Homeless by Ms. Michel Moore Page A

his office.
    â€œSo, yeah, Mr. McKay, or can I call you Lonnie? Will that be all right?”
    â€œLonnie is cool with me. I’m good with that.”
    â€œWell, great. Let me just say that even though you are here to perform volunteer hours with us, we still try to slip our people a li’l something something under the table when we can.” He went in the top drawer of his desk and took out an envelope. “Now, this type of thing isn’t a regular thing you can count on, but when I can bless the next person, why not. I’ve been homeless before as well as in trouble as a youth, so trust me when I tell you, Lonnie, I know how it is to be a young black man out here trying to navigate through these streets.”
    Not knowing what to make out of Mr. Reynolds’s out-of-the-blue openhanded generosity, Lonnie happily accepted the envelope. Not knowing its contents, he put it in his back pocket. Living practically hand to mouth, the youngster knew at this point in his life he needed all the assistance he could get, free or otherwise. “Thanks.”
    â€œNo need to thank me, son, just lend us a strong helping hand while you’re here and do the best job you possibly can, even if there is no full-scale paycheck involved. Now, I might not be around every time you leave, so my secretary can sign off on the amount of hours you put in. The night shift staff comes in after six, but you and I both will be long gone by then for the day.”
    Lonnie was happy that he wouldn’t have to come in contact with any of the persons that worked at night. He wanted to confide in his elder that not only was he in trouble with the court system, he had also been homeless for some time and had actually slept in this facility on more than several occasions. Lonnie wanted to tell him all the sneaky deviant behavior that went on in the coed common area after dark as well as the drug usage. But he wasn’t one to be labeled a snitch; especially since he was on the verge of possibly having to house back under this roof in the very near future. Instead, he dummied up and let shit be.
    The alone-in-the-world teen felt at ease as the older man schooled him on the way he wanted things done around the shelter. Not wanting him to think he was a slacker or unappreciative of whatever blessing was in the envelope, Lonnie picked up quickly. When he took a break, the exhausted teen opened the envelope, finding a few weeks’ worth of bus tickets and a fifty-dollar bill. Thinking this experience might not be so bad, he smiled, not even giving a second thought to the Ecstasy pill still in his pocket or buying anymore with his small, but much-needed windfall.
    When it was finally time to leave, he looked for Mr. Reynolds but was informed by the woman that’d let him into the building earlier that he’d left the premises.
    â€œBaby, he’s gone for the day. He usually leaves about three or so. Sometimes five on Fridays.” She tried flirting as if she wasn’t down and out on her luck and should have other things more important on her mind besides trying to push up on some young dude that was clearly paying her no attention whatsoever.
    â€œOh, all right, then, thanks, Miss.”
    â€œOh, no problem; no problem at all. Anytime, baby, or anything you want to know just ask. I gotcha!”
    Lonnie nodded at the woman, hoping she’d just stop pretending to clean that same damn multicolored framed mirror so she could be in the hallway right outside the office door. This bitch done lost her mind or something. With no recourse but to have the uppity-mouthed secretary sign off on his paperwork, Lonnie braced himself to do verbal battle. No sooner than he turned the doorknob and stepped inside, he was met with a much different attitude. The originally crude creature informed him her first name was Brenda and asked him to forgive her, she was having a bad day. Lonnie was not in the mood to hear or except any