He reached into his pocket. "I got this off a troublemaker the other day. He was trying to shoplift cigarettes." And he produced a large switchblade. He reached behind her and cut off the tag.
"Thank you."
Then he offered her his hand. "My name is Roberto, but my friends call me Beto."
"A pleasure to meet you, Beto. My name is--" She hesitated, then said, "My name is Megan. Megan McGill."
"Listen," said Beto, "since we're closing and all, maybe you might like to go get something to eat."
Mary sighed. So here it was again; a young man pretending to be a gentleman. Was it too much to hope that he could be sincere?
"Yes," Mary said. "I would like that. I would like that very much." She wiped away the last of her tears and they left--but before they reached the door, he stopped, as if perhaps he had changed his mind.
"Is everything all right?"
"Yes," said Beto. "I thought I had forgotten my keys, but they're right here." He jingled them in his pocket.
"Oh--so we're taking your car... ."
"Got to," he said with a chuckle. "Already missed the train."
Mary wondered how wise it was to get into a stranger's car, but decided unless she wanted to walk these empty downtown streets alone, she had little choice.
"A city can be a scary place at night," said Beto, as they stepped out into the cool night. "But this neighborhood looks worse than it is." Then he added, "Besides, you have your own personal security guard."
Mary laughed at that, if only to make the moment less awkward.
"This way," he said, leading her down an alley. "The parking lot is in the back."
He took her hand, and she chose not to resist.
"So what are you hungry for, Mary? Chinese food, maybe? A burger?"
"Food is food," she said. "Anything is fine."
It wasn't until they were halfway down the alley that she realized, and stopped cold.
She had told him her name was Megan ... not Mary.
A distant streetlight at the end of the alley lit half of his face, but from this angle his eyes were in shadow, so she couldn't be sure. "Milos?"
Then he smiled. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out!"
"But ... how long?"
"Do you remember when he stopped to check his keys?"
Milos laughed, and Mary launched herself into his arms. She simply couldn't stop herself, and in return, he held on to her with arms strong and unfailing.
"You came back for me! You came back!"
"How could I not? Your children need you," he said. "I need you too."
Milos went on to tell her about their week west of the Mississippi. The train traveled slowly, stopping at every town they came across, but they hadn't found a single Afterlight. There were dubious sightings of creatures that seemed part animal, part human, but that may just have been the over-active imaginations of the younger children.
"I've been thinking about what you said," Milos told her. "How you might be able to work from this side. It will be difficult, but it might work. Even alive, you can give comfort to your children. Of course you won't be able to see them, but they can see you."
"Is anyone with you right now?" Mary asked.