I was working for a mid size restaurant company ( I can't tell you the name or type of food or you would immediately know who it was ) . I was the manager on duty one night and doing a final check of everything before I left. I checked the hot line to make sure all the equipment was turned off and then I went to the back dock to make sure the gate was secure. When I looked out the gate I saw a woman sitting on the sidewalk with her back against the wall. She was obviously homeless and it was going to be a cold night. I felt sorry for her. "hey, there!" I called out. She turned around to face me and I could see that she was a young girl maybe 18 years old, probably a run-away, we get a lot of those here in the big city. "please mister, I just need to sit a while, I have been walking all day." She said.
"Where are you from?" I asked.
"San Diego." She replied. We continued our conversation for quite some time, and I found out that she indeed had run away from home. She left three weeks ago after a horrible fight with her father. She was not your typical abused teenager, her father had never taken advantage of her, or anything like that. She was just sick of all the fighting and yelling everyday in her house.
"Are you hungry?" I asked her. "Yes, but I am not one of those tramps that will fuck you for a cold slice of pizza."
"How about for a hot slice of pizza?" She looked at me like I just slapped her, but then I laughed her and told her I was only kidding. Who was I to take advantage of someone down on their luck anyway. "Listen." I said. "We have some leftovers from tonight's dinner rush that I can give you, and sometimes the managers forget to secure this gate, it sticks if you don't pull on it hard enough it will not lock. Anyway, you can come in her to get out of the cold." I could see that she was grateful, but still a little wary of a strangers good will.
"Just be gone by 6:00am when my boss gets here." I went inside to fix a plate of food, and when I came back outside she had come inside the gate and set up a crate to sit on and lit a cigarette. I gave her the plate of food, and she took it thanking me. "I usually work nights with Monday and Tuesday off." I said. "If you need help come by after closing." She stood up and kissed me so very tenderly on the cheek. "Thank you." She whispered in my ear. I went back inside and finished my check and then went out the front door to get to my car. I thought about her all the way home that night.
Almost a week later I saw her again at closing, she was waiting at the back door for me to come out like I had the previous week. I got her some food and we sat and talked while she ate the food. She told me all about growing up and what her life had been like. She also shared with me the month that she spent living on the street and how that had changed her. "I am going to go on a limb here, we really could use some help in the dining room a couple of nights a week, and that might help you get back on your feet." I told her. "No one hires without a phone number and address."
"I do all the hiring, and my boss does not care as long as the staff is pretty." She smiled at that while looking at the ground. "I can offer you a sofa to sleep on until you get on your feet. I will even get you the uniform you need to start working." She ran into my arms and kissed me deeply on the lips. "Woah, let's get you a shower, come on." She looked at me sideways and said. "Are you going to try something, funny?"