"Yeah, see you."

A brisk late-afternoon wind whipped up. Lily clutched at her hat as she headed for her car, a rusty Nissan with more than 150,000 miles on it. Before unlocking the door, she said a prayer, as she always did, that the car would start. To her delight, the engine turned over on the first try.

Lily drove aimlessly, up one street, down another, seeing Christmas shoppers out in full force. It was going to be her first holiday alone. Since her grandmother's death earlier in the year, there was no reason to go back home to South Carolina. Her parents had abandoned her at the age of four to be raised by her grandmother, then left the country. She didn't know where they were or even if they were alive. There had been no way to notify her mother when her grandmother passed away. Her eyes filled with tears. She was so alone.

Lily continued to drive and finally decided to stop at a cafe for a late lunch. She parked the Nissan, climbed out and entered the cheerful-looking little restaurant where she settled herself in a far corner. She was shocked out of her wits when she saw the guy with the beaming smile walk toward her table. She gasped. He stopped in his tracks to stare at her.

Pete took the initiative. "I'm not intuitive or anything like that, but do you suppose our meeting like this means something?"

Lily felt her face grow warm. "That we're both embarrassed? How's the tuna?"

"Too much mayo. Try the corned beef."

"Okay. So you work here, huh?"

"Yep. Just the lunch hour. Three hours, actually. Then I pack groceries for three more hours. They work with my schedule, but since we're on Christmas break I log all the hours I can. How about you?"

"Okay, I'll take a corned beef on rye. I waitress and tutor. I owe a ton of money on my student loans," she blurted.

"Yeah, me too. Coffee or soda?"

"Coffee."

"I'm about done here, so I'll bring your order and have coffee with you, if you don't mind. I get to eat here for free—that's why I keep this job. That's probably more than you wanted to know."

Lily shook her head and smiled. Suddenly, she wanted to know everything there was to know about the guy standing next to her.

While she waited for her food, Lily looked around. Crisp black-and-white-checked curtains hung on the windows. There was nothing flyspecked about this eatery. The floors were tile and exceptionally clean. The chairs had seat cushions with the same black-and-white-checked pattern. Green plants were on the windowsills. On closer examination, Lily decided they were herbs and not plants. She wasn't sure, but she rather thought the special of the day was meat loaf. The aromas were the same as she remembered from her grandmother's kitchen.

"This is a nice place," Lily said, when Pete joined her with his own lunch.