The security guard opened his mouth to speak. I thought for sure that he was going to warn me away from the property he was entrusted to guard.
Instead, he said, “You okay, man?”
Surprised, all I could do was stare at him as I walked.That didn’t do much to convince him I was all right.
“You ain’t got a coat?” he asked me, his eyes narrowing with concern.
I slowed almost to a stop and managed to shake my head.
He motioned toward my left leg.“Hurt your leg, too, huh?”
I shook my head again and stammered, “Old injury.”It was hard to force my jaw open and speak.The words came out more like o-old-ld-d in-n-njur-re-rey.I came to a complete stop and shivered violently.
“Holy cow, mister,” the guard said.“How long you been out in this cold?”
I looked into his face. His question and his concern were honest enough, even though there was no reason he should care about me.
“I walked in from The Hole,” I said, but through my chattering teeth and short breath, I might as well have been speaking Swedish or Swahili for all the sense I made.
His eyes narrowed briefly at the mentioning of The Hole, but he shook it off.“It’s twelve degrees out here,” he said.“How much further you goin’?”
“Browne’s Addition,” I stammered.
He immediately shook his head.“Uh-uh.You’ll never make it.You’re damn near hypothermia as it is.”
I stared at him stupidly.
He removed a ring of keys from his belt.“C’mon,” was all he said, turning to the large glass front doors and unlocking one.
When I didn’t move, he glanced over his shoulder at me.“My name’s Clell.You can warm up in here.”
I stood in place, the violent shivers feeling more and more like epileptic spasms, especially now that I was no longer moving.Clell swept the door open and a gust of warm air washed out from the lobby of the office building.It was like Mexico inside there.I stood, unable to move despite the welcoming tropic air.
Clell stepped forward and took me by the arm. “Easy now,” he said, guiding me toward the door.
With his help, I limped inside.
29
Clell locked the doors behind us and motioned over to the corner of the lobby.A spartan desk stood there,partially obscured by a column.The only items on the desktop were a telephone and a notepad.My teeth chattered as we walked, my knee grinding like a rusty hinge.I had the perverse thought that if I wasn’t careful, I’d chop off my tongue with my incisors.
“You should probably sit down,” Clell said, pulling out a simple folding chair from behind the desk.
I took a seat, rubbed my arms and tried to control my shivering.Every time I managed to stop it for a second or two, the pressure built up and exploded into one giant shudder.
“Holy cow,” Clell muttered.He slipped off his coat and held it out to me.
I shook my head.
Clell cocked his head at me, and gave me a curious look. He didn’t ask a second time.Instead, he stepped in and draped the coat over my shoulders like a cape.
I could feel the residual body heat still inside the coat and I drew it close around me.There was a hint of the smell of Old Spice and old sweat in the fabric.I nodded my thanks to him, but he was already digging into a black gym bag next to the desk.A moment later, he pulled out a silver thermos roughly the size of a submarine.
“Let’s get some coffee in you,” he said.
Steam rose off the brew as he poured it into the cap.He only poured half a cup and handed it to me.I held it at my chest, warming my hands and making the brown liquid jump and dance as I continued to shiver.
“It ain’t the expensive stuff,” Clell said, sitting on the corner of the desk.“Folger’s or Maxwell House.Just good old Western Family blend.”
“It’s h-h-hot,” I said.
“That it is,” Clell answered.
We sat like that, wordless, for what seemed like a long time.Slowly, my shivering diminished to the point where I could drink the coffee without spilling it down my chin.Clell pulled a sandwich out of his bag and offered it to me.When I shook my head, he ate it himself, staring thoughtfully out the windows.Once he’d finished, he re-filled my cup and then made a quick trip around the lobby, looking outside at passersby and jiggling the front door.
“All secure?” I asked when he returned.
“Always is, it seems,” he said with a nod.“Guess I’m just here for that one time it isn’t.”
I glanced down at the belt around his waist and saw handcuffs, keys, a flashlight and a cell phone, but no gun.
“Feelin’ better?” he asked.He had a slight accent, but I hadn’t been able to place it. It was country, but not exactly a southern drawl.
“Yeah.” I took another drink of coffee.“Thanks.”
He shrugged it off.“No big deal.”
It was, though, and we both knew it.As I’d sat there warming up, I realized how cold I’d actually been.Clell had been right.I might not have made it home without having some serious frostbite.Maybe worse.
I looked around the stylish lobby. “Is this your only building?” I asked him.
“Tonight,” he answered, nodding.“They have a few they send me to.Just depends on who’s working.”
I drank some more coffee.I didn’t know what to say, but Clell didn’t seem to mind.We passed another fifteen minutes that way, with me drinking the last of my coffee and Clell making another pass through the lobby.
When he returned, I knew I was warm enough to leave.The warmth of the lobby and Clell’s coat, plus the coffee, had pushed the cold back to an arm’s length.
But I found that I didn’t want to leave just yet.For one thing, I didn’t know just how to say thank you to Clell.Maybe he hadn’t saved my life, but he’d done something very much like it.Besides that, my day had begun with Principal Jenkins busting my balls and proceeded through to Leon trying to put me through the uprights for an extra point.In between, there hadn’t been a whole lot of kindness coming my way.
Clell lifted out the thermos and offered it to me again.I shook my head.“I can’t drink all your coffee.”
He grinned.“Can’t say I’ve ever polished off this torpedo by myself.”He pulled open a drawer in the security desk and removed a small white Styrofoam cup.He filled it and then offered to fill mine again.
I held out the thermos cup.“Just two fingers’ worth.”As he poured, I said, “You’re not from River City.”
“Nope,” he said, screwing the plunger back into the thermos.
“Where are you from?”
He smiled, replacing the thermos in his bag.“Just outside Minot, North Dakota.”
“How big a town is that?”
He shrugged.“Well, I guess you could say I’m from the almosturban town of Minot.”
I smiled back, more because his grin was so infectious than at what he said. A minor throb from my cheek flared up when I did, but it was worth it.
“Well, Clell, how long have you been in the greater River City metropolis?”
“Metropolis?” He laughed.“That’s good.Haven’t heard that one yet.”He scratched his chin, looking out through the front windows.Finally, he said, “Guess it’s been seven years now.”
“You like it here?”
Clell smiled, “As well as anywhere.Ain’t got no family left back home since my folks passed.And-“A shadow passed over his face and he stopped.
“And what?”
He shook his head.“Nothin’.I like this town all right.It’s got its share of troubles, but most of the people are good people.”
I wondered how he could say that since he worked downtown guarding buildings at night, when all the freaks and idiots came out.
“You’re from here, though, aint’cha?” Clell asked.“I can tell.You’ve got the accent.”