I was out in JP last night having beers with a friend, ended up at Green a little after eleven, managed to make it to JFK around midnight. Now, usually I’m either tucked into bed by then, or, if I’m out and about, it’s with somebody with wheels. I have to admit, that time of night, and in a state of slight inebriation, I prefer a taxi to the T, mostly on account of the walk home from the station.

So last night I’m walking home and I get to Dot Ave. without incident, but on the corner there’s a strikingly handsome young woman, tall and blond, in a red dress. But she’s got that Southie accent, you know, and you can tell she’s got a foul mouth, and she’s shouting across the street at this bloke with a big backpack. And he’s calling her all sorts of names, and she’s shouting at him to leave her alone, and go his own way. It sounded very sordid, but she seemed to be handling it, and, frankly, she was a tall, big-boned gal, and he was a wiry, skinny guy, a nervous type by the looks of him. She could’ve taken him, easy.

And just as I’m passing she turns to me, and looking up at the street sign, she’s like, “’scuse me, does that say Crescent Street or Crescent Ave.?”

“Crescent Ave.,” I mumbled, and crossed the street, and walked on.

They continued their shouting match outside the convenience store on the corner, and I’m thinking, whew, I’m gonna get away scot free, but she comes after me.

“’Scuse me! ‘Scuse me! You got a phone?”

I could’ve said no, obviously, but I said yes.

Now, I’m usually pretty streetwise. I don’t get myself too involved in this kind of thing, because it’s impossible to know what’s going on. Sure, if there’s some violence of some sort going down, then you intervene, somehow, don’t you? You can always call the cops, too. But what’s the extent of your resposibilities in a situation like this you find youself all the sudden in the middle of? I mean, should you confront the guy, tell him to leave the girl alone? Is it enough to accompany her to a safe place but not get too mixed up in whatever’s going on between them?

Well, she took my phone, and started making calls, while fending him off. At first he kept his distance, not knowing what I would do. But as we walked on, he moved in a little closer. It occurred to me as he approached that it could be a set-up. When I was in Rome a few years ago, there was a spate of muggings, and the way they went down was, a woman approached and asked for help. When you stopped to help her, her mates came up and robbed you. Didn’t happen this time. I don’t think Americans want to put all that effort into setting the scene and so on. They just come up and stab you or something, and then take your money. Which didn’t happen here, either.

but anyway. They’re still going at it.

“Just go your own way!” she kept telling him, distractedly punching numbers into my cell.

Clearly he felt she had duped him somehow. Something to do with shoes, and a cell phone that he had lent her, or was paying for, that he was going to shut off if he didn’t hear from her by noon next day. I was taking whatever information I was getting and trying to figure out who did what to whom. I was going to do my chivalric duty at any rate, but I don’t have any illusions that women are less capable of bad behavior than men. Maybe she was user, and she’d try to drag me into something. Sure, he was probably nuts, although I couldn’t tell what kind of nuts, but what was she doing involved with a guy like that in the first place?

We walked on, while she spoke to someone on the phone, and shouted at him.

“Why you followin’ me? Just go your own way, Mike!” (his name was Mike, too.)

She told whoever was on the other line that she was going to be at the Store-24 in a couple minutes. So I figured, hey that’s reasoable. I’ll see that she gets there unharmed and then go home. I mean, I was happy to do it. There would be people around. If Mike kept harassing her, she could call the cops from there, and they could deal with it. I mean, unless there were drugs involved, and that’s why she didn’t want to call the cops. But in that case, I didn’t want to get further involved myself.

So, though we converged at Meaney Park at the roundabout, We ended up on one side of the street, and Mike on the other the rest of the way to the Store-24. It actually looked like he was going to go his own way at the roundabout, and maybe if I had told him to “leave the lady alone,” or something, in my huskiest, butchiest voice, he would have. But, honestly, I was already more involved than I wanted to be. I felt it was best to be the strong, silent type.

but from across the street, he kept shouting at her, and then tried to bring me into it.

“Is that another one of your guys, Jennel?” He asked her. “You got a new guy there, Jennel?”

She was shouting back: “He don’t even know me! I’m just borrowin’ his phone!”

“You got a new guy, you whore? Got a big guy to go home with tonight?”

“I don’t even know him. Go on and ask him yourself, Mike!”

The Store-24 was hopping, which was a good sign, I thought. I mean, I felt like she’d be safe from Mike there until whoever she called came along to collect her. Mike went ahead inside. I asked her if she’d be OK, and she said yeah, and I walked the block or two back home.

Just as I’m getting undressed, my cell rings. I didn’t think for even a half-second. Switched it off. I mean, it must’ve been her pimp or her drug dealer. Whoever she called.

I did what I could do. I let her use my phone to call someone to come fetch her, and walked her to a safe place. For the rest she obviously needs professional help, of various kinds.