to show. Bob Fleming sat at his battered desk in the rear, arguing with someone over the phone about receiving a larger share of a city grant. Just as his shouting rose to an angry roar, the front door of the runaway shelter opened and an Irish amazon stepped through.
She was a large woman whose height approached six feet and whose weight looked composed entirely of muscle. She wore a pair of tight black leggings, a gray sweatshirt that hung to mid-thigh, thick white socks and sturdy athletic shoes. The no-nonsense outfit only highlighted the woman's incredible physical strength even more. Her leg and thigh muscles were taut and highly developed; her forearms were muscular and firm. But she was not bulky at all. She was sleek and streamlined, moving with the grace of a stalking panther. Her face was broad and burnished by the sun, glowing with a tan the color of honey. Her round cheeks were flushed red in almost comical good health. When she noticed Auntie Lil, the woman's immediate smile was startling— the wide mouth pulled back to reveal large, very white teeth. Above the smile, her eyes glittered with an icy blue that seemed to bore right through Auntie Lil. She stood in the doorway, looking around while she bounced on her insteps and ran impatient fingers through a wavy crop of short brown hair.
Bob Fleming's reaction was enthusiastic. He slammed the phone down the instant he saw her and his scowl was transformed into an unexpected and unabashed grin. He met the enormous woman at the front counter and gave her a quick hug.
"Meet Annie O'Day," he said to Auntie Lil. "Angel of the streets."
"Angel?" the woman repeated in an incredulous voice. She thumped Bob solidly on his biceps with a coiled fist and the burly man cringed in mock pain.
"I'm Lillian Hubbert," Auntie Lil replied, timidly offering a white-gloved hand and fervently hoping it would be returned with all ten fingers intact.
But her hand was not crushed at all. Instead, Annie O'Day tenderly held it between her own massive hands and gently squeezed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hubbert," she said in a soft and calming voice. She continued to hold Auntie Lil's hand while she quietly looked her over, as if absorbing secret signals through the somewhat frail appendage. Auntie Lil changed her mind at once. This was no wrestling champion at all. This was a nurse, or maybe a doctor.
"Annie is a nurse practitioner," Bob Fleming explained. "She has a mobile medical van and drives around helping out homeless and street people in need of care."
"Oh, my," Auntie Lil replied. She did not know what else to say. A job like that had to be dangerous, tiring and frustrating. There would be an endless supply of ungrateful and uncooperative patients who were in real need of medical care but lacked the mental self-awareness to recognize their own ailments.
"Oh, my, is right," Annie O'Day agreed cheerfully. "That's why I have to look like this." She curled one arm up and one arm down in a mock body builder pose. "You can call me Mrs. T," she added.
Auntie Lil laughed, but her eyes were busy inspecting Bob Fleming's unconscious reaction to Annie. His attention was brightly focused on her and his mouth hovered in a perpetual smile. Yes, it was clear. Bob Fleming had at least one interest outside of runaways. Auntie Lil was glad to see that he had chosen his interest well.
"I must be going," she said tactfully. She was not one to stand in the way of love. Besides, she was wasting her time. "I don't think Little Pete is coming."
"Little Pete?" Annie looked at Bob. "Is she a relative?" she asked skeptically. Auntie Lil was definitely the wrong color.
"I'll explain later," Bob promised, showing Auntie Lil to the door. "What if Little Pete turns up later?" he asked in a voice much more helpful than it had ever been before. Annie O'Day certainly had a positive effect on him.
"I'll probably be at the Delicious Deli," Auntie Lil told him. The man's broad shoulders sagged. She had not meant to remind him of his own troubles. "I could use a coffee or two after my large lunch." The largest thing, of course, being the Bloody Mary.
"I'll send him there if he shows," Bob promised, waving a quick goodbye.
Auntie Lil did not mind being politely hustled out of Homefront. If Bob Fleming and Annie O'Day were as busy as