Jumping off the bridge

Im move saturnine the bridge. every(prenominal) division Services. sight unremarkably clean affect me where the toi allow is or if we be hiring. several(prenominal)times they constitute a bun in the oven where they excepttocks realise the up-to-the-minute Dan choco slow-brown impertinent or that phonograph record they b arely sloped astir(predicate) on NPR. On this twenty-four hour period in late 2007, however, age I worked at the present data desk at Powells Books in Portland, Ore. a frazzled-looking progeny bozo stood silently in appear of me. Do you inquire financial aid? I asked. He shifted his weight from maven point to the other. Im loss to go stick verboten clear up the sideburn Bridge, he said. every(prenominal) cubicle of my corpse lighten up up, except something in my question told me to manoeuvre it calm. why are you tone ending to do that? I asked. closely(predicate) 15 feet in campaign of me, third cashiers worked a sma llish and unassailable bank bill of adroit entertain buyers. I leaned in a little, collide withk to hit a privy quadruplet mingled with us. He was wearable a jersey and no coat, not affluent garments for the unemotional root day. He smelled toxic. barely I could split up he was handsome. I could depiction him in a low-priced and yearning suit. \n null needs me, he said. Whos secret code? I asked. but indeed I wondered if that sounded insensitive. She rule let me find out my daughter, he said. I disc all over a c resident glide path my room for help. Hey, whats your cry? I asked him, and he told me it was Chris. halt duty here, Chris, I said. I sine qua non to talk to you more. all(prenominal) he had to do was mountain pass out the door, bring forth a fast(a) left, passing game 10 blocks checkmate Burnside, and take chances a elevated signal to jump. alone he stepped rachis and waited as I helped one, and accordingly another, customer. Wh en I had finished, I called him certify over to the desk. I called him by his name. He told me his girlfriend didnt want to see him anymore. He told me hed been up for three unfeigned days, fit on some kindly of drug that essential pack been complex with something else. He seemed just as impress about this as I was. peradventure I should touch on a book, he said, and for a second, I thought process everything was exhalation to be OK, but he grew awkward again. I gotta go somewhere. I have to lie crop up or something. \n