrel," she said, proud of herself. "If you want another jacket, you'll have to buy it yourself."

"Yes ma'am," I replied, and began getting dressed. She watched.

"Missing anything else?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, my boss's number," I replied. "I just texted her my shifts, and I wanted to add something but I couldn't find it in the directory." I knew that playing dumb would get me beaten worse, and I hoped desperately that Takoda's guess was correct- that his name was not clear enough.

"Her number?" She eyed me suspiciously.

"Yes ma'am," I replied, ducking my head to put on yet another worn long sleeve shirt.

"Well, I guess you can get it again at work today, then," she grumbled, and left. I don't know how exactly I was able to pull off the lie, but I did. I quickly pulled up my text history and re-added Tak's number. Thank god she was completely unfamiliar with technology. Now wasn't the time to mention that I wasn't able to work at the retail shop, but it would come out tonight, I felt sure. It was probably better done now, when I had a place to get to, and quickly.

I put special effort in the breakfast I made, and was sure to serve an ice cold beer alongside it. The food, and the drink, seemed to calm them enough.

"So, that retail job doesn't want to let me work two jobs," I said, cautiously, as they were finishing the food in front of the TV. "I found another one, though, that'll pay a little more and I can work both for sure."

"When did you find that," asked my stepmother, not looking away from the TV news station.

"It was something I'd interviewed for, but I hadn't heard back," I replied, thinking quickly. "It's paying about a dollar more an hour, and it's still near my first job...so I took it."

I got a grunt in reply, and my heart leaped with joy. That went so much better than I expected. Maybe they were still blackout drunk- it was just 6am. That was probably it. I felt my heart sink, but only a little. I was sure some semblance of the conversation would be around enough to keep me from getting into too much trouble.

"Goodbye," I called from the door. Hearing nothing in return, I closed it firmly behind me, and allowed myself just a moment to feel the pain from my knee. I balled my hands into fists, and set out to walk to my first job- at least I could sit down and work there. I would cross the next bridge when I came to it.

After about twenty minutes of walking, I was close to done. I couldn't really think too well, and the swelling was pressing tightly against my jeans- I started to worry it was going to cut off my circulation. I still had about two miles to go- which wouldn't be a problem at my normal walking speed- but hobbling along like this wasn't going to work. I couldn't call in, either, and nobody at the office was close enough to ask for a ride.

Should I call Tak and see if he could drive me?

No.

I'll make it. I just have to push past it.

************

Pushing past the pain worked, but I still ended up a few minutes late. I was always impeccably on time, but yesterday and today were special exceptions. I clocked in, and my cubicle neighbor, Kevin, glanced at me, curiously.

"Hey, Laina," he said, casually. "You don't look so good. Rough day?"

"Yeah, I took a little spill and donked my knee," I smiled, showing that it wasn't a big deal. "Ended up making it a little rough to walk here."

"Awww, girrrrl, you should have told me," he said, leaning forward in his chair. "I'll get you to work on time tomorrow, all right? You wouldn't want to mess up your little record, yeah?"

"Yeah, I wish I hadn't already," I laughed awkwardly. "Well, thank you."

"No problem," he replied as I walked the few feet to my cubicle. "It's hard enough to get girls to get hired in here anyway. You know how I like 'em, young, pretty, dumb, and with just enough daddy issues!" He guffawed, and I felt a shiver creep up my spine. He turned serious. "Too bad you only meet two of those!" He turned back to his computer, still laughing.

When I got on the other side of the wall, it made me feel better to flip him a double middle finger. It didn't make me feel better to realize that I had just lost a little bonus for being on-time every day for a quarter. Crap. I'd been trying to save up for a car, squirrelling away money in a little tin can buried by the old junker on blocks in our driveway. I was counting on that little bonus money to help me along.

I signed onto my computer and saw that a long queue was waiting for me. I didn't have enough time to feel sorry for myself- I had a lot of work to do.

The time passed as if on wings, and before I knew it, I was getting ready to pass my queue onto the next shift. I left a few sticky notes on the computer for my office mate about upcoming issues, and gathered up my papers in a neat pile, filing them away to keep the desk tidy. I turned my chair to stand-

And fell immediately. I didn't have any feeling in my leg, and it was hot to the touch. I couldn't get to it with scissors, either.

I used the cubicle walls to hobble to the main exit, and sat on the bench outside. The cold weather hardly stood out to me, with how heated I felt. I texted Tak.

"Hey, I'm not sure if I should try to start today. Leg very swollen," I wrote. I had hardly put my phone back into my pocket when it dinged.

"Fever?"

"Feels hot."

"I'll be right there. Address?"

"No," I wrote. "I don't think I can do anything, I'm sorry. I was able to work here while I was sitting, but it swelled while I wasn't moving."

"Address"

I stared at the message, wanting to curse. I shared my location, and put my phone back in my pocket again. I leaned back against the wall behind me, and shut my eyes, trying to ignore the pain.

************

"Don't put any weight on it, use me," Tak lectured, trying to get me to his car.

"I promise you, I'm trying," I replied hotly.

"Just- ugh." He lifted me into his arms, and began walking to his car.

"Wait-" I struggled. "I can walk, I'm just not used to-"

"It's fine. I'm like three times your size," he shook his head. "I wish you'd landed on me, instead. I probably tore a tendon in your leg, the way you landed and how it's responded."

"It still was my fault," I said. "I- just let me down."

"No, I don't think so, stubborn one," he responded. "'Any great undertaking is not for a man to take upon himself,'" he quoted. "And in your case, your great undertaking right now is simply walking. Stop struggling."

I stopped. "What, was that some Sioux saying?"

"Yes it was. So listen, white girl," he laughed. "See? The car is right there. Was that so bad?"

I grumbled.

"I'll take that as no," he replied, leaning forward slightly to pull the door open. Some of his hair fell forward, and I closed my eyes, resisting being a pervert and touching it.

"Did that hurt?" He straightened with a jerk.

"No," I replied. "Okay, maybe a tiny bit."

"All right. Keep that foot off the ground," he said. "I'm going to put you down so you can just sit down on the seat and swing your legs inside. Ready?"

I nodded.

He lowered me gently, and I was able to stand on one leg, and sit inside. I gingerly placed my hurt leg inside, inadvertently hissing as my foot touched the floor mat. When I brought my other leg inside, he closed the door and dashed around to the driver's side.

"Don't worry about your first shift," he said worriedly. "We'll go to the doctor first. Who's your primary?"

"Don't," I replied, leaning back into the seat.

"Don't? As in, there isn't one, or you don't want to go to them?" he asked.

"Don't have one. Never had. Don't have insurance," I answered, briefly. I turned to look at him. His green eyes were clouded with worry, even I could see that. "The bone isn't broken, or I wouldn't be able to walk at all. I probably just tore something inside that needs to heal. No need to pay for some special brace I can just get at a store."

"I think my granddad has some stuff that will help, then," he said, biting his lip as he started the car. I was too tense to notice last night, but it was slightly comical to see him in a small car like this one- he barely fit.

"Oh, that's nice," I replied, as he went over a speed bump. "Gaaah!"

"Sorry!" he cried. "Oh man I didn't even see that, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just in danger of dozing off," I replied, through gritted teeth. "All good."

"We're almost there," he said, comfortingly. "It's just up the road a bit."

"That's Texas speak for like a half hour," I replied, trying to pinch the fabric off my leg.

"Quicker than that," he replied, speeding up.

"You don't happen to have anything to cut this off, do you," I asked presently. "I don't think I'm getting circulation, it's swollen so much."

"The waitresses wear skirts, I'm sure there's one that will fit you," he replied, looking at my knee. "That looks bad. You're going straight upstairs."

"What, is that code for putting down a lame horse?" I chuckled. "Ahhhhh, ouch."

"No. Ah, we're here," he said, and turned into a wide driveway. We were a little bit outside the city, but still in the suburbs. I looked out the window, and my mouth dropped open.

The restaurant looked nice, very nice. It was built like a quaint cabin, with a large wrap-around porch and it faced away from the driveway, but towards a largish river just a few hundred feet away. The lawn was terraced, with designated outdoor seating and some playground-type areas. I could see a small stage off to one side for outdoor bands, and more parking off to the other side. A warm, friendly light spilled from within the windows, and the tin roof shone in the wintry sun.

Behind it and off to the other side, there was another, larger building, a three story house. It wasn't painted recently, and some of the shutters were in bad shape, but overall it was a welcoming home.

"Oh, wow," I said quietly.

"You're really going to like it here," Tak said, parking his car haphazardly. "Everyone is going to love you. Let's go inside the house, first."