| Jessica smiled her thanks as Noah's friend handed her a mug of coffee and some slippers, after which he left. She didn't really know how he got the slippers, but she was grateful for any more warmth. Jessica was ashamed to admit she'd almost frozen out there. Jessica looked at Noah, who was sitting on the couch beside her comfy chair. "Do I look so bad now?" she asked. Noah appeared to startle awake. He muttered, "You're looking better. You should have gotten out of the cold when I told you to." Jessica frowned, and at the same time that she thought Don't remind me, she still wasn't a child. "You don't tell me what to do. And you never answered my question." "Well," Noah answered evenly, his face hidden as he stared down, "I'm not required to answer any questions a stranger asks me, am I?" At this moment, the friend of Noah's came back into the room. "Are you doing better now?" he asked sympathetically. Jessica smiled, struck by the warmth in his voice. "I'm fine, thank you. And thank you for letting me - us - in. I was ... pretty cold ..." She blushed. Noah had told her to get somewhere warm, and she hadn't listened at all. "I am just glad you got out of de cold," Noah's friend replied, smiling. "It was de least I could do." His smile made Jessica feel safe; whoever he was, he was a good man. Jessica suddenly came back to reality and said, "Sorry, I guess we haven't been introduced yet. My name is Jessica." This was said with a glance at Noah, who stared fixatedly at the ground. His friend smiled and held out his hand, and Jessica took it. "De name's Carlos. It is nice to meet a friend of Noah's." Jessica only now noticed that 'Carlos' spoke with a slight Jamaican accent. He spoke with energy and vigour, even when he was only talking quietly. Jessica liked him. "Well, bruhda." This time, Carlos was speaking to Noah. "It has been a long time, my friend. Where have you been?" Jessica watched only half-interestedly as Noah shrugged and said, "Around". A sleepy haze was overtaking her, a warm glow of security and happiness that she couldn't remember feeling - ever. But Jessica shook it off and reminded herself she'd be leaving in just a while. No sense getting sleepy. "Oh, Noah, now don't be dat way; come, my friend, tell me where you been," she heard Carlos say. Noah smiled briefly. "I told you, Carlos, around. You know me." "Yes," came the smiling reply. "I do." He then turned to Jessica. "And how did my friend meet you tonight?" he asked kindly. Jessica shrugged and took a sip from her coffee. Boy, was that strong stuff! "I was by myself," she explained, "on a bridge outside the city. Eh, Noah was there, and we started ... talking." She avoided both pairs of eyes and uneasily shrugged again. "I guess we talked for longer than I noticed, and then we came here." Carlos smiled and asked, "So you are sure you are alright?" "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." It felt good to be taken care of. It was nice to just sit. Carlos seemed to understand that Jessica just wanted to warm up, so as she listened, he turned to Noah to talk about some new books that he'd just gotten, and Noah asked questions about certain books he wanted to read. Jessica felt a little surprised. Even though she'd only known him for less than an hour, she hadn't pegged Noah as the reading type. Carlos answered each question, and Jessica felt herself falling in that sort of trance again, that comfortable, safe trance. The one where she was cared for, where she could just listen. Again, Jessica consciously shrugged it off and stood up, a small sigh escaping her lips. As she looked around her, Jessica only now realised that Carlos's living room was covered in books. In a near-circular room of only medium to small size, a total of eight huge bookshelves lined the walls, each one filled completely with books. Several small tables were strewn throughout the room at random, most of them bearing the burden of a precarious pile of books. A computer on a desk was directly beside the only couch that did not have some type of book on it; Jessica guessed it was sitting in about the middle of the room. By the looks of dog-eared books covering every inch of the computer desk, and several pens laid hastily on top of and beside the computer, it wasn't hard for Jessica to get the impression the computer was much-used. Jessica wandered around for a few minutes, the soothing murmers of Carlos's and Noah's conversation a pleasant hum in the back of her mind. Several times, she almost tripped over piles of five to twenty books stacked right on the floor. Jessica smiled and sat down on a chair in front of the biggest desk in the room, positioned directly to the right of the door. She noted with a small grin that the desk probably held up the weight of eghty or a hundred books. She decided she liked this comfortable chaos. Carlos's library was as laid-back and apparently as chaotic as he was. This atmosphere was very relaxing. It was, amid the haphazard piles of books and lack of space, somehow open. And quiet. It was a perfect place to get away to. And then Jessica realised something. "Hey, um, Noah?" she asked, walking up to them. "I need to get back to my place. Bry - my friends will be worried about me." Noah just blinked, but Carlos looked at his watch and smiled that slow smile of his that Jessica was coming to admire. "Are you sure I cannot convince you to stay? Dis weather ... it is very bad. I have a guestroom, if you would like to stay de night. I am sure your friends would understand." Jessica knew that Carlos was just trying to help her; the proposition was very tempting ... but Bryan would be furious. And this 'escape' couldn't last for any longer than it already had. Bryan would inevitably think she had been 'with someone else', even though he knew she had never yet been unfaithful. And she'd told him she didn't want anybody but him, but he never listened, not to anything she said - not anymore. Jessica sighed. "Thank you, but - my friends - they really will be worried about me." She smiled hesitantly. "But, thank you for your hospitality. I hope that I could ... come back? I mean, obviously, if it's not too much trouble." Carlos smiled his smile again, and Jessica couldn't help feeling he somehow understood her, even if he knew nothing about her. "Of course, you are welcome to!" Carlos answered. "It was a blessing and a pleasure to have you here. Please, I insist you come again sometime." Jessica felt a rush of gratitude. His smile was so welcoming that she knew he genuinely wanted her to come back. Carlos seemed like a good man. So, he walked both Jessica and Noah to the door, both of whom who had agreed that Noah would take his new friend back to the bridge. Before they left, Carlos enveloped Jessica in a big hug. "If you ever need help," he told her solemnly, "just come here." And, for the first time in a long time, Jessica saw brimming in his eyes something she never thought she would see, or even recognise: unconditional and unreserved love - and for a stranger! She thanked him again and went out into the frozen night to join Noah. Noah waited patiently on the doorstep as Jessica said goodbye to Carlos. Then, she walked out to join him, and they fell in step. For a minute, it was just quiet. Noah thought of his cigarettes and wished fervently he'd brought a pack - or ten. Carlos had tried several times to get him off it, saying the cigarettes were killing him, but the truth was Noah doubted he could break the nicotine habit if he tried to. "What is it about him?" Jessica said suddenly. Noah looked at her. "What is it about who?" He knew very well who. "Carlos. I noticed ... I dunno." She sighed. "I really couldn't judge it right now." He pursed his lips and said abruptly, "I know what you mean. He's different." Jessica half-smiled. "So I didn't imagine it?" "No," Noah said as he shook his head, "you didn't imagine it. Carlos isn't a bit like anyone else I've ever met." Jessica smiled fully now, Noah noticed. "Yes. He's ... kinder. He just ... completely ..." "He loves as recklessly as a motorcyclist on a highway," Noah said, and he couldn't help smiling as he said it. She laughed. "You keep finishing my sentences for me! But, you're right. I've never met a person like him. How - how can somebody love like that?" Noah shrugged. "He's Christian." She stared. "You're kidding." "It's true." They were almost to the bridge, where the two had first met only a couple hours earlier, and neither really wanted to part. When they got there, Jessica said brightly, "Well, it was, uh, nice to meet you!" What do you say to a person you might never see again? Noah just half-smiled. "Yeah, likewise. Look, if you ever want to come down here again, just go to Carlos's library. It's a block that way -" he pointed, "and then a right turn away from here." Jessica nodded again and looked beyond the bridge, where bright lights still glared painfully. "Thanks," she said softly, and it was a goodbye. Noah understood. He watched silently, his figure hunched against the cold, as Jessica walked over the bridge and disappeared. |