She tried Bev’s cell number, “Hello Ms. Davis, this is Blanche, I have an appointment with you right now but I’ve missed my bus. Would it be possible to reschedule?”

“Don’t be silly, where are you? I’ll just come by and pick you up,” Bev enthusiastically belted into the phone.

Blanche gave her the approximate address and the realtor indicated she’d be there shortly.

“That was one crazy run for the bus there lady,” a young man half hollered, followed by a different voice.

“Yeah, would sure like to see some of that action again. You interested?”

Blanche lifted her umbrella in case she needed a weapon and turned to confront the verbal assailants. Three young men in their late teens were walking toward her, skateboards in hands. Each had a different baseball hat sitting askew on their head with dark glasses covering their wandering eyes. Jeans worn very low, crotch between their knees and skater type shoes on their feet.

The presumed leader spoke, “Yo, mama, you's lookin’ so fine dis moanin’. You need some hep with somethin’? We’s sure we got what ya could use.”

Looking at each other they laughed and shook each other’s hands in some secret combination. The creepy young guy strutted closer to Blanche, looking her up and down. A tattoo curled from the inside of his t-shirt, up and around his neck and terminated in a snake’s head on his Adam's apple.

“Listen, why don’t you boys just mind your own business and be on your way?” the increasingly frightened Blanche said, through clenched teeth.

“How ‘bout you come wit us then, bootiful.”

They circled her, cutting off any possibility of escape except it be through them. She lowered the umbrella and issued another warning, “I don’t want any trouble, I’m just trying to get through my day, so I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave me alone.”

More laughter, “Yeah, Mikey, leave the poor little woman alone,” they taunted.

“I’ll leave her ‘lone aw ight once she takes care a sum buidness fer me.” Mikey extended his arm and ran his hand over her shoulder.

Reflexively, Blanche spun the umbrella, knocking his hand away and swung the object in a circle pushing the teens beyond an arm's reach.

“Grab dis bitch so I’s can get a feel,” the startled leader yelled. As the two accomplices circled Blanche looking for an opening their attention was drawn to the road.

The sounds of squealing tires and locked up brakes startled the group who turned in the direction of the incoming sounds. A yellow Datsun could be seen on the opposite side of the road making a quick turn, jumping the meridian; a dark figure huddled over the wheel.

“What’s this sheeeit?” Mikey said, stepping ahead of the others, bringing his skateboard up in a defensive stance.

The little truck came to a screeching halt, only meters away from the skaters, and a very large, agitated black man squeezed his way out of the truck.

He took two quick steps toward Mikey, puffed up his chest and said, “Miss Delaney, these punks giving ya any trouble?”

Blanche quickly sidestepped the trio and ran behind Jasper. “Rescuing me again? I must say you have impeccable timing.”

Mikey was not discouraged, “Lady, yo pet gorilla don’t scare us none, do he boys?” There was no reply, “Right boys?”

He turned to see why his partners were quiet and could only make out the back of their hats as they bounded over the fence of the nearest house. With his head turned, Jasper moved to action, grabbed the skateboard with both hands, wrenching it away from the thug, dropping Mikey to his knees in the process.

“Man, we was jus havin' some fun wit her, we wasn’t goin’ to hurt her or nothin’,” he pleaded.

“You little creeps are giving Valdosta a bad rep, how ‘bout you get on your way ‘fore I do something terrible,” Jasper hissed, arms and shoulders towering over the quaking Mikey.

“Gimme back my board, man.”

“Oh yeah, right!” Jasper took the skateboard with his hands positioned at opposite ends and extended the board as if to hand it to the troubled youth. Mikey stretched forth his hands to accept the board, but before he could, Jasper lifted his powerful leg and brought the board down with a mighty thrust, breaking the board in half across his thigh. Splinters and wheels twirled through the air.

“There you go (handing the board back to Mikey), now get out of here you scumbag.”

The hood took a couple steps backwards, threw half of the remaining board at Jasper who brushed it aside like a mosquito, before turning and running at full speed across the space and over the same fence his friends had used as an avenue of escape. A moment later a defiant finger raised in belligerent triumph appeared above the top of the fence.

“Punks” Jasper spewed, then turning his attention to the quivering librarian he said, “You okay?”

“Just about peed myself but I’m okay, lucky you showed up when you did,” Blanche replied, still shaking from the ordeal.

“I was just on my way out to the job site and saw you was in trouble,” he said compassionately, putting both of his strong hands on her shoulders to help steady her. “Been meaning to drop by your place anyway to give you the details on that competition I was telling you about.”

He provided the information which Blanche put into her phone, promising to attend, after all he had been her rescuer on two separate occasions and he was really, really buff and quite sweet for a ‘gorilla’. Jasper promised to stay with Blanche until her ride showed up so they sat on the bench and enjoyed a minute or two of small talk before Blanche saw a BMW turn the corner and accelerate toward them.

“Looks like my ride,” Blanche said, tilting her head in the direction of the oncoming car.

“Too bad, I'd have enjoyed some more time with my damsel in distress,” Jasper said, as he stood and took her hand to help her up. She was still trembling from the fright she’d received at the hands of Mikey and crew. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, but thanks, you are just so sweet.” She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek. “Thanks again, don’t know what I would have done without your help.”

The BMW skidded to a stop at the curb and Bev’s head popped out of the sunroof, “Blanche, you need me to call the cops, this guy bothering you?”

“No, no, nothing like that, he just saved me from a bunch of thugs.” Once again, Blanche committed to attending the upcoming competition. They hugged and Blanche was on her way comfortably seated in the front of Bev’s B’mer.

“That’s quite a hunk of man you’ve found yourself there?” Beverly’s voice suggested more of a question than a statement.

“Jasper? Yeah he’s been my hero on more than one occasion since I hit town. Lucky for me he was close by this morning. Don’t know how long I could have held off three horny teenagers with an umbrella,” Blanche said, trying to laugh, her voice still quivering.

It was obvious to Beverly that her client was in no condition or state of mind to do any house hunting so she suggested a quiet location with hot coffee, padded seats and delicious donuts. After finishing her first cup of white-hot chocolate and glazed donut, Blanche began to feel somewhat better. The tremor in her hands had ceased and her voice was much less shaky but her anxiety level was still elevated as Beverly tried to console her.

“Men, and boys for that matter, walk around with their brains in their penis with no thought for anyone but themselves,” Beverly suggested, polishing off her third donut, this one covered in white frosting drizzled with maple. “Believe me, I’ve known my share and most are idiots through and through. Even the ones that you think are semi- normal turn into some sort of sex crazed alien the minute they get a hard on. Take my deceased husband, the one I was telling you about with the spoiled rotten son, he was a genius when it came to money and real estate. I learned so much from him about the markets, when to buy, when to sell, that sort of stuff, but the minute I’d show him these.” Taking her covered breasts in both hands, making sure not to get any icing on either one, she bounced them slightly; drawing stares from some of the locals seated a few tables over. “He’d turn into a babbling fool, unable to make a coherent sentence until he’d gotten his rocks off, pardon my French.”

Bev was enjoying having someone she could spout off too. Her favorite subject as of late was the abuse

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