The glass electric doors swung open, blasting her with the frigid Chicago winter air. She shivered and crossed her arms to try and warm herself as she passed through the doors. The L train ran overhead. A gust of dingy air replaced the earlier aroma of bread. Slowly, she made her way to the crosswalk and pounded the button with a closed fist. The dark sky matched the color of her heart. She wondered if it would snow overnight, making the sidewalk a slushy mess on her way to work tomorrow. Then she thought of Justin and how he wouldn’t spend the night alone. Her shoulders drooped.
“Hey, wait up,” the now-familiar voice from the grocery store called out.
Brooke peered over her shoulder as the man from earlier jogged out of the store and over to where she waited. He had a brown paper bag in each of his hands. It looked like he didn’t only have American Express. The crosswalk light flashed walk, but she remained glued in place.
She rubbed her arms with her hands. “Yeah? What’s up?” She sounded like a teenager.
He landed in front of her. “Here.” He held a bag out to her. The loaf of French bread stuck out of the top. “This is for you.”
Blankly, she stared down at the bag. Her jaw slackened a little.This guy bought her things. She hadn’t even been nice to him.Tears tickled the corners of her eyes. Kindness from strangers wasn’t something she experienced too often.
When she didn’t move or answer, he said again, “Here.” He shook the bag. “Take it.” Then he pressed it against her arms.
Brooke kept her arms folded. “Did you buy my bread and Oreos?” Her voice softened as their gaze caught. All that stared back at her was a sincere and earnest desire to help her.
“Yes, so please take it.”
Slowly, she uncrossed her arm and hooked her hand around the top handle. He let go.
“I can’t believe you bought me my things.” She forced her gaze away from him and down to the bag in her hands. “Why?” The worry lines on her forehead eased. “I wasn’t very nice to you back there. I’m really sorry by the way. I’m normally not ill-mannered.” She gnawed on her bottom lip, trying to find the words. “So, why would you buy food for me?”
“Because you said you were having a difficult day.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “And if you went into a store only to buy those two items, I figured you do need them, for whatever reason.”
Then she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “Are you a murderer or something?” She cautiously brought the bag tight against her chest and cradled it between her arms. “Buy me bread to butter me up then I end up as a story on Dateline.”
He laughed. “No—geez. Do I give off that vibe?” He shuffled his feet then ran his free hand through his messy dark locks. “I hope I don’t look like a murderer. But I think you’ve managed to give me one more thing to be self-conscious about.”
She chuckled. “Sorry, I’m not used to men being nice to me for no reason.” A crooked smile cracked her lips. “Also, I just watched this documentary about Ted Bundy. He was attractive and used his charm to lure women. You seemed too good to be true buying my bread and Oreos.”
“Ha.” He shifted his own brown bag from one hand to the other. “Trust me, I’m not charming any women.”
“I don’t know.” She held up the bag. “This certainly could’ve worked on women who are into that type of thing.” A tiny smile attempted to make the ends of her lips curl.
“But not you.” His eyes crinkled around the edges while the streetlamp overhead made them shine brightly. “Right?”
“Correct.” She shook her head. “Not me.”
The crosswalk light came and went again. Another L train ran overhead making the street vibrate. Brooke pressed the crosswalk button again.
“Thanks.” She peered out at the cars on the street piling up as the light turned red. “It was incredibly good Samaritan of you.”
“I try.”
“Well,” she swung her gaze from him to the crosswalk and back, “thanks—sorry I didn’t catch your name.”
“Logan.” He straightened himself. “And you?”
“Brooke.”
“Enjoy your Oreos and bread,” he smiled, making his eyes twinkle. The knots in her stomach loosened. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Thanks again for the food.” The crosswalk light lit up, and she pointed at it. “I’d better go. Have a nice life, Logan.” Then she genuinely smiled.
“You too.”
Swiftly, she entered the crosswalk and left Logan standing on the corner. She wondered if he lived nearby, and what hospital he worked at. If this was a romcom, he would’ve jogged after her or at least asked for her number before she disappeared. But it wasn’t, not even close. If anything, her life was one of those awful dark comedies where everyone else laughed but her. The highlight of her day would be to eat bread and Oreos, alone.
Her skin itched to peer back over her shoulder to see if Logan still stood on the corner, but she forced herself to keep walking. The aroma of bread wafted out of her bag. Her hand dippedinside the warm bag, and she ripped a piece off and bit into it. When the perfectly warm bread hit her lips, she sighed. It tasted heavenly. Why did it taste this good? She polished off the piece she had and tore another chunk to eat.
