As if reading her mind, Darryl reached into a large pocket barely attached to his coat and pulled out a small black umbrella.
"Here, I'm used to the rain," he said, offering her the compact refuge from the weather. "You can hold onto this as long as you want, I've got another one back in the alley."
Jane gratefully took the umbrella, mumbling 'Thanks'. Opening it up, she noticed that one neat corner of the fabric was missing. Darryl chuckled.
"Forgot to tell you, that umbrella comes with a sunroof. Just stay under the right side and you'll be A-Ok. People 'round here really don't care what you look like, but the newcomer's tend to want to keep up their appearance."
Jane found herself slightly embarrassed at this slight judgement of vanity, but chose to smile and huddle under the functioning three-quarters of the umbrella. It was then she realized how unbelievably tired she was.
As they reached the The Square, everyone immediately stopped their conversation and looked at the old pro and the rookie approaching them.
"'Ey Darryl, looks like you picked up another poor soul without them askin', huh?" The man speaking had a Scottish accent and looked roughly like a red-headed Santa Claus. Darryl laughed and pointed to Jane with his thumb.
"This here's Jane. First time out here, but I have a feeling she'll fit in just fine. Isn't that right Jane?" Darryl smiled and nudged Jane with his elbow.
Jane smiled tightly and looked across the group of people in front of her; men, women, her age, old, older. She held up her hand then quickly dropped it back to her side.
"Hi."
A woman with gray hair, curled around her face in severe little corkscrews, laughed and slapped her knee.
"Ah, we got a talker here, huh?"
Jane looked to Darryl for some sort of moral support, but all she got was a toothy grin from him.
"You hungry, dear?" the same woman asked. "We got some food on the grill." She nodded off to the side, towards the grill which stood in front of the largest man Jane had ever seen, flipping some sort of white-ish looking meat product. Exhaustion was sweeping over Jane at an alarming rate, and all she really wanted to do was close her eyes. She looked back to Darryl and spoke, somewhere between a whisper and a plea.
"Darryl? I'm really tired..."
Darryl nodded and turned to the woman.
"No food tonight Darlene. Our newest resident needs her sleep."
Darlene's expression turned to sympathy as she tipped her head in understanding. Darryl said goodbye to the group and turned around, Jane following closely behind.
"You can sleep in my spot tonight, until you get your own area situated tomorrow. I'll just grab one of those benches."
"But it's raining." Jane said, not wanting to put Darryl out while at the same time dreading the idea of spending the night in a homeless stranger's makeshift bed.
"Nah, a little rain is good for a person. Cleanses the mind." Darryl laughed and led Jane into the YBR.
They walked halfway down the alley until Darryl stopped and pointed to their left.
"Home sweet home."
Darryl's home sweet home was a small lean-to made of plywood. Underneath was a cot covered in a red and black plaid sleeping bag, and on either side of the cot were cardboard boxes and milk crates; turned on their sides and stacked on top of one another. Jane was surprised at how the bed and makeshift dressers were, well, cozy.
"Casa a la Darryl." he said, spreading his arms wide and grinning from ear to ear. "Make yourself at home, and if you need anything, I'll be right on one of those benches we were just at. And if you want, I'll bring you some food in case you decide in a bit you're hungry after all."
Jane was in fact starving but the weight of her eyelids overturned her stomach's pleas to be filled.
"I'm ok, thanks."
Darryl clasped his hands together before sticking them in his coat pockets, now free of umbrellas. "Alright, you're all set then. Have a pleasant evening my dear."
With the tip of an imaginary hat, Darryl retreated back towards the entrance to the alley and soon was lost from sight. Jane slumped down on the cot and looked around her. Before she could even process the night that had just occurred, she was deep in a dreamless sleep and wouldn't wake up until morning.
