Upset that my friends had canceled again, I pushed past the ragged, dirty woman…until I heard her.
“Spare some change?”
I always recognize voices, so I turned and knelt down.
“Linda?”
Her eyes widened. “Jeff? Oh, fuck…”
She dropped her head and started crying.
“Linda…please…let me help…”
I finally coaxed her back to my apartment.
The shower ran a long time, steam curling under the door.
But the angel who emerged was the confident, beautiful woman I had longed for in high school.
“Merry Christmas, Jeff,” she smiled, hips swaying as she let the towel fall…
