Page 4 of Refuge for Flora

“If you’re still hungry, there’s plenty more up there. I think Cassie went a little crazy this morning. You’re welcome to get another plate, and we’ve got some really good homemade desserts up there too.”

“Thank you.” Once the woman had disappeared through a door, Flora headed back to the serving line.

“My spaghetti must be pretty good today!” Cassie said with a smile.

“Yes, and I was really hungry.” Flora waited as the big spoon plopped more spaghetti and sauce onto her plate. That time, Cassie added two rolls to it.

“Don’t forget to get some dessert. Take two! One for now and one for later. I’ll package one up for you if you want,” Cassie offered.

“Thank you. That would be nice.” Instead of asking for another soft drink, she let Cassie put a glass of tea on her tray before she wandered back to her seat. The crowd, if it could be called that, had thinned a bit, and only she and one other person, a middle-aged man, were still eating.

Then Ray stepped back into the room with a tall, thin woman in tow, and they made a beeline to her table. “Flora, this is Miriam. Miriam, please meet Flora.”

“Hi, Flora! Ray seems to think we might be able to help you out with some things.”

Flora froze. Who was this woman? “Uhhhh…”

“I’ll leave you two to talk. Please come back sometime, Flora. I hope you enjoyed it.”

“Yes. Thank you,” she called after him, then put her fork down and sighed. “Okay. I know we’re going to play twenty questions, so let’s just get it over with.”

“Actually, we’re not. I only have a couple of things to ask you and then we’ll see what I can do. First, have you been in an abusive relationship?”

Her face burned. “Yes.”

“And are you currently homeless?”

She’d never considered herself homeless but, honestly, she was. “Yes.”

“Okay. That’s all I needed to know. We have a house across town where you can stay until you can get on your feet. I can drive you there. On the way, we can stop and get things you need. Does that sound okay?”

“That sounds really good.”

“There’s only one thing we ask of you.”

Awww, shit, here it comes, Flora told herself. “Yes?”

“That you never reveal the location of the house. The women who live there are at risk, and we don’t want anyone knowing where they are.”

“That’s no problem. I’d never do that.”Who the hell would I tell anyway?she wondered. She didn’t know a soul in that town save for Cassie and Ray, and she’d only met them briefly.

“Okay. Well, I’m going to go move some things around in my car. It’s kinda messy. But I’ll be back. Just enjoy the rest of your lunch. I hear the desserts are spectacular,” Miriam said with a laugh.

Flora finished her food and, true to her word, Miriam returned. The big box store was on the same route they took to the house, so they stopped and she bought a burner phone. To Flora’s astonishment, the shelter was in a fancy part of town, with big brick homes everywhere and expensive cars sitting in wide driveways.Wonder how they feel about having a bunch of homeless women right next door?she thought, but she didn’t ask. She just felt fortunate that she was going to get to stay there for at least a few days.

The room they assigned to her was small but comfortable, and she was happy to have a place to sleep. At a little after five, a young woman came to her door and asked if she wanted to eat with them. “Sure. I’ll be down in a minute,” she answered as the woman closed the door.

Roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, bread, Brussels sprouts, and bread pudding. She hadn’t eaten that well in several years. There hadn’t been enough money for anything, so food had been scarce. After thanking everyone she could see, she headed back to her room.

The door closed softly, and she dug in her pocket until she found the little strips of paper. There was nothing on them that indicated which strip had come from which flyer, and it didn’t really matter. She needed a job. Then she looked at them again.

The one with the scrappy handwriting… Something told her to call that one first. She punched in the numbers, hit CALL, and waited.

It rang and rang. She was about to hang up when a voice answered with a loud, reedy, “Hello!”

“Hello. I, uh, I saw a flyer at the career office downtown. A ‘now hiring’ flyer. Was that yours?”

“Had my number on it, didn’t it?” the voice barked.

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