Three times a week, sometimes more, Coral would see her back by the dumpster in back of her bakery. Around 20, she had bare feet, dirty torn sweatpants, and a filthy oversized man's t-shirt that couldn't hide the fact that she had huge knockers and no bra.
At first, Coral was taken aback. Watching the young woman root through the dumpster for edible scraps, her sandy long hair matted and uneven, she was obviously homeless. Coral started looking for her. When she thought she'd be coming back around she'd put something in the dumpster in an easy to get to spot.
A loaf of fresh bread, A fruit pie, a tin of Banana muffins, a bag of dinner rolls, some bottled water. They always disappeared. It still took weeks for Coral to work up the nerves to approach the girl.
"Hey, you wanna come in? I'll make you a sandwich." Coral felt it was a lame opener, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
"Really lady? I'm a walking health code violation." The woman said in a somewhat street worn husky voice.
She had a point, though.
"Then stay here and I'll bring one out." Coral smiled.
"Do I gotta pay? I ain't got no money." The girl said.
"No, you won't owe me a penny." Coral said. "You like turkey?"
She nodded yes.
Five minutes later Coral was back with two sandwiches on paper plates and a couple of bottles of soda and a bag of chips. They sat on the back step of the shop, so Coral could hear it if a customer came in.
The woman devoured the sandwich and soda before Coral was even a third of the way through hers.
"Thanks lady. I don't usually eat so good." The girl said.
"Call me Coral. What shall I call you?"
"Call me anything you want. I don't care." She replied.
"Well you have to have a name, right?" Coral tried.
"Kendall." She said reluctantly.
"How'd you end up on the street, Kendall?" Coral asked.
"How does anyone end up on the street?" Kendall rejoined.
"Drugs? Money problems? Landlord kicked you out." Coral suggested.
"A little bit of everything, I guess. I've always sucked at holding down a job. That hasn't helped." She admitted.
"Why is that?" Coral asked.
"Let's just say I got secrets. Big secrets. And when they get found out. Bang. I'm back on the outside looking in." Kendall said mysteriously.
"So you live on the street?" Coral asked.
"Got to. Like I said, I got secrets." Kendall replied.
"Have you always been so...sullen?" Coral said.
Kendall's face softened thoughtfully. "No. Back when I was little, when things were normal...I was normal..." She stopped.
"What happened." Coral asked.
"Puberty, mostly. My body changed almost overnight. I got these ginormous knockers and...stuff." Kendall explained. "My folks were real Christian and sent me to a girls school. I got kicked out of school and then home, and then every time I'd get things pointed in the right direction, bam. I'd get found out, and it was the same old shit all over again."
"Sounds terrible." Coral agreed. "Can't you find a shelter somewhere?"
"Can't do shelters. Same reasons." Kendall said dejectedly.
Coral didn't really understand, but there was something nice about Kendall, and she didn't like how many mean things seemed to have happened to her. She didn't know where the idea had come from, but she found herself blurting out. "My apartment's above the store. If you want to get cleaned up? I probably have some fresh clothes that'll fit you too."
"I usually try and go down to the lake a couple times a week, but that's not the same. You'd really let me? Wow. That's doing a stranger a solid." Kendall remarked.
"Go ahead. The stairs are over there and the bathroom is the first door on your right once you get in the apartment. The hot water heater's been on the fritz a little so you might want to keep a towel close." Coral recommended.
