Yara Doss arrived eleven minutes late and stood outside the café until the rain found the back of her collar.
Eli saw her through the window, a thin woman in a dark coat with one hand wrapped around the handle of a grocery bag. She looked at the café door, then at the bus stop across the street. When a bus pulled up, she took a step toward it. Nora rose before Eli could follow.
“Stay here,” she said. “If she’s changed her mind, two strangers at the door won’t help.”
Nora went outside alone. Eli watched her stop at the edge of the awning, leaving the pavement clear. They spoke for less than a minute. Yara glanced at Eli, then gave Nora the grocery bag and followed her inside.
The bag contained bread, a packet of rice and a pair of inexpensive shoes in a child’s size. Yara put it on the chair beside her and took the seat facing the window.
“Those are for Leona,” she said when Eli noticed the shoes. “She works evenings. She wears them through faster than I can replace them.”
Eli ordered tea for her. She refused food, then changed her mind when the server mentioned there was soup left. Nora waited until the server had gone before opening her notebook.
