She walked out of the building with a smile on her face. Ian, who was on the pay phone, scowled when he saw her. He hung up the receiver and came forward.
“Did you talk to your boss?” she asked.
“No. I had to leave a message, which is pretty fucking useless.”
“Why?”
“How’s he going to return my call?”
“What happened to your cellphone?”
“It got stolen,” he said in a clipped voice.
“Oh.” She hadn’t realized that he’d been robbed before he came to her aid. His backpack and fancy camera equipment were gone. “If you have money, you can buy a new one.”
“Yeah, where?”
She didn’t know. The store wouldn’t have them. He might be able to buy a cheap one from another passenger, but most of them didn’t carry phones. “Look what I got,” she said, focusing on the positive. “We can shower and change clothes.”
He rubbed a hand down his haggard face. “Whatever.”
She didn’t press her luck by suggesting a nap, though he clearly needed one. They went to buy a token for the showers. It was a short wait, because there was a separate bathroom for women and she was the only female in line.
“Solamente mujeres,”the man who sold the tokens said to her.Women only.
“Fuck that,” Ian said. “I’m going in with her.”
The man protested that Ian couldn’t be in the women’s restroom. Ian paid a few extra dollars to shut him up and followed her inside. It was a cramped space with a sink on one side and a single shower stall on the other, behind a flimsy flowered curtain. There was a plastic chair to set their belongings on. The door shut, but didn’t lock.
“See this?” Ian said, rattling the knob. “Security here is a joke.”
Maria crossed her arms in front of her chest, struck by a sudden wave of modesty. She didn’t want to take off her clothes while he was watching. She felt ugly and dirty and claustrophobic. Memories from last night washed over her, making her skin crawl. She remembered the bandit’s fetid breath in her face. The sharp blade against her throat.
“What’s wrong?” Ian asked.
Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head, unsure of what to say. Although she knew Ian wouldn’t hurt her, and she felt safer in his presence, she didn’t want to be touched or looked at right now. She needed some space to recover from last night.
“Do you want me to go first?”
“No. I want to get it over with.”
He nodded easily. He didn’t seem confused about her strange behavior. Maybe he understood that she was having a delayed reaction to the bandit’s attack. He turned the chair around, facing the door, and sat down. “Take as long as you need. I’m right here.”
His patience calmed her. He was there, but not watching. Not expecting anything. Just offering his protection and support. Taking a deep breath, she hung up her towel and arranged her toiletries at the edge of the stall. She bent down to untie her shoes with shaking hands. Then she removed her clothes and stepped into the stall, trembling.
She turned on the faucet. The pipes sputtered and groaned for a few seconds. Then water burst forth in a steady spray that was surprisingly pleasant. It soaked into her hair and poured down her shoulders, like warm rain.
