FIVE WEEKS EARLIER AFTER BEING DROPPED OFF BY POLLY
As Piper watched her friend drive off, she took a deep breath to collect herself. She wasn't sure if the butterflies in her stomach were a sign of excitement or nervousness. Somehow the project had sounded better on paper when she had mapped out her plans with her graduate advisor.
The blonde was completing her Masters of Urban Planning and Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago. Her concentration was in Community Development. For her final project, she had decided to spend four weeks as a homeless person during the height of the Chicago winter. Chronicling her journey in a notebook tucked away in her bag would allow her to create a solid report upon project completion.
Piper took a seat on a nearby bench and took things out of her ragged day pack. Then she began to repack in a better order. At the bottom, she slipped the emergency cell phone and charger. That was the one precaution she was indeed keeping. Next she threw in the baggie of change, and she rolled all the spare clothing she had brought. Mostly she had some spare t-shirts and a few extra pairs of socks.
Everything else went on top. She was not surprised to see that this was all that Polly had put in to include the space blanket, hand warmers, and military meal packets. These things she planned on quickly giving away so she wouldn't be tempted to use the items to ease any discomfort felt. She knew she would be cold and hungry throughout her time on the streets, but others would better benefit from these items. She could survive simply knowing she could go home to her warm bed in a month's time. Others did not have such a luxury.
Piper shouldered her bag and began to slowly walk the blocks to where she would be spending most of her time. She tried to remember to not walk confidently, shoulders back with her head up. She ducked her head down and hunched herself over as she modified her gait to a shuffle to move through the streets.
PRESENT TIME
Alex again found herself banging on Nicky's door because Nicky wouldn't answer her texts nor pick up her phone. Finally, Alex searched under the mat and through the plants outside Nicky's door until she found the spare key Nicky had since forgotten was hidden out there. Alex now hoped Nicky hadn't latched the security chain or turned a keyless deadbolt.
She breathed a sigh of relief when the door flung open allowing her entry to Nicky's apartment. Of course, Nicky wouldn't have taken any precautions for her own safety. She's such a fuck-up sometimes. Nicky was Alex's best friend, and Alex accepted her, faults and all. But Alex could also see right through Nicky and tried to call her on her shit.
Alex turned her nose up at the stench of pot, cigarettes and stale beer that permeated the room. She again went around opening windows to release the smells as she made her way to Nicky's bedroom. That room had black-out drapes that blocked out the majority of light. Nicky slept all hours of the day and liked it pitch black. As Alex threw back the curtains and light flooded into the bedroom, the lump in the middle of the large bed began groaning. Soon the moans turned to curses and threats.
"Shut the damned drapes." Nicky's voice was muffled as she had pulled the blankets over her head. "And close the fucking windows Vause. It's fucking snowing outside."
Alex walked over to the bed, grabbed the covers, and yanked them off, leaving Nicky in only her pajamas to protect her from the freezing air flooding the penthouse suite. "Get the fuck up Nichols. It's time for you to work this con with me."
"Asshole. Vause I hate you. You're fired. Give me my blankets, shut the blinds, and get the fuck out!"
Alex laughed as she grabbed Nicky's legs and began pulling her out of the bed. She pulled her friend to her feet and supported her as they made their way into the bathroom. Alex started the shower. "I'm not getting in there with you because that's just wrong. But get yourself cleaned up. We have plans to go over."
The next time Alex saw Nicky, she was a bit more presentable, clean at the least. Nicky pulled herself up on the barstool in the kitchen and reached for the coffee Alex had made. Alex slapped at her hand. "There is an order to this. First – the water. All of it."
Nicky grumbled but started on the huge glass of water that was closest to her. Once it was gone, Alex allowed her to have the coffee and slid a plate of scrambled eggs and toast over. While Nicky ate, Alex finished cleaning the kitchen along with the mess Nicky had in the living room.
"Okay Stretch. You have me back in the land of the living. Now tell me… why?"
"We have a week and a half left."
"Don't you think I know this?"
"Well if the con is going to be believable, you have to be involved jackass. Everything must come from you and you should act like your feelings towards the cause is genuine. Here's how it's going to play out. You are going to stay sober for the next ten days and work diligently with me to ensure we pull this off."
Nicky rolled her eyes. "Ten days? Seriously? Do you think that's going to happen? In fact, I'm about to have a bit of the hair of the dog that bit me right now." Nicky jumped off the stool and headed to her liquor cabinet.
Alex stepped in front of her. "You will do no such thing Nichols. Because if you do, you will fail and all you can do is kiss Marka's money goodbye."
"Fuck Vause." Nicky dragged her hands through her wild hair. "You have a point. So, where are you at on this good cause I am championing?"
"Let me get this right Vause… you want to help but outfitting two city buses with toilets and showers so homeless people can get clean. And how much will this cost?"
"That's just part of it. But if I can convince the city to donate two retired buses, the retrofitting will take about 75K per bus for two shower stalls and two toilets. We also have to find workers to oversee the vehicles, to drive them to their locations, and to clean them daily."
"And where are we getting this kind of money Vause?"
"Well, I am hoping for volunteers for the workers and then maybe develop a program to rehouse qualified homeless and then hire them to do the work."
"The buses Vause. Don't play with me. What about the money to retrofit the buses?"
"I thought this is where Marka comes in. She has a lot of pull in the fund-raising world and lots of ties with people who have excess money to donate. Perhaps if you show her a fully vetted plan and talk to her about the money, she will see how much this cause means to you and how serious you are about putting someone else's needs before your own."
"That's just it Vause. I don't care. Why can't I just donate some cash and be done with it?"
"You don't get it Nicky. These are people. They don't just need money thrown at them. What they need is for someone to care for them and to help them regain some modicum of dignity."
"Wow Vause. You are starting to convince me that you actually care for these people."
"I do Nichols. And you need to care as well or at least put on a good act."
"Come on Alex. I can't go to my mom and ask for $150 G. She'll flip. Hell she doesn't even like letting go of $5 G to bail me out of jail."
"Don't sell your mom short. Her giving you one last shot to show your worthiness says something. She might surprise you."
Nicky took in a deep sigh before letting her breath out. "Buses for bathrooms. Do you have any other ideas for me? I need to at least have a back-up plan when Marka rips my head off."
Alex showed her some other of her ideas, albeit less expensive, but none as impactful as this. "Would it help if I go with you to pitch this? You have to take the lead, of course, because it's YOUR plan after all. But I can be there for you to fill in the holes."
"You'd better be there. Someone has to know where she hides my body."
ONE WEEK EARLIER IN THE MIDST OF THE BLIZZARD
The city was still in emergency mode as it braced for the second night of heavy snowfall. Both of the city's airports were running at half normal capacity and thousands of customers were stranded as they waited to be rerouted.
While playing games in the dayroom, Piper had a lot on her mind. She was restless as she came to accept what was about to happen. After the other women had gone to dinner and she had cleaned the day room, she returned to the dorms, which were extremely quiet. Piper padded around looking for an outlet. She dug the almost-forgotten-about emergency phone and charger from her bag and plugged it in. While the battery had completely drained, it did not take long to charge to where Piper needed it.
She returned to her cot, dressed, and readied her things to leave. Tiptoeing around the dorm, she found her way to Taystee's cot. She felt horrible for leaving her friend without saying goodbye but this was for the best. Piper tucked a note she had written Taystee into what was left of her bag of change and gently slid it under Taystee's things where it was hidden well enough from snoopers but to where her friend would find it soon upon returning from dinner.
She signed out with the night dorm mother and braced herself for the frigid temperatures she knew she was going to face. Exiting the dorm, Piper took one last look around her surroundings seeing things in an entirely new light. She began walking south as she dialed a number.
"Polly? It's me. How clear are the roads? … Can you pick me up? I'm ready to come home."
By the time Piper had walked to their meeting place, Polly was just pulling up. She leapt out of her car and ran towards her best friend to give her a hug. Pulling up short, her entire face dropped. "Oh my god Piper. I don't know what's worse – the way you look or the way you smell."
"It's good to see you, too, Polly. Now can we go home?"
Several showers and long soaks in the tub later, Piper emerged in a huge fluffy robe with her hair wrapped up in a towel. "God. I almost feel human again."
Polly handed her a cup of tea. "Did you put everything in the trash bag I gave you?"
Piper nodded as she sipped the warming drink. "Everything but my knapsack. I want to keep it. For some strange reason, I feel connected to it."
"Well it has to survive through several washings with bleach and hot water before you can connect with it in our apartment. Meanwhile I made you some dinner. Light because lord knows what your stomach can handle."
The women spent a lazy evening together with Piper sharing her stories from the last month of being away from help. Eventually Polly said, "Well you need to get some rest. We have an early appointment tomorrow."
Piper groaned. "Polly? Seriously? I just got home. Maybe I am start to smell human, but I don't feel human just yet. I really need some rest."
"Well we are going to fix that. When you called that you were coming home, I called Billy. He was able to fit us in tomorrow. We are going for a full spa day – hair, nails, facials, the works."
"Oh god, that sounds heavenly, even as tired as I am. Thanks Polly! You are the best."
PRESENT TIME
In the days after the symposium, Piper spent quite a bit of time on the streets as herself. She tried to convince herself that she was still gathering final bits of information for her project, when in truth, she was looking for Alex. In her wildest dreams, she would have never imagined running into Alex, of all people, at the symposium.
She was desperate to find Alex so she could explain more fully then the short speech she had given for the conference. Alex deserved to know not only what was going on but also what Piper had done with everything Alex had given her. She did not want Alex thinking that she kept anything given to her. God, Alex must think she's a horrible, uncaring person.
She had not seen Alex by the time she made it to the 32nd street shelter, so she let herself in through the service entrance and went directly to Red's office. She had missed volunteering here, and it felt good to be back. She had even missed Red's gruff demeanor.
"Hey Red. Did you miss me?"
"The prodigal daughter returns. How did your "project" go?" Red's sarcasm didn't go unnoticed by Piper.
"Honestly Red? It sucked. Our clients have it harder than I could have ever imagined. It was the most horrific experience of my life. I spoke the other day at the Chicago Homeless Symposium. The project was well received, and I hope to have additional benefactors soon."
"Don't forget about us here at 32nd Street. You know I have a wish list! I sent one of my new volunteers over to the conference. She was looking for ways to help out and thought she could network with some people there."
"Trying to replace your number one volunteer?" Piper laughed.
"No but she was a hard worker, a lot like yourself. I think you'll like her – if she ever comes in again. Vause I think her name was. Anyway, enough visiting for you. You know what needs to be done. It's prep time for the lunch crowd."
Alex watched the interaction between the brusque cook and Piper. As they got up to move to the kitchen, she silently let herself back out the side entrance. She was not over her anger yet and not ready to talk to the blonde. She had gone almost a week looking everywhere for Piper in a panic who she thought was dead. When all along, she had been concerned about a rich college student who was simply working on a human-interest project.
She hated standing Red up knowing how much Red loved her volunteers. But now that the golden girl was back, Alex would probably never be missed.
