Shay Ryder looked over the work site one last time. The Lyft car was already waiting, so she accepted that everything was secure for the day.
Shay’s father was a mogul in the international shipping scene. Her trust fund was more than enough for her to live on for the rest of her life. The country club scene had not appealed to her, so at 21 she had hit the road. That had been two years back, and she had been a loner in her travels; she met people and enjoyed them, but nothing enduring had developed.
Earlier in the day, she had met a young man named Merritt Gray. She had met him in passing months earlier at a benefit festival in Miami. He was on his way to becoming an engineer somewhere between graduation and having his license.
She had enlisted him to be part of Saturday’s work on a Habitat Housing project in Staten Island. He had accepted, saying he’d try to bring two others with him. That, Shay thought, was a huge score. Engineers…
After leaving Miami back in the summer, Shay had ridden her motorcycle down to Key West. She had enjoyed being part of the Humanitarian Housing work, and it was on her mind the whole time she was in the keys. From there she had ridden north, back through Miami, and she had just kept going until she got to Orlando.
“It’s time I give up the nomadic life,” she told herself.
She had called her father and told him she wanted to do humanitarian work. He “knew a guy.” Naturally.
The guy connected her with NYC Habitat Housing. She sold her, little street bike and headed to Manhattan.
Things had gone well in NYC, and she enjoyed her work. But for the most part, she was still a loner. She met different groups as they showed up to volunteer. Different people, different sites, different days.
She didn’t expect anything to change, and she was okay with that. For the time being. She was 23, and was in no rush socially. She figured there would be someone someday, but for now…
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