Page 14 of Mika's Heart

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!” Someone shouts waking me up. I jump up, instantly alert.

Arin is standing there with one hand on her hip, a little girl curled in her arms and a little brown Chihuahua bouncing around her feet.

She’s wearing penguin pajamas, snow boots and a puffy coat.

I would laugh if I wasn’t so embarrassed over being caught sleeping on the street.

“Follow me” She directs as she turns and walks down the street.

When we are standing in front ofwhat appears to be a brand new house, she stops and invites me in.

“This is Olivia and that ...” she says pointing at the little dog “is Mouse.”

It isn’t until she asks, “Who is your friend?” that I realize Comet has followed us.

Reaching down to pat his head I introduce them, but he is more interested in checking out Mouse than introductions.

“Come on, I was just about to make breakfast when I got a call that someone was sleeping at the store. You talk while I cook.” She says walking into the kitchen and putting Olivia in a high chair.

I watch as she pulls out a carton of eggs, a package of bacon and some bread.

The silence is deafening. I can tell she’s waiting for me to start talking but I don’t know where to start or how much to tell her.

When she places a plate full of food on the table she says, “My mom used to call me a fat embarrassment to the family name. Her and my Dad would sit down to a full breakfast but my plate would have only half of a grapefruit on it. That’s all I was allowed to eat in the morning.”

At first I think she is just saying that to get me talking but when I look into her eyes, I can see the pain lingering there.

The shared pain makes me open up like nothing else could have.

Not quite ready to share everything, I do admit that I came to Alaska to find someone but wasn’t prepared for the higher prices of everything.

As we’re eating and talking, I find myself sneaking bites of food to Comet.

Arin catches me but since she is doing the same for Mouse, she doesn’t call me out on it.

Once our meal is finished, she points me to the living room, “If you could wait a few minutes for me to clean up the munchkin and make a couple phone calls. I might have a place for you to stay.”

Olivia has a big grin on her face and is probably wearing more scrambled eggs than she actually ate.

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