This is the second part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I before continuing.
I had been so tired when I found the bridge, I hadn’t even realized it was right next to a McDonald’s. I must have been more tired than a realized not to have seen those bright, giant arches, which had a clear line of sight to where I had been sitting under the bridge. As I looked at them now, the sight was no less welcome than that of the gates of heaven.
All I had to do was sit myself down by the entrance of the restaurant and look pitiful. It was only a matter of time before someone bought me a Happy Meal. It had a toy in it and everything.
As I went to throw out the wrapping and packaging the meal had come in, something stopped me from throwing out the toy. I don’t know what it was, but somehow I found myself wrapping one hand around it while my other hand dumped the trash in the trash can that was conveniently located at the entrance of the restaurant.
I went back to my spot under the bridge, spread out the blanket the boy had given me, and sat down to enjoy the feeling of being full for a change and on a surface that was slightly less cold and hard than the bare concrete.
I’m not sure when I dozed off, but I was once again startled awake by the feeling someone was watching me. I looked up, and sure enough, there was the boy again, staring at me just as before. Also just as before, he stood perfectly straight and didn’t move. I couldn’t even be sure he was breathing.
Before he could disappear again, I said, “I have something for you.”
“What is it?”
I held out the toy from my Happy Meal.
His face lit up when he saw it, but he didn’t come get it right away. “I don’t have that one yet,” he said.
“You do now,” I said, gesturing with my outstretched arm to indicate he should take the toy.
He did so tentatively, as though I was going to snatch the toy away. When he finally took it, he held the small piece of plastic close to his body and looked down at it lovingly. “Thank you,” he said without looking at me.
“You’re very welcome. And thank you again for the blanket.”
At that, he looked at the blanket, then at me, then he smiled. I don’t know why it surprised me so much to see the corners of lips pull upward. I had gotten the impression he didn’t smile much, but maybe I had been wrong. Maybe that little dimple in his left cheek came out on a regular basis.
To be continued…