Page 32 of Home With You

"C'mon." He walks to the tent. "I'll leave it unzipped to make sure you don't try anything."

"ME? I'm not the one we have to worry about."

"I'm not so sure about that." He's still smiling. "I saw you checking me out."

Does he mean the other day, or now? The truth is, I check him out every time I see him but I didn't think he knew that. Maybe he was kidding.

"I forgot the water," he says, going to get it. "I would've got you soda but I wasn't sure what kind you liked."

"Water is fine. I could use one right now. I haven't drank anything all day."

He grabs a bottle of water and hands it to me. "I left you a water bottle in the tent. I thought maybe you could find a place to fill it when this runs out. Or I can bring you more."

"I'll give it to Gladys. She never drinks enough water. Is there just the one?"

"Yeah, but I can get another one."

"Don't worry about it. I don't need it."

He takes the case of water into the tent, then sits down by the zippered part, holding it open. "Want to join me?"

"If I do, will you bring me my backpack?"

"I will, but can I get you a new one? That one reeks. I think there's stuff growing in it."

He's right. It stinks like garbage and rotting food but it's all I have, and now I'm embarrassed by it. I should've tried to wash it but I didn't know how or where to do it.

"Raine, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I know you can't help that it's like that."

He gets it. He actually gets it. He could've made fun of my backpack and left it at that, but he realized his mistake and apologized. I have to give him credit for that.

"Thanks," I say. "For apologizing. Since you did, I guess I could sit with you a minute. Make sure the tent works."

He smiles as I get in. He leaves the zipper undone, causing the sides to flap around in the wind.

"We might have to close this a little,” I say, reaching up to zip it halfway.

"I knew it," he says, shaking his head.

"Knew what?"

"I knew once we were in here, you'd try to take advantage of me."

I laugh. "Believe me, that's not what I'm doing. I'm just trying to keep the wind out." I scoot away from him, to the other side of the tent. "There. Is that better?"

"I was kidding." He turns to face me, his legs crossed in front of him. "You don't have to be that far away."

I scoot toward him a little and cross my legs like his. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Would you let me get you a new one?"

"New what?"

"Backpack. You can have the old one but I'm worried you'll get sick eating anything you put in there. And if your friend is old, it could be even worse for her. Old people don't have great immune systems."

I hadn't even thought about that. I could be making Gladys sick and not even realizing it. I found that backpack a few months ago on the street. I have no idea who it belonged to, but I took it because I needed something to carry stuff in.

"Okay, fine," I say, "but it has to be cheap. Or get a used one. There's a thrift store a few miles from here. You could get one there."

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