“Maam,” he said. “You saved my life.”
Allison blinked. “You are the man from the sidewalk.”
He smiled faintly. “My name is Nathan Porter. I owe you more than words can express.”
He held out a bouquet of white lilies. Allison accepted them awkwardly.
“I just did what anyone should,” she said.
“Not everyone would have,” he replied. “Please. Let me buy you coffee so I can thank you properly.”
Curiosity and politeness overcame hesitation. They walked to a small diner nearby. Nathan ordered tea for himself and hot chocolate for her. They sat at a corner table where the heater hummed.
Nathan told her he was the chief executive of a manufacturing firm based in Northbridge City. He explained that he lived alone, his parents gone, his sister overseeing corporate affairs in his absence. Allison listened quietly, speaking of her children, of rent that climbed faster than wages, of a roof that leaked every time it rained.
Nathan listened with genuine attention. No one had looked at her that way in years.
Their conversation lasted an hour. When they parted, he said, “If you ever need anything, please call me. You have my number.”
Allison tucked the card into her pocket and returned to work.