Just Another Day

[v_harkryder]

It turned out that Virgil didn't have any more cards from the shelter when he opened his desk drawer, so he wrote the phone number down and gave it to Tanya after their conversation. He hoped she left before the hitting happened again rather than after. 'After' might be a relative word, but it could also prove to be too late.

He pulled his late-model Chevy into the shelter's lot and killed the engine. It was just past noon, which meant they'd be serving lunch. He'd been on good terms with the staff since he started referring people for everything from drug counseling to psychiatric help. Becoming community-minded had been a way to take his mind off of what happened to him before he turned in his gun and badge, and he actually liked helping people.

The air had a definite chill in it, even though the snow had melted, and the warmth indoors was a welcome change. Virgil looked around for Stephanie, the day supervisor, then started towards the kitchen. If she wasn't in there, the people preparing lunch would know where she was.

Comments

Just another day

[melodymagic]

Once a week Melody and her mother would go to the local shelter to cook and serve lunch for the people seeking refuge there. It was a family tradition her parents had started when they first moved up to Las Vegas from Searchlight, and had always made sure Melody was involved, learning the importance of giving of the most precious of an individual's gifts, time, and humility.

She was placing the plates into the warmer bay of the bain marie, readying for the serving of lunch when she saw the man enter the dining area. It was still at least ten minutes before the scheduled start time and she wondered what he was doing, as he didn't look like someone who would be needing the assistance offered by the refuge. She glanced across to where her mother was busy checking the large pot of chicken soup with dumplings, before looking back at the man as he crossed toward the servery counter.

[v_harkryder]

"When I was in the military, they'd serve food to lot of people at once," Virgil replied, waving at the kitchen set-up. He was always willing to talk about his army stint in generalities, but he never mentioned specifics. Even Mattie couldn't get it out of him. "It really is true, an army travels on it's stomach."

He spotted Stephanie with her armload of boxes, and he went to help her with the burden. They brought the parcels into the kitchen and set them down on a convenient table. "I see they put you to work," she said in a joking tone, and he nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I showed up just in time to pitch in. Melody was showing me the ropes."