SHE WAS STANDING ON THE CORNER

She was standing on the corner as I approached from Portland and when I drew level to her she said, ‘hey you, you got any rizla? I got a pinch but no paper, you got one?’
I thought of saying, ‘no,’ because I had some but in the top pocket of my rucksack. But I didn’t say, ‘no,’ instead I said, ‘yes,’ and took off my bag and got a green pack of rizla with half the top been used as a roach earlier in the evening and gave her a single.
‘Thanks love.’
The square was empty of people except for the two of us.
She said, ‘I only need one more, I really want to wake up with some money, you know?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘One more would do, that’s all.’
The end of her nose was red and I wondered what’d made it that way.
‘I’m not business,’ I said, ‘but I’m curious, what do you charge, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘Twenty for oral and thirty for full but I’d do a full for twenty now,’ she said. ‘It’s easy money.’
‘Is it?’ I said.
‘Well it would be if there was anyone around.’
A car slowed down, police, then drove on up Moon Street.
‘Am I in the way?’ I said.
‘No, there’s no one to be in the way of.’
‘Must get boring, stood here waiting.’
‘It is,’ she said, asked me my name and we introduced ourselves to each other.
I wanted to touch her, to give her money so she’d wake up with some like she said she wanted to, but I didn’t have any to give her.
‘I come this way on my way home quite a lot,’ I said. ‘Would you mind if I stopped and said hello if you’re around.?’
‘I’d like that,’ she said.