We met Valerie tonight. I'd have probably walked on by, mouthing a few platitudes, but not really wanting to stop and give the time to hear her or see her. Not so for that other one of us though. R stopped, made eye contact. Asked if she needed help. Delirious with the cold, the alcohol, the pain, she rambled on finally half falling into the nearest take away shop. Muttering about being thrown out by the hospital, not wanting to die and a terrible past we couldn't even begin to understand, R touched her arm, held her hand and paid for a curry to warm and feed her. I started the evening talking around dinner about kichen refurbishments and the price of cabinet fittings. I finished the evening at a party to say goodbye to friends moving to Germany where the band played and the wine flowed. And Valerie came inbetween.
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