She’d spent yesterday morning toting rolled change to the bank. Four trips to take it all, and it totaled over six hundred dollars. She’d spent a little on a cab to the mall and on a sweatshirt to wear for Jerry. Then she’d bought some chicken chow mein in the food court, which she’d hated and thrown it out. The rest of the evening she’d spent in the mall just to be around people. Watching how they acted and wishing she was like them. They all seemed to be able to talk to one another without trouble, but when she bought a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in the middle of the mall and tried to talk to the barista, he’d just stared at her like she was bothering him. The only person who never looked at her like that was Jerry. His gaze held warmth and patience, and even when he desired her, it wasn’t the same as her other masters. To them, she’d been an object there to fulfill their fantasies. Jerry’s eyes held kindness. Human kindness. The last man to look at her that way had been her husband.
