Janet was often asked how she could stand working with so much misery around her. The answer she used most often was simple - because it wasn't misery. Not anymore. By the time her shelter got involved, misery was already on the road to recovery.
But that wasn't the only reason. And Janet had forgotten about that, until Mary - Gabby - started working at the shelter. Gabby didn't see misery anywhere. She was optimistic without being naively so, knew who not to approach and who to smile at. But there was something about the way she looked at people, and the gentle way she treated them, like they were good friends she just hadn't had the good fortune to meet yet. It reminded Janet of the main reason she'd opened up the shelter. Not just to help, but to create that sphere of safety where women who'd been hurt could feel human and wanted again.
It wasn't just about the recovery. It was about seeing the good things that already existed in people, even before the recovery started.
Gabby outright said she couldn't talk about what happened to Angela when Janet asked, even though whatever happened was clearly giving Gabby some trouble. Janet didn't press, because the last thing she wanted was to be read in as someone privy to classified information. She made it a point to be as honest as possible where her girls were concerned. But Gabby was using the shelter work to cheer herself up, and that, at least, was working. More than one person asked about her volunteer hours after she had left.
She'd also mentioned before she left that someone would come to check up on Saffron soon, so Janet was keeping an eye out for that. And, sure enough, it was about mid-afternoon when an extremely confident woman dressed in leather came in.
Janet was manning the desk at the time, and she didn't even bother looking up. "Kelly?" she called out, ever-reluctant to leave any of her girls alone with a stranger. "Come here for a second, please."
"Hi," said the woman. Her accent was strongly British. "My name is Tanith Low. I'm here to see - "
"Saffron. I know. Gabby warned me."
Tanith recovered from being caught off-guard fairly quickly, to her credit, and her face settled into a frown. "Gabby?"
"Detective Inspector Pleasant's girlfriend."
"Detective Inspect - oh." Tanith's face split into a grin. "Right. How is she doing here?"
"Really, really well. Everyone loves her. As long as whatever you and Detective Inspector Pleasant work for leave our shelter alone from now on, things should work out just fine."
"There shouldn't be another issue," Tanith assured her. "There shouldn't have been one in the first place." She shook her head. "The depravity of some people knows no bounds. Glad Gabby is working out, though. You are really lucky to have her."
"So I'm starting to see."
"I mean it," Tanith insisted. "Really lucky."
Janet smiled. She couldn't quite tell if Tanith was being genuine, or if she'd heard about Gabby's precarious situation and was trying to help out. "I said I'm starting to see," Janet repeated pointedly, even as she took the obvious vouch of good faith under consideration. "Tell Detective Inspector Pleasant I'm still sending him the bill for the window."
"I'm pretty sure he's expecting it. Someone else is coming, by the way. She'll just be a few more minutes."
Janet's eyes narrowed. "Who?"
"Oh, just a sketch artist."
A sketch artist. Janet decided she didn't want to know.
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But that wasn't the only reason. And Janet had forgotten about that, until Mary - Gabby - started working at the shelter. Gabby didn't see misery anywhere. She was optimistic without being naively so, knew who not to approach and who to smile at. But there was something about the way she looked at people, and the gentle way she treated them, like they were good friends she just hadn't had the good fortune to meet yet. It reminded Janet of the main reason she'd opened up the shelter. Not just to help, but to create that sphere of safety where women who'd been hurt could feel human and wanted again.
It wasn't just about the recovery. It was about seeing the good things that already existed in people, even before the recovery started.
Gabby outright said she couldn't talk about what happened to Angela when Janet asked, even though whatever happened was clearly giving Gabby some trouble. Janet didn't press, because the last thing she wanted was to be read in as someone privy to classified information. She made it a point to be as honest as possible where her girls were concerned. But Gabby was using the shelter work to cheer herself up, and that, at least, was working. More than one person asked about her volunteer hours after she had left.
She'd also mentioned before she left that someone would come to check up on Saffron soon, so Janet was keeping an eye out for that. And, sure enough, it was about mid-afternoon when an extremely confident woman dressed in leather came in.
Janet was manning the desk at the time, and she didn't even bother looking up. "Kelly?" she called out, ever-reluctant to leave any of her girls alone with a stranger. "Come here for a second, please."
"Hi," said the woman. Her accent was strongly British. "My name is Tanith Low. I'm here to see - "
"Saffron. I know. Gabby warned me."
Tanith recovered from being caught off-guard fairly quickly, to her credit, and her face settled into a frown. "Gabby?"
"Detective Inspector Pleasant's girlfriend."
"Detective Inspect - oh." Tanith's face split into a grin. "Right. How is she doing here?"
"Really, really well. Everyone loves her. As long as whatever you and Detective Inspector Pleasant work for leave our shelter alone from now on, things should work out just fine."
"There shouldn't be another issue," Tanith assured her. "There shouldn't have been one in the first place." She shook her head. "The depravity of some people knows no bounds. Glad Gabby is working out, though. You are really lucky to have her."
"So I'm starting to see."
"I mean it," Tanith insisted. "Really lucky."
Janet smiled. She couldn't quite tell if Tanith was being genuine, or if she'd heard about Gabby's precarious situation and was trying to help out. "I said I'm starting to see," Janet repeated pointedly, even as she took the obvious vouch of good faith under consideration. "Tell Detective Inspector Pleasant I'm still sending him the bill for the window."
"I'm pretty sure he's expecting it. Someone else is coming, by the way. She'll just be a few more minutes."
Janet's eyes narrowed. "Who?"
"Oh, just a sketch artist."
A sketch artist. Janet decided she didn't want to know.