The Stacks

Chapter 5: Revelation

Song: "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins

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After my impromptu coffee stop, I hurried home as it was getting dark. I opened the front door to my building and my phone rang. "Hello?" I answered, climbing the stairs and fishing my key from my pocket, all the while holding the phone between my ear and my shoulder. 

"Hey, honey, it's Dad. The boys and I just dropped the donations off at the new homeless shelter and we were wondering if you wanted to grab a bite."

"I just walked in the door and I'm not really up for going out again. Would you mind picking something up and you can come to my place?" 

"Sounds like a plan," Dad answered. "We're in Mexicantown right now. How about some chimichangas?" 

"Perfect." 

Dad and my brothers arrived within the half hour. I had changed out of my work clothes to some yoga pants and my over-sized Wayne State University sweatshirt. As soon as I heard the knock, I rushed to the door to let them in.

Sean came in first, followed by Collin, and dad brought up the rear with bags of food in his hand. "Ugh, you're not a Packers fan, are you?" Collin asked, wrinkling his nose at my green and gold attire. 

"Can't you read?" I teased. "I went to Wayne State for four years and you never noticed they have the same colors as the Packers?"

Collin looked unconvinced, which I didn't understand since I was wearing the evidence. I brought dishes to the table along with a pitcher of ice water and a few cans of LaCroix. 

"Who's gonna win this weekend?" I asked since the Lions were actually playing the Packers at Ford Field on Sunday, mere blocks away from my apartment. I didn't follow football too closely but the rest of my family did. I had been to a few games with them - they were all hardcore Lions fans - and I had spent countless hours in front of the TV with them on Sundays, watching every single game throughout the season. I usually caught up on homework and only half paid attention to the games, but it was a nice way for all of us to be together.

"I'd like to say the Lions," Dad said, taking the answer from Collin's mouth. "But to be honest, I don't think they're going to hold up against the Pack." 

"Well, good luck with that," I teased as we sat down and began our Mexican feast. 

"I talked to the director at the shelter, and he said they're hoping to open November 1," Dad informed me. "They're starting with 200 beds and hoping to add more after the first of the year."

"That's great," I enthused. 

"Does your friend still need a place to stay?" He asked.

"I don't really know," I hedged. "I don't know him that well yet. Do you think it would be rude to come right out and ask?"

"Depends," he said. "He could take it as a caring gesture on your part or I suppose he could take offense."

"Yeah, if someone asked me if I was homeless, based solely on my appearance, I might be insulted," I agreed.

"But it's not just on his appearance, right?" Dad remembered. "You said he's been there all day, every day. That seems to indicate that he doesn't have a permanent place to stay."

"True. I had coffee with him after work and I asked where he lived. He was kind of vague about it."

"You went on a date with a homeless guy?" Collin was incredulous. 

I shook my head in exasperation. "Since when is a cup of coffee a date?"

"Since he's a guy and you're a girl," Sean pitched in.