“Git Down” Abie

Sometimes they walked and wandered in groups. Seen but not seen. Never acknowledged. Just walking. Not talking. That’s what Abie did. Every night. Even when it was very cold. Even when it rained. Weather didn’t matter. Abie walked. Sometimes alone. Sometimes in a group. Not talking. Just walking. He became adept at observing while not being observed.

 

One night he stopped to rest at the entrance to Sam’s Haberdashery on St. Lawrence. His favourite stop. His favourite street. It wasn’t the window dressing that attracted him. It was the long, poorly lit vestibule. Abie didn’t see the figure sitting at the far end of the vestibule with her back against the plate glass window.

 

When Abie did notice her, he stood up to leave. Not that he was uncomfortable being in such a small place with another person, (well maybe just a bit uncomfortable) but there was a rule… only one person in a vestibule. No matter the size of the vestibule. Do not intrude. Unless the person who arrived first invited the newcomer. One of the very few tenets that night people lived by.

 

Then he heard her say, “You can stay.” Abie hesitated, actually an uncomfortable, long pause, then sat down. That’s the way they stayed for a while. Hours actually. Not speaking. Not looking at each other. Though if truth be told, Abie did glance her way. Several times. Perhaps even more. His carefully cultivated isolation had been breached.

 

As dawn approached, it was time for Abie to head home. He saw her walking to the front of the stoop. She held out her hand. Did she want to help him stand? He took her hand. Tentatively. They began walking down the street together. Hand in hand. As the sun rose, they walked. Slowly. Without speaking. Perhaps this is how life begins. One small thing at a time. At times a painful small thing.

 

As they became more comfortable they began to speak. First words. Then complete sentences.

 

Occasionally, very occasionally, night people find a friend. Sometimes it turns into even more than friendship. For “Git Down Abie” that’s what happened. They became close … very close… She always just called him Abie.

 

I’d like to tell you that Abie and his new “friend” lived happily ever after. That they changed their way of life. That they found work. That they had 2.7 children and moved to a home in the suburbs. With a white picket fence and a flower garden. That they never reverted to their lone wolf personae.

 

I’d like to tell you all of that – but I can’t. You see Abie and his friend disappeared. That’s right, they disappeared. Gone. Abie never returned home. They were never seen again, either on the streets, or anywhere else.

 

When a man (and a woman) move, only through the night, and no one sees them, do they even exist?