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slowly slipped it on gratefully. It was thickly padded and insulated and he smiled as he looked at her.
    “Thank you, for dinner and the coat.”
    “What are you doing tomorrow?” she asked him, as though he had a heavy social schedule, and wasn’t just trying to stay alive in the shed, and she wondered if he really did have a sleeping bag as he claimed. “Can I interest you in breakfast? Or drop something off for you?”
    “I’ll be around. I usually go out in the daytime, so they don’t see me here.”
    “I could come by in the morning, if you want,” she suggested, and he nodded, with a puzzled look.
    “Why are you doing this? Why do you care?” he asked, looking suspicious again.
    “Why not? See you tomorrow, Blue.” She smiled, and waved. She walked away and headed toward her apartment, as he disappeared into the shed, wearing her parka and carrying the extra meal she had given him. She had completely forgotten about wanting to jump into the river. And as she thought about it, it no longer made sense. She was smiling to herself as she walked along in the snow. It had been a strange encounter. She wondered if he’d be there when she came back the next day. She realized that he might not be, but whether he was or was not, he had given her far more than she had given him. She had given him a parka and dinner, and she knew with absolute certainty that were it not for Blue suddenly appearing out of nowhere, she would have been at the bottom of the river by now. And as she walked into her apartment, she realized with a shiver how close she had come to ending her life that night. It had seemed so easy for a minute, and such a simple thing to do, to just climb over the railing, let the waters close over her, and disappear. And instead she had been saved by a homeless boy called Blue with brilliant blue eyes. She thought of him as she fell asleep that night, and she slept peacefully for the first time in months. She had survived the anniversary thanks to him, and he had saved her life.

Chapter 3
    Ginny woke up early the next day, and saw that it had stopped snowing. There was a foot of snow on the ground, and the sky was still gray. She showered and dressed quickly, and was back at the shed at nine o’clock. She knocked on the door of the shed politely and a sleepy voice answered. It sounded as though she had woken him up. He poked his head out a moment later, wearing her parka and holding his sleeping bag.
    “Did I wake you?” she asked apologetically, and he nodded with a grin. “Do you want to go to breakfast?” He smiled at the question and rolled up his sleeping bag, to take with him. He didn’t want to leave it in case someone invaded the shed and took it away. And he had a small nylon gym bag with all his worldly possessions in it. He was ready in two minutes, and they walked back to McDonald’s. He headed for the bathroom as soon as they got there, and when he came out, she could see that he had brushed his hair and washed his face.
    They ordered breakfast and went back to the table where they’d had dinner the night before.
    “Merry Christmas, by the way,” she said as they dug into breakfast. She had coffee and a muffin, and he had two Egg McMuffins with bacon and fries. He had a healthy appetite like any growing boy.
    “I don’t like Christmas,” he said softly as he drank hot chocolate with whipped cream on top.
    “Neither do I,” she admitted with a distant expression.
    “Do you have kids?” He was curious about her.
    “No,” she said simply. “I used to” would have been more information than he needed or she wanted to say. “Where are your mom and dad, Blue?” she asked him, as they finished eating and she sipped her coffee. She couldn’t help wondering how he had wound up on the streets.
    “They’re dead,” he said quietly. “My mom died when I was five. My dad died a few years ago, but I hadn’t seen him in a long time. He was a bad guy, my mom was a really good woman.