After the street market Tacks my business associate and I went up the steep street next to the avenue to see the lawyer.
His door was locked, the late afternoon was a soothing shade under blue, a crisp warmth.
We knocked again before getting out our cigarettes.
"Do you think he's busy or do you think he's out?"
Tack said "He knows it's you, he's avoiding you."
"Oh that's hurtful I said sarcastically"
The lawyer had been avoiding us for weeks, and passing a few other people on the way up the street, we could see we weren't the only ones. The windless calm did lull us into a false sense of security which was never good in Sao Paulo.
Timmy and Acorn the street bums happened upon us.
Timmy rummaged along the side of the street, through the trash. Looking for loose change or something the punters let fall from their pockets. Same two mendingos after every street market, making a few bob off watching the cars.
Acorn regarded us directly and spoke politely but in hushed tones so that his companion wouldn't hear him.
"Hi bosses, how you'se goin aye? Listen I don't usually ask, but it's about Ol Timmy here, last night he was evicted from his buildin, him in his missus kicked out on their asses."
"Oh horrid" I put Tacks nodding sympathetically.
Both if us taken in hook line and sinker.
"Yeah so Im getting together some change to put him up in a shelter, you spare a few?"
"I guess so" "Yeah no worries" Tack and I replied.
Handing over a few real.
I turned to Tacks, almost moved to emotion by the friends gesture.
"Would you do something like that for me if I was in a similar mess?"
"Most probably would"
But look tacks pointed. Acorn had taken off walking hurriedly away, leaving the Timmy to continue his afternoon rummaging.
"I guess sharing a bottle of white rum and a cardboard box hasn't done anything for their relationship!"
We fell about laughing.
Timmy got ears of our jokes and his head went up like a hen in danger.
Positioning his ear to get an idea of what we were saying, the way he moved his neck seemed to quick or tight.
I rose my index to my lips, but Timmy knew we were joking about him. We started walking back down to the bottom of the street looking away from his targetting glances. We got to the pedestrian crossing and had to stop. We didn't see Timmy following us, he popped out of nowhere and without respecting personal distance came in almost hugging us.
The tone of Timmy's voice was full especailly rueful.
"Acorn always does that, he gets money telling a story bout me gettin evicted. Thing is I aint got no lodgins. What I scrounge is just for eats int it?"
"Do you need a buck Timmy?" Tacks asked. "Yeah since ya askin I do now."
We were expecting him to tear up in repentence of a life ill spent, neither of us had wanted for much in our lives. Was it heartfelt charity that made us reach for our wallets or just the desire to have Timmy's strange smelling clothes away from us, the question just intensified the guilt of knowing we were haves, and he was a have not.
"What about your friend then selling you out like that? Why do you still hang out with that lout then?"
"Because next week it'll be his turn to rummage outside the lawyers building, and my time to play the violin."
Timmy grabbed the bronze reals from our hands and sprinted into the traffic, laughing.
"How is it with so many casualties on the roads every day, these guys never get hit?"
Tacks scoffed and giggled briefly.
"Because they know how things work better than we do."
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