We're reminded all too often of people's lives taking expected turns. It may be the neighbor bragging about his new car, his new boat, or perhaps something a bit more life-altering, like a newborn baby or a new puppy.

Gertrude Collins would have unequivocally taken any of those scenarios, for the simple reason that what was about to happen in her life, was anything, but expected.

***
"What about my mother and father, Brent."

"Gertie, I wish I had better news for you, but you knew this was a possibility when you signed on with this agency fifteen years ago. If you have reservations about the protection program let me reassure you it's top-notch, you won't be found."

She looked down and drew the tip of her shoe across the carpet in an attempt to conceal her emotions. "That's not what I'm worried about, Brent. I can't just up and leave them."

"We'll let them know what's happened. Gertie, you have to understand the magnitude of this. This man that blew your cover. The man you had to terminate is the son of a high-ranking foreign operative... if the family finds you, they'll kill you, and anyone you're associated with. Including your mom and dad."

She paced for several seconds and peered out the window of the high-rise onto the streets of New York City. "There has to be another way, Brent?"

"Gertie, give me your phone." Brent removed the sim card and crushed it under the heel of his shoe.

"For God's sake Brent, all my contacts were in there."

"Exactly, now I want you to go home, pack a small bag and walk to the gym on fifty-fourth and Maddison. Here's a new phone, don't get excited you're not going to keep it. When you get inside, you'll receive a call, it will be from the driver of the car that's going to take you to your destination. On your way out of the gym drop the phone into the sewer. The driver won't know who you are, so don't show him your face or your new identification."

Brent could see Gertie's wheels turning. "Do you understand, Agent Collins?" Brent asked in a superior tone.

"Yes, I understand."

"Gertie, you're one of my best agents so you know it's out of my hands if you choose to disregard any of these instructions. I want to wish you the best with your new life, and I hope I never see you again. Now hug me and get out of here."

As soon as Gertie got home, she slipped on a pair of black spandex bottoms, pulled up her sweatshirt hoody, and headed for fifty-fourth and Maddison. As she walked to the gym door, she noticed a woman sitting in a hunched position a few feet away. Gertie stood beside her and leaned back against the building. "Excuse me."

Startled, the woman leaned to one side and gazed up at Gerdie.

"No, don't look at me," Gerdie fired off.

The woman quickly changed her gaze. "I...I'm leaving right now. I'm sorry, I fell asleep."

"It's okay. Please, don't go. "What's your name?"

"Rita."

"Rita, would you say you're around my age?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure how old I am, the thirties I'd guess. Why?"

Gertie looked straight ahead as she spoke. "This is going to sound weird, but how would you like a new life?"

"A new life? Come on, lady. What's the hitch?"

"After I go inside, I want you to wait a few minutes before you come in and go straight to the locker room. Would you do that?"

"No. Nah, they won't let me in there."

"I'll take care of that part."

***
Rita lifted one side of her hoody and glanced at Gertie from the back seat. In the few seconds it took for the car to pull away, Gertie realized that the long trench coat and the soiled clothes she wore weren't a disguise this time. She wasn't on a mission; where most of them had afforded her all the indulgent luxuries of life while she posed as someone else. She was truly homeless.

Gertie walked a few blocks cautiously peering into alleyways and the darkened stairwells of the basement apartments.

There wasn't a single dangerous moment in her past profession, that could've held a candle to this. She was terrified.

The streetlight flickered on above her head, and the night air settled on her skin like a cool damp cloth. She had had nothing to eat since she and Rita had lunch at the gym food bar.

What she wouldn't have given for a bagel, a hot cup of coffee, and a cozy blanket.

She put her hands into her coat pockets and felt the phone that Brent had given her. She took it out and rubbed across the digits of her parent's phone number. She'd never take the chance to call them with it, but somehow, she felt safer knowing the phone was in her pocket.

She settled inside the concave entryway of a bookstore and pulled her knees to her chest. She dozed in and out for several moments, occasionally lifting her head to the echoed bongs of someone rummaging through a McDonald's dumpster across the street. She buried her head deeper between her knees.

"Solutions my dear Lady. To what do I owe this honorable visit?"

Gertie, wide-eyed, instinctively secured her back against the wall. She shoved her hand in her coat pocket and drew it forward as if she had a weapon. She knew it was a bit cliche, but it was all she could think of at that moment.

"Gracious, my glowing shadow of the streets. I mean you no harm. I'm merely the daddy bear returning to his den. My suspicions are, you'd be goldilocks?"

"Well, your suspicions are wrong, and what do you mean your den?"

"My abode, dear lady, this is where I slumber."

"Well, not anymore."

"You must forgive me, my maiden of the darkness. As I, so swathed in the rhapsodies of your beauty, have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Sigh, Sir Sigh, your knight in shining armor if you prefer."

"Yeah, well, it's nice to meet you Sigh, but I have to tell you, I doubt you're my knight in shining armor."

"Oh, ye of little faith my fair mistress of ambiguity."

"Gertie! Please call me, Gertie."

"As you wish, my lady of..." Sigh cleared his throat. "Miss Gertie." He reached into the pocket of his tattered brown waistcoat and pulled out a slender piece of laminated paper. He bowed and handed it to Gertie. "It has been bestowed upon me all the privileges of Knighthood by Her Royal Highness the Queen. I present you with proper documentation that the order of chivalry has been given to me."

Gertie moved out onto the street and held the laminate below the light. "This has the Royal seal."

"Well, of course, Miss Gertie. I am many things, but a liar I am not. Now, I have brought a feast from yonder market, would you care to join me?"

"You bought food from McDonald's? I'm starving. Yes, of course, I'll join you."

"Nay, Miss Gertie, I believe I said, brought, not bought."

"Brought? Brought from where?"

"From yonder dumpster, Miss Gertie."

She folded her arms and stared at Sigh. "Are you joking with me?"

"Hm, I don't feel as though I've conveyed a joke. Why do you ask?" Sigh held the McDonald's bag out to Gertie. She paused for a few seconds before he shook the bag in front of her.

"Au, hell give me that, I'm freaking starving. What do I watch out for Sigh? Is there anything I need to know about dumpster food before I eat this?"

"There are two golden rules I had to accept readily, Miss Gertie. Eat quickly and never look down at your food."

"Done."

"Tomorrow, bagels and coffee, my lady."

The following morning Gertie was startled awake by the owner of the bookstore kicking the bottom of her shoe. "Come on, it's time to move on. You too, Sigh. You know this isn't an all-day hangout." Sigh grabbed Gertie by the hand. "Let us go retrieve breakfast my sweet morning dove. I'll teach you the art of dumpster diving."

"There's an art?"

"Oh, yes, my sugary, sugar cane."

"Gertie! My name is Gertie!"

"Yes, yes of course." Sigh pulled her by her hand to the back alley of a corner Duncan donuts.

"What's the rush, Sigh?"

"Your initial lesson is to get to wherever you're dining before the establishment opens."

"Au, so whatever they throw out from the day before..."

"You're a quick learner my little hummingbird of swill." Gertie rolled her eyes and let that one slide.

It wasn't long before the keys jangled in the alley door, and a woman walked out with a clear garbage bag full of stale assorted bagels and donuts. "Oh, hey Sigh, the woman said nonchalantly."

"Hello, Brenda, my honey-glazed Heartthrob. Your visual astounds me more deeply each morning I encounter your beauty." He took the garbage bag swung it over his shoulder and kissed her hand with a bow. Brenda shook her head and turned for the door.

"Hm, it seems you talk to all the women like that?"

"Don't be jealous my beauty, she's a drooling dog, but she provides me with much happiness and much food."

"I'm not jealous, Sigh." He shot her a subtle smirk and hurried her across the street and down the subway stairs to a ventilation tunnel. "Rats! She pulled away from him. "Sigh, I can't do this. I can't do rats."

"Please, Miss Gertie. The rats are a natural process of the tunnel system as are the maggots in Casu martzu, or the wonderful, aromatic scent of fermenting beef. A meal fit for a king." He held his hand out to Gertie from the tunnel entrance. "Please honor us with your presence. I want you to meet my son."

Sigh took Gertie's hand and hurried her through the tunnel to a square of natural light that poured in through a street grate.

The busy voices and the jangled sounds of the trampled metal solidified Gertie's fleeting epiphany. How many times had she passed over Sigh and his son without a single thought?

Her previous world was gradually being buried beneath the alien grime that clung to her skin like a magnetic powder. Once strong and respected, her voice was now reduced to a life's orphaned whisper. Her fogged regrets trailed off as a boy appeared from the shadows.

"Miss Gertie, I would like you to meet my son, Blink. He is honorably named after my great gramps, Blinkashard Baily Brown. My illustrious gramps was born in March, eighteen-twenty-six, and died in March, eighteen-seventy-seven. He was the greatest taxidermist, slash, coroner, slash, priest, that had ever lived."

"Well, I guess you have a lot to live up to, Blink?"

"Yes, mam, I live quite a historically challenged life on my father's side, and if you do the math longevity is not included."

"Nay, my fair-skinned gladiator, your quipped jargon is quite a garbled choice of intended hearsay. Surely you can close your box of erudite while we entertain our guest."

"I apologize, Father."

"Accepted! Now... the Lord and Brenda the dog-faced woman have provided us with a feast of bagels and donuts. We shall partake so as not to degrade their gallant efforts?" Sigh opened the bag and tossed handfuls in every direction.

"Sigh, what're you doing?"

"Oh, Miss Gertie, I must apologize for my teaching abilities, they lack professionalism at times. I have neglected to teach you, two extremely important lessons. Firstly, you should always sit beneath the grates in the event loose change, or bills fall through, and secondly, always feed the rats before you feed yourself. I will take mine to travel, as I must be at the bakery dumpster before four o'clock. Is seeded rye acceptable to each of your palates?"

"It's fine." She looked at Blink, and he nodded.

Gertie bit into her bagel and chewed as though she had bitten into a rubber ball. Blink poured the rainwater they had collected into a tin cup and handed it to Gertie. She soaked her bagel in the water and took another bite.

"You're learning fast," Blink said.

"I was always a good student. Thank you for the water."

"Welcome."

"Blink? What happened to your father? Why is he out here?" He hesitated. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

As if gathering his thoughts, he waited a few more seconds before he spoke. "He was a surgeon in England, a real good one, too. He had a good track record; he hadn't lost a patient in the twenty-eight years of his practice."

"I'm surprised he hadn't told me this, but I guess I haven't told him much about myself either."

"It doesn't surprise me he hasn't told you. He has a hard time with it to this day."

Gertie slid over a bit closer to Blink. "Go on."

"It started when my three-year-old sister developed a brain tumor. His surgeon friends warned him not to operate on her, but he wouldn't listen. He didn't want anyone else to touch her. When he opened her up... he realized her tumor was too large to remove without causing damage. Before he could close her, she flatlined. He worked on her for almost an hour before they had to pull him away to call her death."

"Oh, Blink, that's heart-wrenching. So, why this choice? Why the streets?"

"My mother blamed him and she eventually left us."

"I'm sorry." Gertie squeezed his forearm.

"Me too. It's been twelve years out here. I was only five. Mother cleaned out his bank account. We had a little bit of money, but that ran out quickly when I started school. I didn't know how to process being homeless back then. I just knew I was always afraid. I still am."

"Do you blame him for giving up?"

"I blame him for giving in. He's always considered himself a soldier, as strange as that may sound to you. He lost the battle with my sister and my mother, and I believe he needed a challenge bigger than himself... becoming homeless presented him with that."

"That makes some sense, but whether that's right or wrong, Blink, you have to think about yourself at some point. What're you going to do with your life."

"Blink looked down and poked a stick at the dirt. "I can't leave him, he needs me."

She leaned in and gave him a quick hug.

"What about you, Gertie?"

She stood and peered up through the open grate. "I know what you mean about not wanting to leave him. My parents are the reason I'm out here too. The rest is a long, complicated story."

"Gertie, I don't know how he'd react if he knew I told you this. He never talks about it."

"It's safe with me, Blink."

Moments later Sigh returned with two moldy bricks of Wisconsin cheddar and a loaf of rye bread. He pulled out his army knife, shaved away at the greenish-yellow sides of the cheese, and threw them to the rats.

He sliced the cheese thinly and made three sandwiches. "Feast, feast my luminous souls of the depths. It was for both of you that I've conquered the unrelenting walkways and have purposely fallen beneath the floppy black jaws of the green metal monsters, only to have fought my way out, victoriously."

With a bite of sandwich lodged in his cheek, he gazed at them both. "Why these faces of despair my silent soldiers of remorse?"

"We've been talking Sigh, I have a favor to ask of you and Blink. I'd like you to do this for me without asking the whys. I'm going to give you my parent's address. I would like you and Blink to visit them to tell them I'm fine. They're going to be skeptical of you at first, I'm sure. Tell them I said to call the front desk of St. Mary's bingo hall around four o'clock, and I'll talk with them then. Would you do that for me?"

"Of course, my sweet. I have but one concern and that is our appearance."

"They're beautiful people, Sigh. Once they realize you're not foe, I'd guess you're both going to be in for a treat."

The day took its natural turns and twists. Sigh and Blink headed for Gertie's parents and Gertie waited at the front desk of the bingo hall for her parent's call...

"Hi, Mom. Yes, it's me. How's dad? Is He listening? Hi, Dad! You both sound well... Yes, I'm doing fine, guys. Yes, Dad, all is well. No, I don't need anything right now...

"Oh good, I'm glad they made it to you guys. Yes, Mom, he does speak strangely, but that's a big part of who he is... No, it's not an act.

"Yes, mm-hum, oh, they both must have enjoyed the showers and the food.

"Yes, I'm sure... Is Sigh right there, Mom?

"He's in cleaning the shower? I guess that shouldn't surprise me. What about Blink, may I speak to him? Dishes? Did he offer to do them?

"Blink? Yes, he is a great kid.

"Oh? Uh-huh, mm-hum, no, he hadn't told me that. A doctor, huh? Yeah, yes... but... guys...
Are you sure about this? College tuition for a Ph.D. is expensive.

"Yes, Mom, I'm still here... Yes, I'm crying...

"Because I love you both, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"I don't know about visiting, Mom. It's going to take some planning and it may be a long time before that comes to fruition, but I promise I'll work on it. I'll have to warn you though, you're not going to like the way I look.

"Yes, I know you've seen me in disguise before Mom, but this isn't a disguise, this is who I am.

"No, Mom, you don't understand I can't live at home. You and Dad would be at risk.

"No, that's all I can tell you... I'll be with Sigh and Blink, everything's going to be fine...

"What? Mom, you guys don't have to do that. Is Sigh on board with Blink living there?

"Yes, mom, I'm okay. I just didn't see any of this coming.

"Oh? Uh-huh, uh-huh. Oh, really? Did he tell you that? Oh, you just figured it out all on your own. I see...

"I know he does, Mom, I adore him too. Gertie quickly wiped a tear with the back of her hand. I can only explain it one way, Mom. In this unexpected, wonderfully beautiful sort of way, he's become my knight in shining armor."