I drive through the town, heading for the west while following Jake for direction. As time passes, the big houses and perfectly decorated gardens stay behind us. In this part of the town, the houses are old, the color on their walls have peeled with time. Some of the buildings have gardens, but they are as unattended as the buildings. When I look at life from this side of the town, the grass is definitely greener at the east side.
I frown as we keep navigating through the streets in this neighborhood. I can't find a reason why Evangeline would come to this part of town every night.
We finally stop in front of a building, but nothing around here answers my questions. There are a few shops and a bar around here, but everything about the place is shady. Not somewhere I ever think I’d see Evangeline at.
"Why are we here?" I ask her.
She opens the door to get out of the car and smiles at me over her shoulder, “You’ll see. Come on.”
I walk along with her as she heads to the building.
“Eva, hi!” someone calls out for her the moment we step inside.
“Hey, Manny,” she waves to the young kid.
I frown and try to understand as we walk deeper into the building. There are beds in one big salon-like room. It looks like a dormitory. When we enter another room, it's smaller than the previous one, and there are tables placed around the room. If the big salon is a dormitory, this one is the cafeteria.
I see Jake is carrying some boxes to the cafeteria and a few other people help him to set them on the big table.
Evangeline walks fast to help them, and she starts handing out the packages. I notice they are meals when someone I pass by starts to eat from his container. I stop next to Evangeline, helping her hand out the packages. There're close to
fifty people in here, and she seems to know each one of them.
“Is it where you come every night?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Are you a volunteer in here?” I ask, looking around for any sign of a charity.
“She’s our little angel. She put a roof over our heads,” an old woman who comes to take a box answers for Evangeline.
"How are your knees, Samantha? Do you want me to send the doctor again?" Eva asks her.
“Oh, no need dear. My knees are better. I don’t have as much pain as before,” Samantha answers. She looks me up and down and adds with a smile, “I’m glad you finally brought someone with you. Don’t hurt her, young man.”
“Sammy, he’s not-” Evangeline starts, but I cut her off, “I won’t.”
The old woman walks away with a wave, and I wink at Eva. The blush on her cheeks is adorable. As we keep handing out the boxes, I see Jack is still carrying bags and boxes with him.
“What’s he doing?” I ask Eva.
“Nothing. Just filling up the cabinets in the kitchen and restocking their supplies.”
“You do that every day?” I ask. My voice is husky with admiration for this girl.
She nods. “Seventy people live in here,” she explains.
“Is this some kind of charity? Like something your parents founded?”
“Well, their platinum credit card definitely helps a lot,” she says. “We call this place The Sanctuary.”
She’s doing it all by herself. Can she be any more perfect?
“How did you - when did this start?”
After she hands out the last box, she sits on a chair, and I take a seat next to her.
"Two years ago, I went to visit my parents at work. They were in a meeting, so I had to leave. The traffic was so congested, and I really didn't feel like being stuck in there all day, so I got out of the car and started walking the streets. It started to rain, and I'll admit, I was scared when I found myself here. I'd never been in this part of town or to this place before. All kind of scenarios from movies I watched played on my mind. But instead, these people shared their space with me, so I stayed out of the rain. They offered their meal. I've never been shown that kind of kindness before."