Sitting on the park bench in Saint Louis, I was about to eat my fast-food lunch, when I looked—really looked—over at my chance-met seat-mate.
At first glance, she looked like any of the homeless folks that grace all of our cities, and I'd been braced for the usual come-on tale of woe, followed by a plea for some 'spare change.' But, as I started to open my box of burger, fries and a shake, the blanket-clad figure looked at me, and I saw a couple of tears form, and drip down her distinctly Asian face.
Yeah, 'her,' and my damsel-in-distress gene kicked in, damnit. Sighing, I passed the box of cheeseburger, fries and vanilla shake over to her, saying, "Go ahead. Have it. No conditions, no strings."
Her hand crept out of the covering blanket, and pulled the box toward her. She was having little tremors, and nearly spilled the fries, and almost lost the shake to the grass at her feet. "Another strung-out druggie," I thought, and reached out to steady her food and the paper cup. She was struggling to get the paper sheath off the straw, and not doing very well at it, so I took the container, pulled off the thin paper, and held it for her, as she sucked at the ice-cold contents.
The burger and fries disappeared in under three minutes, and the shake in under four. I guessed beginning starvation, and I had this helpless feeling you get when you rescue a kitten, only to find that you're obligated to raise a cat for the next fourteen years. Ah, damn-it-all-to-Hell!
Then she looked at me, and clearly said, "Shit. Piss. Fuck. Damn." Her eyes got wide, and she tried again, obviously struggling to say something else, but what emerged from her mouth was, "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! Shit! Ahhh, damn. Crap. Fuck..." Then she started to cry again, the tears dribbling down her face.
Trying to keep my composure, I said, "I'm Tom Cattus. What's your name?"
She tried again, but said, "Ahhh. Ohhhh, Fuck. Fuck! Ahhh, shit. Fuck!" Then she gestured at herself, and clearly said, "Fuck. Fuck. CUNT!"
Then she started to cry again, this time with big, deep racking sobs, as she whispered to herself, "Ahhh, fuck. Shit. Cunt. Cunt! Fuck, funk, fuck, fuck ..."
She surged up, holding the blanket around herself, took two steps away, and crumpled to the ground. A quick check revealed several things: a steady pulse (and thus, just a faint); a very dirty and smelly body (indicating no bath or shower recently); ribs showing through a thin blouse, under the dirty blanket (indicating ongoing starvation); no purse or ID; and a crumpled letter, in a back pocket.
The letter was just one page from a medical report, dated a couple of months ago, and said something about a stroke, something called 'aphasia,' and a dispassionate cut-off of services, due to continued absence of insurance payments.
What else could I do? I couldn't just leave her—well, yes I could ... but, no, I couldn't—so that left me with just one option, until I could figure how to talk to her. I carried her lightweight and limp body, plus blanket, over to my scooter & sidecar rig, and bundled her into it. She came around just about the time I was buckling the spare three-quarters helmet under her chin.
I looked at her, and loudly said, "We have a date for dinner, right after you take a long, hot shower and get some real rest. Breakfast, too. Lunch and dinner, tomorrow. A regular bed, with sheets, and a warm room. No pervert, no getting forced! I swear that you're safe with me. No conditions. I'm really doing a rescue. OK?"
She didn't struggle or scream, and I just heard a falling series of, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, ahhhh, cunt, fuck, fuck ..." nonsense words.
The trip to the residence inn I was staying at was short, but the air was nippy-cold, and I'd left off my electric gear, not having planned to be out a long time. My 'guest' must have been just as cold, so I said nothing, until I got to my assigned parking space, and helped her out of the side-car.
I started to put on the weather cover, and she tried to help, but she seemed to have a general weakness and coordination problem on her right side. Nevertheless, I let her help, and the job only took about four times as long. For that, I got a tentative smile, which sort of brightened my afternoon. She had a really nice smile, and I liked getting it.
Even so, I kept a little distance from her, as we walked to the inn's entrance, and I carded myself inside. Another walk down a short hallway, and I let her into the two-room suite I'd just rented, that mid-morning. Turning to unpack, I got out my old, raggedy bathrobe, and a couple of other things that might work for a girl. My toiletry supplies were out. I turned, to find her still standing in the center of the room, tightly wrapped in her blanket, and with the helmet still in place. I helped her out of the helmet, but didn't touch the blanket, or her. I pointed to the bathroom, and gently urged her to go inside.
In there, I turned on the water, adjusting the flow to moderate-warm. I pointed out the shampoo, hair conditioner, and the quality soap I had out. Then, kicking myself (because I really wanted a look-see at my Asian rescued-kitten), I backed out of the bathroom, and pointedly closed the door until it clicked.
The water ran for quite a while, as I fixed a bean-and-beef stew in the pressure-cooker, plus a simple salad and some rice. I put out a set of disposable chopsticks, a fork and a big soupspoon, and also set out a couple of small towels, placing them next to the dishes.
When I looked up, there was a pile of very dirty and smelly clothes, and an equally dirty and smelly blanket, just outside the bathroom door. While the pressure cooker was operating, I carried these items down the hall to the coin-operate washer/dryer that the inn provided, and started the hot wash cycle (the blanket was polyester). Coming back, I continued with preparations for 'our' dinner. After twenty minutes, I went back and transferred her washed clothes to the dryer, putting in a dryer sheet for softness.
Eventually, the water stopped in the bathroom, but I heard no noise. I let the pressure-cooker start to decrease by the 'natural method' (just letting it cool by itself). I heard the sink run a few times, and then the hair-dryer ran for a while, too. I swear I heard a couple of giggles, but I couldn't be sure.
About the time I was ready to dish out the food, the bathroom door opened, and a very clean and tidy Asian girl stepped out, wrapped neck to toe in my old bathroom. She pointed at the place where her clothes were, and said, "Fuck? Shit?"