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  “So you’re playing more from auditory memory than from actually reading the notes?”

  “I guess so.”

  Interesting, Julia thought. She looked up to Wynn watching her. He smiled as if to say “I see you got your answer.” But before Julia could respond, he once again turned his head away as Chloe’s mom drew him back into their conversation.

  * * *

  By the time Julia arrived back on campus, it was past nine. Switching on the light revealed a note left by Lexi saying she and Elliott were down at the laundry room. Julia stuffed her share of the cartons of leftover Chinese food that Chloe’s parents had generously insisted she and Wynn take back with them into the mini fridge.

  Sitting at her desk, she flipped open her laptop and did a quick search before downloading the worship songs she knew Elliott liked and tended to play. By the time Lexi and Elliott returned with two large loads of all their fresh smelling laundry, Julia had a compilation of songs burned on to a CD ready to give Chloe the next day at church.

  Chapter Ten

  November brought with it a festive feeling with the leaves turning orange and red, and surprisingly the rain storm passed and there were a couple more weeks of sunshine to enjoy. It didn’t do much to warm the day but was a nice change from the constant wetness. Julia was now going to bed every night with thick fuzzy socks, and Lexi had unearthed her well-worn Hello Kitty slippers from one of her boxes and unashamedly padded around the common area of their dormitory suite in them.

  On the calendar above Julia’s desk, there were two big Leavesly Church events scrawled out with her favorite green marker. They highlighted the last couple of weeks before heading back home for Thanksgiving weekend: the first being the youth group’s outreach event at the downtown Homeless Shelter, and the second was a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at Wynn’s parents’ home.

  “We’ll be going to a Homeless Shelter,” Wynn had explained to the youth group. “We can’t do much in one visit, but when we’re there I want you to see them through God’s eyes, to look past the ragged clothes or dirty faces. Remember God loves them, He knows each one, what they’ve been through, all the good and bad, their hurt, their loss, their need, their sin, yet still loving them because He created them. This is why He came to earth, to save us, to redeem us, to make us whole again, to give us hope. This is why we celebrate His birth on Christmas.”

  “Do we have to talk to them?” Pamela had asked, looking nervous.

  “If you want to talk to them, you can. But if you don’t know what to say, it’s ok. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.”

  * * *

  The Saturday before Thanksgiving, the youth group gathered in the parking lot of Leavesly Church. They stood in a circle holding hands praying for their trip to the downtown Homeless Shelter. Vangy and Pamela’s friends had continued to show up on Friday nights, some even showing up on Sunday mornings. Shep had also begun bringing out two guys from his high school basketball team to youth group. Splitting everyone into cars, with some of the high school senior guys also driving, they were soon caravanning down the 805 freeway.

  These days the sun was setting a lot earlier, and although not yet five the sky was a brilliant blend of scarlet and gold. As the tall skyscrapers shot up around them, they pulled off the highway ramp and entered into the congested and crowded downtown. It was a strange contrast of the glistening and grand office buildings that during the day was bustling with up-and-coming businessmen and entrepreneurs and the affluent leaders, but during the night crawled with the destitute, the hungry and needy. How did society tolerate the disparity?

  They pulled into the uneven driveway of the shelter which was located between to warehouses. The two-story nondescript square building was painted a vibrant green with thick bushes of shrubbery. A small fenced in open yard in the front, and what looked to be a sizeable vegetable garden along the left side of the building. There were several people loitering around the building, dressed in various layers of rough clothing, their expressions hooded and apathetic.

  The group slowly exited their cars and Wynn walked up to the person leaning against the gate door of the fence. “Hey, bro, how’s it going?”

  Julia was surprised at how young he was, no older than twenty, dressed in layers of dirty clothes. His eyes which had been downcast as if purposely acting disinterested in their arrival, looked up cautiously and replied in a gravely voice, “It’s alright, I suppose.”

  Wynn nodded and said, “I’m Wynn, these are my friends. We’re looking for Kent and Barb Larsen, would you know where they are?”

  “I’ll show you,” the young man mumbled, running a slow hand over his sandy brown hair and pushed off the railing, unlatched the opening.

  The somber group filed into the yard and followed after him towards the open door, smiling courteously at the others lingering around. Julia was once again startled at how young most of the people at the shelter were.

  The room inside was painted a calming sky-blue and sturdy wooden tables and chairs were placed neatly in rows for optimal room. The room smelled of a mixture of soiled bodies, disinfectant, and fragrant beef and vegetable stew. A clamor of activity could be heard from the backroom, the open doorframe that led to what Julia supposed was the kitchen and the eating area was separated only by a red and white checkered curtain pushed off to one side, the actual door having been removed.

  Lexi ushered the youth kids into the room, with Elliott and Shep bringing up the rear. The moment they stepped inside, a tall blonde woman in her thirties strode purposefully through the kitchen doorway, carrying a tray full of warm freshly baked bread, the stream still wafting above the loafs permeating the room with its buttery homey aroma.

  “Hi!” she said, caught off guard by their presence.

  “There’s Barb,” the young man who had led them in announced in his rusty voice.

  Setting the tray down on the closest table, the woman came forward with a welcoming smile, her arm outstretched. Wynn quickly met her halfway, shaking her hand.

  “You must be Wynn Yoshida,” Barb said. “We talked on the phone.”

  “Yeah, thanks for having us.”

  “Thank you,” she replied sincerely, and gave them a big smile. “We’re just setting up here, the food’s hot and ready in the kitchen,” and in quick order began assigning everyone various tasks.

  Lexi took some of the teenagers into the kitchen with her to ladle up the food, and Julia and Chloe began setting up the beverage counter with mugs for coffee, juice, and iced water, readying the tall pitchers for easy access. Some of the guys followed Wynn and Elliott outside to talk with the people straggling in for a hot meal. They spent the next two hours serving food and drinks to whoever wandered in.

  Kent Larsen, Barb’s husband, was also in his mid-thirties, and was a calm but strong presence. He had thick red hair and an imposing stature, but his eyes were kind. It was clear the people who frequented this shelter respected him by their subtle show of deference towards him and his wife.

  After the meal, Julia and her friends helped Kent and Barb store away the leftover food, and scrubbed the dishes and wiped down the tables. Her arms were sore and shaking from weariness by the end of the meal, but Julia was proud of the youth group kids. They had pitched in and worked hard without complaining or shirking from duty.

  They followed Kent and Barb as they went outside to the courtyard where a scattered group of people still hung around the shelter. Kent pulled out his guitar and sat in one of the chairs while a small crowd of people gathered around listening, one man pulled out a deck of cards and more people sat down for a game.

  “Colin, no gambling,” Kent reminded him firmly.

  Julia recognized Colin to be the one Wynn had talked to when they had first arrived.

  He raised his hands in mock surrender and grumbled gruffly, “Your turf, Sarge.” But he shoved his crumbled and half-empty carton of cigarettes back into his jacket pocket. Wynn and Shep pulled up chairs to
join Colin’s no stakes card game.

  Lexi and Elliott sat with Kent as he began singing the younger girls huddled around Lexi like she was their mother hen. One man in dirty overalls over a puffy insulated vest and no shirt on underneath began clapping his large and scabbed hands, dancing and singing his own version of the lyrics in a loud voice to no one in particular. None of their youth group kids laughed at the odd spectacle. They tried hard not to stare, silently keeping their wide eyes glued on Kent.

  One of the girls caught Julia’s attention. She trailed behind Barb barefooted, complaining about being robbed of her socks and shoes the night before. Barb was preoccupied with a man who had suffered from a superficial stabbing a couple nights ago and needed his bandages changed.

  The shoeless girl met Julia’s eye and slowly made her way over to sit in the chair next to hers, a longsuffering sigh escaping her chapped lips, her clothing smelled of stale alcohol and urine.

  “Want to let me borrow your shoes?” the girl asked Julia.

  “Oh, um,” she stammered.

  Barb overheard and called over, “Julie, I think I can find you a pair from our back room. Just wait a sec.”

  Julie.

  Her heart clenched and she wondered about her story. How did she end up on the streets? She was so young even under all that makeup, maybe even the same age as herself.

  “Don’t bother,” Julie answered Barb with a twinge of disdain in her voice. “None of those shoes fit, too big. Anyways, I’ve always wanted a pair of Mary-Janes.”

  The way Julie was staring at her, almost with a sneer, unsettled her. And Julia blurted out, “How did you lose your shoes?”

  “I lost them. I mean, somebody stole it,” Julie divulged, her hazel eyes flashed indignantly for a fleeting moment, then faded away as she slumped dejectedly back on her chair. “I don’t know who,” she lowered her voice and said, “so many guys come and go, it’s hard to keep track, you know?”

  How awful.

  “Did you run away from home?”

  The girl snorted, “Home? What’s that?”

  Julia didn’t know what to say, but at that moment Barb reappeared from the back room with what must of have the smallest pair of shoes she could find. But Julie was right. They were still too big for her.

  She got up then and moved to sidle up next to one of the men playing cards at Colin’s table, her laughter raspy and desperate. Julia’s heart broke for her as she watched her try to gain his attention. He responded by mindlessly pawing at her shrunken form covered in soiled and ill-fitting clothing while he kept his eyes on the ratty cards in his hands.

  It took Julia a few minutes to realize Wynn was packing up their group, bidding good-bye to Kent, Barb, and the people they had met at the shelter. Lexi came up next to Julia and linked her arm protectively through hers, pulling her to her feet and towards the door.

  The rain began pouring before they reached the freeway, and Julia worried about the girl and her bare feet. The rain beat down hard on the roof of the car and Julia understood a measure of the heart of God.

  He’s crying for these people, I’m sure of it, she thought as she pressed her head against the car window and water streamed down its pane.

  * * *

  Sunday afternoon after worship service at Leavesly Church, Julia approached Wynn and said, “Can you bring me back to the Homeless Shelter?”

  “Right now?”

  Julia nodded, “If you’re not busy.”

  He was silent for a moment, and Julia wondered if he was running through his list of things to do. She shouldn’t have asked. He must have tons of studying to do for midterms and everything. But he surprised her by saying, “Any specific reason?”

  “There was a girl, who lost her shoes. And I figure with the rain and cold she’ll need a pair that fits properly.”

  Wynn glanced at the bag she was holding. “What’s in there?”

  Julia opened it to reveal its content.

  “You’re giving away your shoes?”

  “I would’ve given them to her last night but then I would have no shoes. But that thought has been bothering me ever since. I should’ve just done it. She has to walk barefoot in the rain, why can’t I?”

  Wynn considered this then said, “Alright, let’s go.”

  Julia went to find Lexi and Elliott, who were deep in a conversation with Shep and Koda concerning cell phones. During their last Earth Science field trip out to the beach, Elliott accidentally lost his iPhone in the water and was looking to replace it.

  “Actually, we were planning on checking out some phones this afternoon,” Lexi explained to Julia when she told them about wanting to go back to the shelter.

  “I can give you a ride,” Koda said, surprising all of them with his offer. “There’s an Apple store near my home.”

  “Any chance there’s a Verizon store nearby?” Elliott said. “I want to check out the Droid.”

  “What?” Shep balked. “You’re making the switch?”

  “Uh, oh,” Koda laughed. “You just awakened the dragon. Shep is a hard core Apple’s man.”

  “Ok,” Julia said, pulling Lexi off to the side as the boys continued their somewhat heated debate over phones. “So you guys are good with getting a ride back to campus?”

  Lexi laughed, “We’ll be fine. I’m excited! This is our first non-church bonding experience with the youth group guys!” Julia smiled as Lexi hurried back to rejoin the bantering.

  Less than half an hour later, Julia found herself back in front of the Homeless Shelter. In daylight the building looked small and stark. The courtyard was empty and the front door locked. They were about to pull away when someone banged on the passenger side window.

  Julia recognized him immediately. “Hi, Colin,” she said as she lowered the window. “Is Kent and Barb around?”

  He shook his head. “They have church then have family dinner on Sundays.”

  “Would you happen to know where we could find Julie?”

  He shrugged and said, “Maybe Balboa Park or the marina?”

  They checked the marina first, driving up and down the crowded streets. Then they headed towards Balboa Park and circled around the edge of the large block. Even with the bad weather there were still people milling around on the streets, but none of them were the girl they were looking for.

  As they circled back around and the freeway entrance appeared, Wynn glanced over at her and said, “I don’t think we’re going to find her.”

  Julia sighed despondently. She had figured as much.

  “Ready to head back home?

  Julia nodded slowly, “it’s just,” she began then trailed off.

  “What?”

  “We have the same name,” Julia said softly as way of explanation.

  She heard Wynn let out a deep breath then she gasped as the car spun around in an unexpected u-turn away from the on ramp. A few minutes later he parked along the street and said, “We won’t be able to find her driving around. She’s probably seeking shelter in the park.”

  It was wet and windy and cold, but Julia refused to complain. She wasn’t the one who had to spend the night outdoors. She was starting to give up hope when she spotted the familiar-looking girl.

  “Julie!”

  The girl halted and turned around, looking ready to flee at any moment.

  “I have something for you,” she continued to call out as she quickened her pace, with Wynn keeping in step besides her. As they drew near, recognition dawned on her face but she still seemed baffled at why two strangers would come looking for her in the middle of a rain storm.

  “Where are you headed?” Julia asked her as they stopped in front of the girl they had been searching for. “We can drive you there? Somewhere warm and out of this rain?”

  She looked distrustfully at them and mumbled, “I’m fine.”

  Let me help you, Julia wanted to say, but the words stuck in her throat. She knew she was limited in what she could do to fix this young girl�
�s situation. But God can help you. Again Julia hesitated, memories of Lexi fumbling over the Gospel message when she tried to share about her faith with Stan trampled across her mind. The urge to say something, to somehow point her in the right direction, towards God, burned inside of her. But fear and self-consciousness overwhelmed her, holding her back.

  Instead Julia held out the bag she had been clutching, and said, “Here, I brought something for you.”

  “What is it?”

  “Shoes and a bag of socks.”

  Hesitantly, she reached out and took the bag. “You came all the way back here to give me this?”

  Julia nodded.

  “You’re crazy,” was all she said as she took the shoes and slipped them on her blistered and mud streaked feet, stuffing the bag of socks in her overcoat pocket. Without much of a backward glance, she turned and walked away disappearing behind a cluster of trees.

  Once she was out of sight, Wynn glanced down at Julia and grinned. “You are crazy,” he said but his usually guarded expression slipped. They walked back to his car and Julia couldn’t help but smile.

  * * *

  Late Wednesday evening, Julia was on a flight back home to spend Thanksgiving with her parents. Lexi and Elliott sat in the seats next to her sharing earphones connected to Lexi’s iPod. The cramped quarters forced Elliott to sprawl his long legs out into the middle aisle. But he didn’t seem to mind, too happy about playing with his new Droid phone.

  Julia leaned back on the seat and stared out the black window speckled with twinkling city lights as the airplane gradually rose higher and higher into the sky. Grateful for some private time to think about what had taken place just a few hours ago, she let her mind race backwards to earlier that night.

  It was the first time she’d been to Wynn’s childhood home. His parents had wanted to express their gratitude for their service at Leavesly Church by inviting them over for dinner. Julia was fairly familiar with his parents, seeing them every Sunday since working with the youth group. Their home reflected their relaxed and welcoming personalities.

  The neighborhood was older, unlike the newer pre-planned community Julia lived in with the identical tract homes crammed up close next to each other. The trees that lined the quiet street was as wide in variety as the styles and colors of each home that sat generously spaced out from each other.