“I insist,” I said. “I want to make it up to you.”
The woman smiled. She had a naturally wide smile that fit her full, plump lips. and nodded. “You must not be from around here.”
“How can you tell?” I asked.
She shrugged. “First of all, most people would continue on without a second thought to the person they had just slammed into, much less stop and apologize, or even help pick up stuff from the sidewalk.”
“Well, helping out is the right thing to do,” I said and stood long enough to step over to a couple of key rings that had rolled out of the box when had unceremoniously been knocked from her hands. “No matter what.”
She sighed. “Well, you’re the first to think that. Sometimes, I get a rude comment about staying out of their way. No one has ever stopped to help. Until you…”
“People can be so awful and inconsiderate,” I muttered, tossing the keyrings into the box.
She cocked her head to the side. Her green eyes searched mine for several seconds. “So why did you?”
I smiled and said, “Common decency is sort of a thing of mine.”
“Oph,” she said and stood with the box. “What you have there, is a rare quality, my friend. I would cherish it if I were you. You’re part of a dying breed.”
I laughed. “Especially nowadays.”
“I’m Maxine, by the way,” she said. “I would hold out my hand to shake yours, but it is rather full at the moment.”
“I can see that,” I said. “I’m Cassidy.”
“I’m delighted to meet you.” Maxine sighed. “And if you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m also kind of new around here.”
I nodded. “The storage unit sort of gave it away.”
She looked over her shoulder and then nodded. “Right.”
“Anyway, I’m just here on vacation,” I said. “Though I would love to stay here longer.”
Her eyebrows were raised into arches. “Really?”
“Yep,” I said. “There is something about this place that just feels right. Ya know?”
She stared at me confused. “Huh…”
The fact she was confused about what I had said confused me. But I shrugged the sensation off. She did the same and twisted to face me.
“Well, Cassidy,” she started, “I hope you don’t have any plans for this afternoon.”
“As a matter of fact, I don’t,” I said. “I’m free for the rest of the day.”
“Good. Because I’m going to show you my gratitude by providing you with a free reading.”
“Doesn’t that sort of defeat the purpose, since I bumped into you?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I get to thank you for your help. And I want to do that with a reading.”
“What do you mean by reading anyway?” I asked as I dodged a couple of kids waving plastic guns in the air and screaming down the sidewalk.
I laughed a little. They made me miss my students a little more.
She glanced at me. “Don’t worry. You’ll see.”
I shrugged. The reading thing seemed like an odd thing to offer someone as a way of showing gratitude for something that didn’t need gratitude. She seemed nice enough, though. I was certain if she had held onto any ill intent, I would have picked up on that. And I considered myself experienced in figuring out people’s motives. Not an expert but experienced enough. She didn’t strike me as the type of person who would show their gratitude for help by doing me harm.