Charity Starts at Home Read Free

after sitting down next to him.
    “These people are safe for the night,” Haden stated, taking a sip and burning his mouth.
    Quinn smiled. “Yeah, they are.”
    “As the weather grew worse, I kept reading about the cops finding people frozen in alleyways and such.” Haden sighed, defeated. “When I was walking to work after the first frosty night, people were walking past a young woman on a bench covered in newspapers. She looked all grey and I called an ambulance, but it was too late. She was dead and everyone was just walking past her as if they didn’t even notice.”
    “Would you have noticed if you hadn’t worked here this summer?” Quinn asked.
    Haden shrugged. “Probably not, although I’d like to think I would.”
    “Well, you’ve taken a big step toward helping these people.”
    Haden looked at Quinn, doubt in his face. “Tomorrow we let them out again and it’s a lottery whether they’ll have a place to sleep tomorrow night. Nothing ever changes. We’re a drop in the ocean.”
    Quinn was surprised at Haden’s defeatist attitude. “We help those we can. For tonight. And tomorrow’s another day. Don’t they teach you that at AA? Take it one step at a time, one day at a time. You never know about tomorrow.”
    Haden nodded.
    “It’s the same with these people. And things do change. You saw Karl with his kids, right? He’s been sober for over a year now. He’s a good guy. If I had more money, I’d give him a job and a permanent place to stay at the shelter, but I don’t. He knows my hands are tied, but he keeps fighting. He’ll make it one day. In the meantime, Cammie and I are on the lookout for a small apartment for him and his kids.”
    Haden stayed around for the cleanup and when all the residents were settled in for the night, he came into the office to say goodbye to Quinn. Quinn couldn’t help thinking Haden looked like a shy schoolboy, but he attributed that to his libido taking over.
    “I better go,” Haden announced, playing with his leather gloves as he was about to walk out. “Can I come back again one evening?”
    “Sure,” Quinn answered. “We have to discuss your plans for Christmas, after all.”
    Haden nodded shyly. “I’ll make some calls and let you know what I come up with.”
     
    *  *  *
    Quinn didn’t hold his breath, especially not after the first week of not hearing anything from Haden. Life went on in never changing circles; morning routine, afternoons off, then evening routine and falling asleep in his small room at the back of the shelter to a soundtrack of the coughs and snores of a large group of people sleeping in a small space.
    Two weeks before Christmas, Quinn was in the city after a meeting with the Salvation Army when his cell phone rang. He smiled when he saw Haden’s number pop up.
    “Hey! What’s up?” he answered.
    “Haden here.”
    “Yeah, I know. I have your number,” Quinn answered happily, dashing into the subway and waiting on the bottom step out of the cold wind, hoping he wouldn’t lose his connection.
    “Can I come by this evening?”
    Quinn was surprised how Haden’s question made his heartbeat quicken. “Of course!” he answered, sounding quite a bit more eager than he wanted to. “You’re always welcome.”
    “I have a meeting to go to first, but it’s not far from the shelter so I’ll come around after that. Same time as last week okay for you?”
    “Just ring the doorbell,” Quinn replied before he clicked his phone shut. Haden’s words kept ringing through his mind. He was going to a meeting. Would that be an AA meeting? Although Quinn hadn’t gone to one in ages, he knew there was one every day about two blocks away from the shelter. For a long time, he would go there just before returning to the shelter, back when he needed those meetings to make it through the evening. He took in a deep breath and started walking toward his train home. It dawned on him how much stronger he was compared to a year ago, and