Caleb stood behind his desk with one hand pressed against the edge, as though he needed it to keep himself upright. His face had lost the confident color it usually carried.
Across from him stood the woman from the sidewalk.
She wore a pale blue coat, though the morning was warm, and her dark hair was gathered neatly at the back of her neck. She looked healthier than she had the day before, but there was still a tiredness around her eyes.
The moment she saw me, her expression changed.
“Julian,” she said softly.
Caleb turned.
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then I tightened my grip around the strap of my backpack.
“I only came for my things,” I said.
“You heard what I was saying,” Caleb muttered.
heard you say you didn’t know who I was.”
The woman stepped closer to me.
“My name is Eleanor Bennett,” she said. “And I’ve been trying to find you since yesterday.”
I glanced at Caleb.
“Why?”
“Because you stayed with me when everyone else kept walking.”
Her voice was steady, but her eyes shone with emotion.
“I wanted to thank you.”
I looked down at the scuffed floor.
“You don’t have to. I just called the ambulance.”
“You did more than that.” She paused. “You kept me calm. You followed the dispatcher’s instructions. You gave the paramedics my name and told them what happened. You even found my handbag when it fell beneath the bench.”
“I just did what they told me.”
“That is what brave people often say.”
The words made my throat tighten.
Caleb cleared his throat.
“Ms. Bennett, I explained that Julian’s lateness was unusual. He has
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