An Unholy Alliance

Sam slipped into a cavernous sleep on the couch. The fireplace glowed with embers. A chill raked his bones, forcing him to curl into a ball. He shuddered asleep with his cell phone on the stand near his head.

A dream took him into the woods near his home in the country. Having abandoned his car in a ditch of snow, he limped his way back toward the house through the woods on a shortcut. But his boots sank in the snow and every step was painful. He was lost in a maze of trees, attempting to find a sign of light in a neighborhood. In the distance he heard the cry of a baby. He followed the sound until deeper into a forest, deeper into an ink of darkness. Then he realized it must have been the sound of a bobcat caught in a claw trap.

Sam's phone buzzed above his head. He snatched it from the end table. From the haze in his head, he read the message from Lisa on the night staff at the shelter. "Taylor isn't here, but I've heard from someone who saw her when dinner was served. They think she might be outside where a group have huddled together behind the building."

Sam leaned forward and looked at the time on his phone. It was 1:37 in the morning. He was relieved to have his dream interrupted. He fumbled with his boots, having left puddles on the hardwood. He stretched until it hurt, his weak leg throbbing some. On the edge of the sofa, he tugged on his boots. He dug into his coat pocket, found his car keys. As much as he wanted to wrap himself in a blanket and shut the world out, he couldn't forget about the one person who needed saving; or could it be the other way around?

Outside, the snow and wind subsided. But the cold found its way into his skin despite the fur lining of his coat. Above there were a million or so stars in the clearing skies. Below and across his yard, the crusted snow sparkled like tiny diamonds.

Stumbling to his car, he fell inside and turned the engine over. He feared a pregnant Taylor was out near the mission building, fighting to stay warm. Why was he obsessing over her? What would his wife think of him after all she'd been through? Maybe he should have prayed before he pressed the accelerator.

The moonlight bounced off the virgin snow on either side of the road as he took the narrow turns in his Subaru. From a farm hill road, he could see the silvery city lights of Syracuse. He tapped his brakes, slipping and sliding down the hill and into the plowed streets below.

He drove past the Syracuse University dome and then the hospital where his wife slept on the 3rd floor of the maternity ward. It was supposed to be a place celebrating life, the birth of his boy. Instead, he found his way down the lighted city streets to the shelter in search of a pregnant teenager. The hospital stayed in his rearview mirror until the last turn toward the mission.

Sam knew some of Taylor's background. Her single mom was raising her in a city house so many blocks away. Then the mom brought home a boyfriend who eventually abused Taylor. She decided to strike out on her own at seventeen. She found an older boyfriend to take her into his apartment where he introduced her to heroin. By the time she'd turned eighteen, he had sent her to the strip club for money. When she ended up pregnant, she could no longer help support them. She lived in a tailspin. Every time she turned to the mission for help, she'd disappear again.

As Sam approached the Rescue Mission, he could see a group of homeless people gathered around a barrel of fire, taking turns warming their hands in a vacant lot. He pulled alongside the curb in front of a car covered in snow.

He tripped along the snowy sidewalk, dragging his weaker leg along with him, until he dug for his keys and fumbled with the lock to the shelter. Beyond the beds, he could see Lisa in the lighted and locked office.

Sam stepped into the darkness with rows of people on bunks between him and the office. It was set up like a barracks, military style where he negotiated the center aisle toward Lisa. He used his phone for a flashlight to be sure he didn't trip into someone.

Sam tapped on the big security window. It surprised her. She turned from her desk and opened the door. "Sam, I didn't know you would come out. I'm sorry. I didn't want you to feel you needed to be here."
"I'm here if you need me. I just want to be sure Taylor's not out in this weather. It would be too risky to be out in this and be pregnant."

Sam, what about Ruth? Did she have the baby?"

Why did Sam think for a moment it wouldn't be on everyone's mind. He must have looked glum. "She miscarried." He didn't give her all the details, like how he held his infant son in his arms while he was still warm.

"I'm so sorry Sam. Did this just happen?" Please sit for a moment. Rest yourself. I have some paperwork you can sign."

"She's spending one night the hospital, just for observation." He wouldn't tell Lisa about his wife moving in with his mother in-law.

"Sorry, I didn't know. I wouldn't have called you earlier this evening and bothered you about the overcrowding.

Sam waved her off. "Let me sign those papers and then I'm going to have a quick look around the building for Taylor. If I find her, I will put her in a motel room myself."

"Okay." She handed him some papers on a clipboard.

Sam signed them quickly. Handed the clipboard over and stood. They hugged. "Okay, Lisa. You did the right thing. We can't take the risk of losing our permit with the city."

She nodded. Sam opened the door. Lisa locked herself in and watched Sam drag his way down the darkened center aisle.

A rush of cold air met Sam outside. He turned his collar, tucked his head and made his way around the corner where some were hunkered down along the painted brick wall.

Sam spotted what looked like someone with a pale face and dirty blonde hair, head between her knees. He limped over to her. He leaned over and poked her shoulder. It startled Sam that it was a young man with stringy blonde hair!

"Sorry," he said, as he moved down the row of people curled over on the sidewalk.

He was about to give up when around the next corner he spotted someone leaning against the wall. Her chin was tucked into her puffy coat. She lifted her head and held out her hand toward someone next to her. She took a sip from what looked like a flask.

The pain in Sam's hip radiated. The crisp cold weather only made the deformity of his weak and shorter leg hurt more. He shuffled toward her. The men who stood around the fire yards away glared. "Taylor, is that you?"

She looked at him with her pearly blues. Her knees were drawn in until the oversized coat covered her like a blanket. "Who wants to know?"

As Sam leaned in closer to be sure it was her. It prompted the guy next to her to take his flask and retreat into the shadows "Do you remember me?"

"Look, I'm not doing tricks, so get lost creep!"

It was a shock to Sam. He hadn't thought of how she could get picked up by someone wanting to pay her for a sexual favor. "No, no. I'm the assistant director of the shelter, here to check on you. See if you need a place..." He showed the badge around his neck.

"What did you have in mind?" She sank further into her coat.

"You all right Tay?" A voice came from a black man who held up a broke two by four meant for the fire.

Sam turned and put his hands up, as if to surrender. "It's not what you think. I'm a director here at the shelter. I'm trying to help."

"That right Tay?"

Taylor slid up the wall. "It's okay, he's one of the good guys, fellas."

The anger in the man's eyes cooled, and the others stopped staring.

Sam breathed a sigh. His forehead sweated in the cold "Let me get you to a hotel somewhere. I can put it on my card I use for emergencies."

Taylor shifted toward him. "You look harmless enough."

He led her with his limp down the block toward the car. "You should be careful with the baby."

Taylor stopped for a moment. "How is it you seem to know more about me than I do you? You been casing me?"

Under the streetlamp, Sam looked at her bone white complexion, sunken chin, bloodshot blue eyes. "I was told you might be outside by a staff member. You're known by us, because you are a priority. It's my job."

"Then why I am I not staying at the shelter?"

"Its full to capacity."

Taylor opened the car before Sam could reach the passenger door. She dipped inside and slid the seat back to give her and the baby in her tummy enough room.

Starting the car, Sam insisted. "I need you to put the seatbelt on. Please."

Taylor fought with it until Sam heard it click.

After several city streets, he passed by the hospital where Sam's wife slept. He turned down a service road next to the highway where a cluster of motels could be found.

"I'm hungry," she blurted out."

Sam could see she was becoming fidgety, wringing her hands. He guessed she was coming off a high from heroin or something.

"Can we eat something first?"

She may have expected Sam to pull into an all-night Diner in Syracuse. Instead, he took the road that would wind its way up the hill and into the country where he lived.

"Wait, the motels are over there?" Taylor looked like she was ready to kick the windshield out with her feet.

"Don't worry, Taylor. It's almost three in the morning. I want to take you to my house. We have plenty of room. Your own private bedroom and bath. All the food you can eat. You can look things over, and if you don't like it, I will take you to a motel. Deal?"

She seemed nervous or agitated as the city lights faded in the distance. "Sure, you're not just saying that?"

"No, no. How could you think of such a thing? My reputation is everything." Sam tightened his grip on the wheel. Blood rushed to his face. "Spend the night, and then I know a good doctor from my church I can take you to in the morning. When's the last time you had an exam for you and the baby?"

Silence fell between them. Taylor folded her arms and stared out the window at the dark woodlands and glistening snow.

"Sounds like you got this all figured out for me. You got my life planned out or something?"

"No nothing like that. Try to be open to people who care about you. I know you shouldn't trust everyone."

"If my boyfriend were here, I'd be okay. He's in New York city on business. When he gets back, I will do just fine."

Sam held his tongue. He wanted to tell her what he thought of her drug dealing boyfriend, but he didn't want to risk her freaking over it. He was having enough trouble with the nagging voice in his head telling him he just crossed an ethical line between the hospital and home.