A corner patio table is her reward for being early. She orders herself an iced tea and takes a moment to people watch. It's good to feel the breeze on her face.

Through the scrapes and the bruises, the broken bones and tears, she's cared for him. When answers escaped him, when the gentle hand of a woman was needed, Leslie was there. Now as he struggles in, bleeding and wounded, she's ready once again to receive him.