She guided us through her small house past mountains and mountains of boxes and bags used for take out. We sat down at a small messy table in the kitchen and she handed me a small laminated piece of paper that had a few options for food.

I stared at it blankly. Louie chuckled at me, “I recommend the gumbo and cornbread.”

“What is gumbo? I’ve never heard of most of the stuff on here.”

Nana Lena dropped a towel on the table looking at me with her mouth agape, “oh my goodness! You poor child! We must get you some right away. I will have to pack you some boxes full of all my dishes for you to try.”

“I- you don’t have to do that. I will just take whatever Louie is having. I have lots of food at home.”

Louie slapped my back and laughed, “Man frozen pizza and burritos isn’t food. You need some real food and Nana Lena will make sure you will never want that kind of crap ever again.”

I chuckled nervously as Nana placed a large bowl of gumbo and two pieces of cornbread down in front of me, “Eat up hon. I promise you, you will love it.” 

And just as she said, the food was amazing. I had never had anything like it before. It was like a thick filling and hearty stew with shrimp, crab, and some sort of spicy sausage all over rice. The cornbread was not my favorite because the texture was off putting but it tasted amazing.

After our large filling meal and saying our goodbyes to Nana Lena we started back off on our way back to my house to decide when we were going to go to that address.

“Louie, when we get back to my place, we should make a game plan for when you want to go to that address.”

He sighed loudly, crossed his arms and gazed out the passenger window, “I honestly do not wish to go there at all. I really do not want to see him again, but I am afraid that if I do not assert what I want, he will continue to bother me and come to my house.” He rested his head on the window and I could hear him trying to fight back some tears.

“Don’t worry Louie,” I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, “I will be there the whole time while we are there and I am not afraid of this person. I know you are afraid, but I will be there to back you up. And whenever you want to leave, we will. You just have to tell me.”

He turned to face me, tears streaming down his face, “You have done so much for me and I cannot thank you enough for being willing to put yourself in danger for me, some random stranger.”

I wiped a tear from his face and sighed lightly, “It really is no problem.”

He wiped the tears from his face with his flannel sleeve and sniffled, “I do not know how I will repay your kindness.”

“You can do that by telling me more about yourself.” I looked away from him, tightening my grip on the steering wheel and trying hard not to stutter. I could feel my face turning red. “I would like to get to know you better.”

He chuckled softly and cleared his throat, “That's the least I could do. I would like to know more about you as well.” I peeked over at him and he was smiling again. He had such a cute smile.

“I suppose I could start first, seeing as you have told me a lot of stuff about yourself already. I just do not know where you would like me to start.”

“Why not tell me what brought you to this crappy little town.”

I bit on my lower lip trying to calm my anxiety. Am I really ready to tell someone what happened? And to Louie? What would he think of me? “Well it is a long story honestly. And a little trauma dumpy. Do you think you are okay with hearing something not so great?” I ran my hand through my hair, “I might be able to make it like maybe a short version. One that avoids all the trauma.” I laughed nervously and gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles were turning white.

He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled, “You can tell me whatever you are comfortable with. I am not here to judge you, just get to know you.”