Finley’s kind of guy, she thought.
‘How’d you manage to end up on the Lower East Side?’ he asked, looking over his shoulder. Probably so everyone could hear, but his question seemed directed at Helen.
‘We thought we were in Greenwich Village,’ she answered.
He smiled. ‘That might be where you started.’
‘Map-girl blew it,’ Finley told him.
‘I guess you’re tourists.’
Cora laughed.
‘Obviously,’ Vivian said.
‘Where you from?’
As they walked along, they told Wayne where they were currently living, how they’d gone to college together and come to New York City as an excuse for a get-together.
‘We’re planning to meet somewhere every year,’ Helen explained. ‘This year, it was Vivian’s turn to pick. She’s into acting, so obviously she chose New York. We’ve been to… what? Five shows? The others were, you know, downtown, but tonight we came out to the Village. It seems like all we’ve done is go to plays and walk.’
Abilene grinned at her. She’d rarely found Helen so talkative with a stranger.
‘Next year, it’ll be Cora’s turn to pick.’
‘You won’t be seeing us back here,’ Cora said. ‘That’s a guarantee.’
‘You don’t like New York?’ Wayne asked her.
‘It’s an armpit.’
‘Come on,’ Vivian protested. ‘It’s great!’
‘Great if you like traffic and crowds and honking horns and jackhammers, weirdos and winos everywhere.’
Mention of the wino made Abilene realize they’d already walked past the derelict who’d called out from the entry way their first time by. She hadn’t even noticed. It does help, she decided, having an escort. She found that she didn’t even mind the rain so much, now that Wayne was leading them back to civilization.
‘And have you ever tried to breathe the air in Grand Central Station? It smells like exhaust.’
‘At least,’ Finley added.
‘I think New York’s terrific,’ Helen said. ‘I’ve loved every minute.’
She must really like this guy.
While they descended the stairway to the subway station, Wayne put on his shirt. At long last, Abilene thought. Though she had appreciated being escorted back to civilization, and Wayne seemed like a nice enough fellow, she’d found it odd that he had kept his shirt off while walking along with the five of them. Particularly because of the way his jeans hung so low. Was he deliberately showing off his body to them?
As he slipped into his shirt, Finley leaned close to Abilene and whispered, ‘Aw, shucks.’
Helen, two stairs below them, looked back and gave Finley a chiding glance.
They gathered around Wayne at the bottom of the stairway. Vivian extended a hand to him and said, ‘Thanks so much. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.’
Smiling, he squeezed her hand. ‘My pleasure. It’s not every night I get to help out damsels in distress. I think I’d better stick with you for a while, though. You get some pretty strange customers on the subway, especially at this hour.’
‘That’s very nice of you, but…’
‘We’ll be fine,’ Cora interrupted. By the look in her eyes, Abilene could see that she was suspicious of the offer. ‘But thanks so much for getting us here.’
‘I’ll stay with you. At least till we get to your stop. Just in case. I really don’t mind.’
‘It’s not necessary,’ Cora said.
‘It sounds like a good idea to me,’ Helen said. She looked at the others for support. ‘You know? You hear about stuff happening on the subways, and it’s after midnight, and… if Wayne thinks he should stay with us for a while, I’m all for it.’
‘I’m only concerned about your safety, ladies.’
‘But you’ve already done so much,’ Vivian protested. ‘We can’t ask you to ride all the way back with us.’
‘I insist. Really.’
‘Besides,’ Finley said, ‘it’ll give him a break from the rain. I sure wouldn’t want to rush right back out there.’
‘Oh, I like the rain. But I don’t like the idea of you girls riding alone at this time of night.’
‘Let us at least buy your tokens,’ Vivian said.
He laughed softly. ‘Fine. If you like.’
Vivian, keeper of the tokens, searched her purse for those she’d bought for the return trip. She passed them around. As Wayne followed her to the glass-enclosed booth, Cora shook her head.
‘I know,’ Abilene said.
‘What’s the problem?’ Helen asked. ‘He’s just being nice.’
‘Maybe too nice,’ Abilene said.
‘You worry too much, Hickok.’
She frowned at Finley. ‘We don’t know anything about this guy-’
‘He’s got a nice bod on him.’
‘We’d be lost in the Bowery if it weren’t for him,’ Helen pointed out.
‘Right,’ Cora muttered.
They followed Vivian and Wayne to the turnstiles, dropped their tokens into slots, and passed through.
On the station platform, Abilene decided that having Wayne along might not be such a bad idea after all. A wino wrapped in a filthy coat was curled up on a bench, apparently asleep, a couple of over-stuffed bags at his feet. He wore mismatched tennis shoes and no socks. Near the far end of the platform three black teenagers were whispering and casting glances in their direction. She wondered if they had screwdrivers with sharpened points. She wondered if Wayne had any kind of weapon. She wondered if she would be worrying about such things if the three young men had been white.
Soon, a train came roaring into the station. They boarded it. The wino stayed on his bench. The three black kids entered a different car.
Except for an old man reading a newspaper, their car was deserted.
Two stops later, the old man left. Nobody else entered. Finley, hanging onto an upright pole and smiling down at Wayne, said, ‘Sure are a lot of strange customers in here.’
‘Guess it’s our lucky night,’ he said.
Helen patted his thigh. ‘I’m glad you’re with us, anyway. I feel so much safer.’
For the rest of the ride, nobody else entered their car.
They stepped out at the Times Square station.
‘We know our way from here,’ Cora said as they gathered in the rain at the top of the stairs.
‘I’ve come this far,’ Wayne explained. ‘I might as well see you safely to the hotel.’
‘It’s only a few blocks. We’ll be fine.’
‘No, really. I don’t mind.’ He started off, Helen staying close to his side.
Christ! Abilene thought. Why won’t someone tell him to go home?
‘What the hell’s he up to?’ Cora muttered.
‘I don’t know,’ Abilene said. ‘But I don’t like it.’
‘He’s just being helpful,’ Vivian said.
‘You always were too trusting,’ Cora told her.
‘It looks like the guy’s adopting us,’ Finley said.
‘How are we gonna get rid of him?’ Abilene asked.
‘I’ll take care of it,’ Cora said.
