Page 37 of Moonlit Kisses

–molly–

Simone’s sittingin the welcome chairs to the side of the entry, chatting with a stunning brunette. As she notices me, her eyes light up and that welcoming smile of hers graces her face. She waves me over. “Molly, come and meet Veronica. She’s going to be staying with us tonight.”

I step toward the two women with a genuine smile. I love coming here. Simone and the ladies have made me feel incredibly welcome from the get-go.

I hold out my hand to Veronica. “Hi, Veronica. It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Molly. My friends call me Mols.”

She warily slides her hand into mine and without making eye contact, she responds, “Hi. I prefer to be called Ronnie or Ron. If you don’t mind?”

“No problem. Ronnie suits you.”

She smiles at me and it’s beautiful, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, which catch me by surprise. Her left eye is a gorgeous blue, while her right eye is chocolate brown. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with two different colored eyes.

The door opens, and a woman walks in with a toddler in tow. She looks completely fried. “If you don’t mind, I’ll leave you two ladies to get acquainted while I meet our new friend.”

We both nod at Simone and then I return my attention to Ronnie, who’s busy studying her boots. She’s dressed as most homeless women on the street do, as though she’s trying to blend in, so she becomes invisible. I’m not sure how successful she’d be with those eyes of hers. They would make her rather memorable.

“I’m quite new to this city and I don’t know my way around very well, but I love sitting by the beach and watching the sun go down. I used to live on the east coast and the sunsets were never as good,” I say conversationally as I sit next to her.

Ronnie snaps her head up to me. “Really. I never gave much thought to the difference between here and there. Whereabouts did you live?”

“I grew up in Portland, Maine.” Her eyebrows almost reach her hairline. “I decided to move here after I lost my family a few days before Christmas because this is where my mom grew up.” I swallow down the lump that forms every time my family crosses my mind, but I’ve always found if I share something personal, the women are more likely to share their story in return.

She swallows and looks back down at her boots. “I’m sorry for your loss. Were they good people?” The fact she even asks that question tells me a lot.

I nod, fighting the sting behind my eyes. “Yeah.” It comes out as a whisper, so I clear my throat. “Yeah, they were. The best.”

Ronnie offers me a sad smile. “Why is it that the good people leave us too early and the assholes are left here to make our lives miserable?”

I shrug, shaking my head. “I dunno. I wish I knew the answer to that.”

We’re both quiet for a little while. “Have you always lived here?”

“Yeah.” She studies her boots again. “I’ve never been brave like you to move somewhere new.”

“I wouldn’t say I was brave. I’d lost my family, my job, and my home in a matter of weeks. I had nothing left there, so I thought I’d quell my curiosity about the place where my mom grew up. Maybe if I were living here, I wouldn’t have moved. From what I’ve seen so far, this is a pretty great city.”

Ronnie shrugs, returning her gaze to her boots. She’s quiet for long moments and I wrack my brain, trying to come up with something else we could talk about, but maybe she’s had enough for now.

“Uh, did you want me to show you to your bed and you can have a shower, then grab something to eat?”

She sighs and nods. “That’d be great.”

Standing, I gesture for her to follow me, and I show her through to the dorm without cribs. She’s got a single backpack with her and she’s holding it close to her body. If she’s anything like me, it contains all of her most important possessions.

“It looks as though the two beds at the end are still vacant. You wanna take one of those?”

“Sure.” We make our way between the beds until she arrives at her space for the night.

“There’s a lock cupboard here.” I show her how to use it. “We have some donated clothes, if you want to check them out. They’ve all been freshly laundered.”

Ronnie locks her backpack in the cupboard, and we make our way toward the room with the donated clothes for women and children. In another room, there are a few suits and fancier dresses the women can borrow when they go for job interviews. This place truly is impressive with its attention to the details, which will help women move forward with their lives when they’re ready. On the way, I show Ronnie the bathrooms and then leave her with the offer to catch up in the dining room later if she wants to.

When I enter the kitchen, Rhonda greets me with her usual enthusiasm. “Mols, you’re finally here! How are you, sweetie?” She wraps me in her tight embrace, almost knocking me over and we both giggle.

“I’m great, Rhonda! What have you been up to since I saw you on Tuesday?”

“Oh, you know, this and that. Catching up with all of my boyfriends.” She winks at me and I chuckle. Anyone would assume she plays the field, but she’s actually talking about book boyfriends. She talks about them as though they’re real people.

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