IMOGEN
“Is there anything else I can get you, Miss Ruthford?” The man with too many muscles asked. His arms looked like they wanted to attack the sleeves of his polo shirt and win their freedom from the too tight fabric. I repositioned the blanket over my shoulders and shook the weird thoughts from my head.
Hugh hadn’t lied about there being the chill in the air once the sun set. How could it be so hot in the day and get cold in the evening when we weren’t in the desert? And how was is it cold when the air was trying to suffocate me with humidity? I missed air-conditioning and my place by the water.
North Carolina could be hot, but the cool breeze off the ocean helped, and I rarely considered mother nature was actually trying to drown me with the water.
“I think I’m okay, Bennett. Thank you.” I turned around to get a better view of the park and the complete mayhem that had descended on it within the last hour.
“If you need anything, let me know.” he said, his smile scary because it was so big.
“You’re not going to leave my side. Are you?” I asked when I finally realized what had been happening as the beast of a man tailed me for the last thirty minutes. He got me drinks of water, food, and then the blanket at the first sign of a shiver.
He shook his head and I swear he had a gleam in his eyes of excitement that I finally figured it out. “Cyrus gave me strict instructions to make sure your every need is met and to not let you out of my sight.”
“I promise I’m not going anywhere,” I said, trying to find Cyrus in the crowd of people to give him a good scowl. What did he think I’d just get up and walk away?
Bennett chuckled once. “I have experience with women who say they’re not going to go anywhere but magically end up in trouble.”
“How can I get in trouble in a park surrounded by people?” What did they expect me to do all by myself?
He chuckled again, and this time it turned into a full out laugh. “You got kidnapped and then followed from the state of Florida by a crazed criminal who is on his last few steps before we catch up to him and make sure he receives the punishment he deserves.”
When he put it that way… “I guess you have a point.” I had exceptionally bad luck the last few days.
Unless you considered the fact someone kidnapped me with Cyrus, which ended up being good luck. Then, in a way, I was having a great week.
Another big white van pulled up into the corner of the park, and three men in black polo shirts matching Bennett’s jumped out. Just when I thought they couldn’t fit any more people or supplies into the park, new people showed up.
The three men began unloading cases of water from the back of the van and stacking them next to the sidewalk. Nobody even turned and looked in their direction because it was the second shipment of water to be delivered and most people had already stacked up in what they needed and moved on to more fun conveniences.
Across the park, someone set up spotlights. Underneath, a group of homeless men and women lined up to be the next to try on pairs of sneakers. A group of volunteers who came from somewhere, I hadn’t had time to ask, met with each person and fit them for a pair of shoes, giving them an extra pair to take with them. Where did the sneakers come from? Nobody told me.
Every once in a while, one man in a black polo would stand back and shake his head while resting his finger on his chin and scowling. Then he’d call someone on a cell phone, and minutes later, more shoes arrived.
In fact, I’d never seen a group of people pull together a response site this quickly or this well-staffed. They even had a triage center going and after they finished giving Cyrus a full check-through, they opened the area up to the people in the park who needed medical assistance.
When Cyrus told his brother to bring everything, I didn’t realize he literally meant everything. There were stations of water, a man passing out small pup tents, food stations where they were serving a warm meal and also providing food for people to take with them in their backpacks. They even gave people new backpacks—the good professional style backpackers took with them on long trips. It allowed the people to carry more items.
Before I became a nurse, I would’ve said why not just take all these people to a hotel and give them jobs, but the two years I spent working at the free clinic taught me that most homeless people were proud. Doing this would be more impactful and last longer for the people in this park than giving them one or two warm nights in a motel. From his actions, Cyrus and his brother knew it too.
I swallowed back a tear and rubbed at my eye, watching as Carl spoke into the phone Cyrus used to organize all of this less than six hours earlier. Carl had been on the phone all afternoon as he walked from station to station. Every time he finished up a phone call, a few minutes later, more homeless would show up and get in line. It made me laugh and question the hierarchy they had going on in the city—a true communication network.
Bennett took two steps away from me, giving me the most space since he introduced himself earlier, and I glanced back, giving him a look and trying to figure out why. Then I didn’t need to ask because Corbin came into view.
I knew it was Corbin Kensington and not Cyrus from afar. They walked exactly the same but no longer were identical twins. Cyrus now had an injury on his arm where I gave him stitches. Even without the wound I’d be able to tell them apart. Corbin lacked the carefree, beautiful smile Cyrus wore most of the day. He was much too stiff to be mistaken for Cyrus even if they were twins.
He walked right up to me, his lips pinched together, and rather than stop in front of me, he pulled me into a tight hug and rubbed my back like we were long-lost friends being reunited. “Thank you for taking care of my brother.”
Oh no. He hugged me tighter, and I shook in his arms to do whatever I could not to cry. When he stepped back, he nodded once. I hoped the gesture was his way of saying he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“Don’t touch my girl,” Cyrus said, walking up behind me and standing in front of his brother with me at his side.
Corbin laughed. “I had to thank her for keeping your dumb ass alive,” he said, and then the two brothers embraced.
Cyrus couldn’t move his arm much and Corbin was careful of it when he hugged his brother, but it didn’t stop him from squeezing hard once he had his arms wrapped around his middle. They were quiet for a moment, each of them grateful as they hugged one another. It was so obvious the twins had a close bond. It was as if brotherly love radiated from the two of them. The last few days had to be hell for Corbin.
When they each stepped back, Cyrus’s eyes glistened, but I didn’t comment because if he didn’t like the fact he barely passed out for twenty seconds, he wouldn’t want anyone knowing the way he reacted to seeing his brother again. Even if I thought it was a normal reaction and made my heart appreciate him even more.
