Rose blinked. Then she opened her mouth to say something. Then she blinked again. Then she frowned. She understood the words that were coming out of the young man’s mouth, but the way they were being put together made no sense at all. The way he spoke, it was as if he was saying things moved around. Or maybe it was just that he moved around.
The only logical conclusion that Rose could come to was that the boy was homeless. Her heart went out to him and she wondered just what had happened. Because while he was a little scruffy, he didn’t seem like he was on drugs. At least not at the moment. But the way he dressed and the way he spoke…
Rose gently patted his arm. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll ask at the florist, because with all the deliveries they do, they must know where everything is. They’ll be able to tell me. Then I’ll give you a ride to the hospital. I’m going there anyway. And I’m sure we can get you the help you need there. In no time at all, you’ll be back on your feet.”
It might not be too smart to put a homeless man, possibly on drugs, in her car, but Rose just couldn’t in good conscience leave him on the street. What if the next person he met wasn’t so kind? What if he found more drugs or alcohol? Somebody had to help him, and she was the person that was there.
“You wait right here,” Rose told him, speaking slowly and simply, unsure if he was high or drunk. She didn’t want him to misunderstand and think she was abandoning him and leave. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going in there, and I’ll come right back, okay?”