“Eat your fill,” Barrett advised. “You never know when your next meal will be.”

          She stared at him. “You don’t eat at regular times?”

          “It’s hard sometimes.”

          “Because of your job?”

          “Not…really.” He seemed reluctant to explain.

          “Barrett, what do you do?”

          “What do you mean?” He shoved some food into his mouth. He was eating too fast. She got the feeling he was either in a hurry or had another good reason why. Or maybe he’s just as hungry as I am.

          “I mean, what kind of job do you do? Other than come here and help out?”

          “What kind of job do you do when you’re not handing out candy canes?”

          “I make board games. Actually, I package them. You know, with all the little pieces and all.”

          “You work for a toy company?”

          Jones giggled. “You could say that. Now your turn.”

          He stopped and stared at his plate. A strange pensiveness came over him. “I… I used to be in the military. I’m…retired now.” He continued to sit there with his head bowed, like he was lost in thought. He looked tired. And scared. And nothing like the man he’d been an hour or so ago.

          “Hey. You guys finished?”

          Jones jumped at the sound of Chuck’s voice booming less than a foot away behind her. Barrett looked up at the man, and the frightened person she’d just witnessed was no longer there. The other Barrett was back, smiling and self-assured.

          “I’m about done.” He eyed Jones. “How about you, Christmas Jones?”

          She nodded. “Sure.” Turning to their host, she added, “Thanks for letting us eat.”

          Chuck brushed off the compliment. “Always glad to have Barrett come by and lend a hand. He’s a good laborer, and his price is right. Here ya go. For your help.” The man tossed a couple pieces of legal tender over to Barrett, who snatched them up and stuffed them in his pants pocket.

          “I’ll wash up these dishes before we go,” he promised Chuck, who nodded and vanished back into the kitchen.

          Shoveling one last bite into his mouth, he got up, gathered up his plate and utensils, and left the dining room. Figuring that was her cue, Jones took a final stab at the last bite of fluffy white stuff and followed him. After handing him her plate and all, she went to retrieve her bowl.

          “Hey. Do me a favor and look outside. Tell me what the weather’s doing.”

          Going over to the back door, she cracked it open to observe the snowfall in the light of a nearby streetlamp. “I think the storm’s passed. It’s snowing, and there’s not much wind.” She glanced back to see him nodding. “I bet the foot traffic’s picked up. This would be the perfect time to see if I can’t pass out the rest of those candy canes.”

          Barrett stopped whatever he was doing and stared at her. “Say you do. How are you going to get home?”

          “Oh, easy!” Going over to the counter, she picked up the bowl. “I just speak into this, and they’ll send someone to come get me.” She frowned slightly. “Actually, I think they said they’d know I’d finished my mission once I handed out the last candy cane. But since I’m not going to hand out the broken one, they won’t know the bowl’s empty…or will they?” Jones shook her head. “I was so excited about being selected, I didn’t pay as close attention as I should have.” Glancing up at Barrett, she noticed a strange, somewhat bumfuzzled expression on his face. “What?”

          “You’re going to… Did you say you’ll speak into the bowl and they’ll hear you? Does that thing have some sort of communications device built into it?”

          Now it was her turn to look bumfuzzled. “What do you mean by a communications device?”

          Barrett waved off the comment as he shook his head. “Forget it. This night just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Look, as soon as I’m done here, I’m going to step inside the restroom and clean up a bit. Wipe myself down, if you know what I mean.”

          Jones shook her head. “No, I don’t know what you mean.”

          He sighed. “If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m homeless. Which means I don’t have a bathroom where I can shower and shave and the lot.” Pulling his cap from his head, he ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair for emphasis. “So I have to make do with whatever restrooms I’m allowed in and take a quick spit bath so I don’t smell to high heaven. Speaking of restrooms, you better go pee now before we leave because there won’t be anywhere you’ll be able to go until tomorrow morning. That is, if you’re still around by then.”

          “In case I’m still here, what happens tomorrow morning?”

          Pulling out the legal tender she’d seen Chuck toss to him, he held it up. “I have ten bucks to buy us each a donut for breakfast. How does that sound?”

          Jones managed a smile. Even though she had no earthly idea what a donut was, he seemed eager about it. “It sounds great! I also have some legal tender, so maybe we can add a hot drink to it?”

          Barrett beamed. “You’re on. Oh, one more thing. If you insist on standing outside and handing out your candy canes, stay in front of the restaurant and don’t go off on your own. This city isn’t particularly safe for single females after dark. Wait for me, and if you haven’t given out the rest of them by the time I join you, we’ll go walking together so you can.”

          He turned his back to her to finish whatever he was doing, and it was at that moment that she realized she was going to miss the guy when it was time for her to leave for home.

          For some reason, the thought made her eyes burn with tears.