Upset that my friends had canceled again, I pushed past the ragged, dirty woman…until I heard her.

“Spare some change?”

I always recognize voices, so I turned and knelt down.

“Linda?”

Her eyes widened. “Jeff? Oh, fuck…”

She dropped her head and started crying.

“Linda…please…let me help…”

I finally coaxed her back to my apartment.

The shower ran a long time, steam curling under the door.

But the angel who emerged was the confident, beautiful woman I had longed for in high school.

“Merry Christmas, Jeff,” she smiled, hips swaying as she let the towel fall…