“You okay?” Shane turned around and realised she was just standing several inches away from the woman. “Thanks for coming to my rescue…Shane..” The woman smiled and when she smiled, her eyes lit up. Shane liked the sound of her name coming from the woman’s voice. She could smell a faint scent, like that of lilac. Shane wanted to ask her her name, but before she could do so, the woman looked at her watch and cursed underneath her breath. “Oh man…I’ve gotta run….my boss will kill me…” She turned away in a fluster and reached for the door. It was halfway open before she looked back at Shane. For a moment, she stood there, the soft lines of her face illuminated by the morning light and her hair glowing like a halo. Shane stood right at the spot and she could not move. It was as if she was transfixed by something. This time she smiled again, but there seemed to be something behind the smile. Shane had always thought she was a connoisseur at deciphering people but she had no idea what she meant. “My name is…….” She beamed at Shane and her voice was drowned out by the morning traffic.

When it became apparent there was no hope of meeting the angel with the bright smile this morning, Shane went to work. “Shane you are late…do I need to remind you your schedule is full today?” Her boss, Joe, gestured with his effeminate hand movements and Shane grinned at him. “Yeah, that’s why you love me. I’m raking in the money for ya,” she winked at him. “You better make sure of that, Shaney boy, now get your skinny ass to work,” She flipped through the staff schedule and looked through her own. Shane preferred knowing who was coming that day, because she remembered her clients’ preferences and dislikes. Most of the names were her regular clients but she noted a foreign name right at the top. “Carmen de la pica Morales” She read aloud. She slouched in her seat and stared at the name, trying to place a face to that name. “Shane it’s your client,” she felt Joe nudging her thigh. She put the schedule away and stood up. And find herself face to face with the bright-eyed angel whose name she had lost amidst the noise.