Loving Hirsute
She pulled up his sleeve to reveal a burgeoning purple bruise. “Look at your arm!” Nina stood up and paced the room. She didn’t want to see him in pain. “I realize that you were just beaten by a gang of homeless men…”
He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. He sighed deeply and began to cough like an old radiator. She gave a quick blow to his back with her fist and he stood up, recovered.
She couldn’t bear to look at him, so she left him and walked to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. Some towels were bunched up in the bathtub, where it looked as if someone had slept. Several minutes passed as she stared in the mirror and contemplated what she needed to do. Change, something must change! She could help him find an apartment and get back on his feet. She turned off the light and walked through her apartment to face him. “Here’s what we are going to do.” He was not on her bed. She pulled back the sheet.
On his side of the room, curled up in his box, was John, asleep in his nest of newspapers.
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