One for the Angels

“20 Questions, part 2,” I said in my best TV-host voice. I handed over a vanilla latte and a croissant before sitting down next to him.

“I see you didn’t forget,” he remarked, biting into the croissant. He ate the whole thing quickly and with a lot of gusto. I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Was it that good?”

He took a long sip of the latte. “Yes, but I also missed the Salvation Army meeting yesterday, so I didn’t get to eat dinner.”

A small voice in my head said so that’s where he goes. At closing time, when I stepped out of the shop to lock the door and head home, the purple sleeping bag was never there, apparently vanishing with the setting sun. Now I knew where it went.

But then it also registered that Danny hadn’t eaten since that measly blueberry scone I’d given him yesterday, and then the panic set in. “Oh, fuck, shit, God, Danny, you must be starving.” I didn’t even have time to wince at my word choice before more kept tumbling out. “D’you want something else too? We have loads of sandwiches and soups inside, or I could make you a fresh one, just tell me what you –”

He interrupted me. “Junebug. I’m fine. This is fine. You don’t have to give me this stuff in the first place, so. Thank you.”

I opened my mouth again, but no words came out because Junebug? Was that a thing now? Was I supposed to come up with a cool nickname for him too? What could you even do with the name Danny besides call him Dan or Daniel? There was ‘D’ but that was weak compared to Junebug, which was clever, by the way. No one had ever thought to call me that before.

I was brought back to the present by Danny saying, “I can hear your teeth chattering over here.” It was extremely cold out. It hadn’t been a big deal at first, because I was originally only spending a few minutes outside, but now that our time was extending to most of my lunch break, the cold was really starting to set in.

“No you can’t,” I said, forcing myself to act normal.

“Yes I can. Here.” He lifted up a corner of the blanket he was sitting under, allowing me to scoot next to him and cover both of us with it. “Now when you don’t catch hypothermia and die, you can thank me.”

“My hero,” I said sarcastically. “Anyways, I believe it’s your turn to start.” I tried not to focus on his shoulder pressing into mine, or the fact that I could see wisps of brown hair poking out from his beanie.

“Okay, okay. Um . . . favorite flower?”

“Roses, I guess. What’s your full name?”

He eyed me suspiciously. “Daniel Zachary Fullman. What’s yours?”

“Juno Penelope Castellano.”

He snorted. “That’s a real mouthful.”

“Yeah, well. What do you wanna name your kids?”

“Huh. Well, as of this second, I like Serena for a girl, and Alexander for a boy.”

“Those are nice,” I agreed.

Danny hesitated before he asked, “Do you believe in God?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Do I believe in God?”

“Yeah. Just answer the question.”

“Okay, well . . .” I thought for a few seconds before answering carefully, “I think I do believe in God. I’m not very religious, but I think that there is something up there, some kind of destination for when we die. At least I hope so.” I glanced at him. “Does that make sense?”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “It does.”

“What about you?”

He swallowed. “Uh, well. I agree, I guess. There might be something. But then again, there might not be. But I think it can be a comfort to people, too. It makes them feel less alone, knowing that they have someone to talk to, some higher power that’s not a human. You know? Like they’re letting someone else take control, putting their trust in something that might not exist.”

“That’s a smart way to think about it,” I said. “You put a lot of thought into this?”

And just like that, he was gone again. “No more than the usual person, I guess.” He cleared his throat. “What’s one city you wanna visit?

I stared at him, but he was looking straight ahead, avoiding my eyes. “Paris,” I said finally. “Or maybe Venice, to ride in a gondola. What’s your favorite food?”

“Chocolate cake.” Danny got that look on his face again, like he was about to ask me a hard question. “Have you ever been in love?”

I blinked. “Um, I’m not sure. I’ve loved a lot of people, and I think there were times when I thought I was in love, but . . . no, I’m pretty sure I’ve never been in love.” I decided if he could ask hard questions, then so could I. “What do you think love is?”

But he didn’t hesitate. “I don’t think it’s this big, sudden realization. I don’t think there’s lightning or being shot with an arrow or anything. I just think that it hits you one day. Like you look at that person and you just know. They bring out the best in you, and even the worst parts of you they manage to turn good. You just feel . . . not complete, I guess, but like you can do anything now. It consumes you, makes you feel like you can fly.”

I wasn’t even aware that I was staring at him until he finally turned and looked at me, furrowing his eyebrows. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I – I don’t know.” Thankfully, I checked my watch and saw my break time was over. “I should go. Um. See you later.”

“Okay.” He seemed just as flustered as me.

When I went inside, Hannah raised an eyebrow. “What’s with you?”

“I think I’m in love,” I said, my voice coming out surprisingly calm and flat compared to the tightness in my stomach.

She didn’t even blink. “Yeah, I know.”