by Cege Smith
David wondered why she was out walking alone at all then, but he didn’t want to seem like a jerk by telling her that was actually the opposite direction of the way he was headed, so he nodded. Worst case he’d have a long cool-down, which was still okay. He didn’t want to get stiff. He noticed that Linda didn’t seem dressed for going out on a walk. She was wearing a pair of navy blue pants and a fitted matching pullover. Her shoes were ballet flats. She looked ready for a yoga class, not a stroll around the lake.
As they set off toward the lake, Linda looked at him with a sly grin on her face. “You say you saw Ellie? How wonderful! How is she? Did you have a chance to get to know her a bit better?”
David had gathered from their first conversation about Ellie a few months ago that Linda was playing matchmaker with her boss, but he didn’t mind too much. When you were single these days, you could use all the help you could get.
“She was out walking her dog,” he said, “She seemed like she was in a hurry. I did ask her to have a coffee with me, though, the next time I’m in the shop.”
“Good for you, David!” Linda exclaimed, “Our little Ellie is a bit shy, but she’ll come around. I just know you two will get along famously. I can’t even tell you how long it’s been since she’s had someone in her life that was good for her.”
David hated to admit that he was intrigued, but Linda had created the opening. “Really? I know you mentioned that she got divorced recently.”
“Yes.” Linda pursed her lips and shook her head. She looked around as if someone might overhear them. Then she whispered, “What a nasty situation. Jacob was quite the womanizer.”
David shook his head. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Ellie was devastated even though we all know it was for the best,” Linda said. “He had a drinking problem too.”
David wanted to know more, but felt like he was invading Ellie’s privacy by learning about her past through secondhand channels. And the more he learned about Ellie’s past, the more protective he felt, which felt so strange but at the same time so right.
He glanced at his watch. “Oh, Linda, I’m sorry. I’ve got to go,” he said. “But look, here’s the lake path.” He was glad he didn’t have to think up an excuse to pull himself away.
Luckily Linda didn’t seem to mind his abruptness. “Of course, dear, thank you for humoring me,” she said as she waved a hand at him. “I’ll see you later.”
David waved and started a quick walk toward home.
He didn’t see Linda turn and watch him thoughtfully with a wicked grin on her face.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ellie was dressed and ready in record time, hardly dragging her feet at all. It felt almost pleasant to be heading into work for once. As she smoothed her hair in the mirror and put a light lip gloss on she thought about seeing David again. Her stomach did a flip-flop in response. Her eyes widened in the mirror. She was thirty-three years old. She was too old for a crush, wasn’t she?
Shaking the thought from her mind, she gathered the rest of her things. She gave Skipper a hug and a kiss on the nose, and headed out the door.
Ellie had opened her coffee shop in Uptown three years ago. She loved that it was just a few blocks from her apartment so she could walk to work if she wanted to, no matter what weather Minnesota threw at her.
Although it was just a few minutes from downtown, Uptown had a completely different vibe than downtown. Here there was an eclectic mix of up-and-coming professionals, hippies, art culture types, and others that made the area pulse with creative energy. The neighborhood appreciated small business owners, and cultivated long-term relationships between businesses and the community. She hadn’t cared that her commute was thirty miles at the time she opened it; this was where she belonged.
Over the past few years, her success had been even better than she expected. It was another one of the few blessings that she counted. If she hadn’t had the shop to keep her distracted when things with Jake got bad, she might have gone mad. Of course, she thought it was probably because of her shop that Jake had his relapse in the first place. She had put every ounce of energy into getting the store up and running.
When she walked in the back door, Kevin was in the back room prepping for the morning rush. His aura was a tranquil teal blue. Kevin was happy and calm this morning.
“How’s it going, Ellie? You are here early,” he said. Then he started whistling and shaking his hips to whatever soundtrack was spinning in his head.
Kevin was always cheerful it seemed. Perhaps it was because he and his boyfriend always had sex, she thought and then immediately felt guilty for being so catty. Kevin had never been anything but a good friend to her.
He was twenty-five, and always looked like he was ready for a night on the town even when wearing just blue jeans and a polo shirt. His dark black hair was always perfectly in place, and Ellie felt sloppy next to him no matter what she was wearing. She had no idea how they had become best friends.
“I’m fine,” she huffed, slipping off her coat and hanging it on the back wall. “We all set for this morning?”
“Of course,” he replied, still sashaying in place. He didn’t even turn at her curt tone.
She knew that Kevin was immune to her moods, which sometimes made her want to try to get his attention even more. But this morning she decided to let it go.
Kevin had been with her since she opened the shop, and she’d been damn lucky that he’d been willing to stick around. There wasn’t any kind of career path at Ellie’s Coffee Isle and she couldn’t afford to pay anything better than minimum wage. All her employees were technically part time, but Kevin had assumed the unofficial role of assistant manager. He was always willing to stay late and pitch in.
Kevin was smart and could do just about anything. Ellie knew that when he finished his degree program he’d move on. He was efficient and friendly, and her regulars absolutely adored him. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. The thought made her cranky.
“I’ll go unlock the front door then,” she said and saw him nod.
Ellie walked into the front of her store, and for an instant felt great satisfaction. She could smell recently delivered fresh baked goods in the display case (which had been artfully arranged by Kevin) combined with the smell of brewing coffee. It was one of her favorite smells in the world.
Waking up to the smell of coffee and her parents’ laughter was one of her most treasured childhood memories. She didn’t have many, but that one remained strong in her mind. She wanted nothing more than to make her customers feel the way she had felt, surrounded by comfort and love, so many years ago.
Most of the room was taken up by small tables with lounge chairs around them. There was a small fireplace in the corner, and she flipped it on as she headed for the front door. Two overstuffed armchairs were strategically placed in front of the fireplace. Ellie wanted all of her customers to feel at home in her shop and stay as long as they liked.
As she approached the front door, she saw a golden orange aura that she knew meant that Melanie Wilson was waiting impatiently outside. She unlocked the door and Melanie burst inside.
“Thank God you are here!” Melanie exclaimed and headed for her usual table in the corner in a flutter. “I had the most wonderful idea for a plot twist in my story and I have to get it down on paper before it flies right out of my head!”
Melanie was an as yet unpublished author, who had found more success so far as a journalist. As far as Ellie knew, Melanie was working on her tenth manuscript. She envied Melanie a little for her energy and creativity.
“Usual?” she asked Melanie as she watched papers fly out of Melanie’s bag followed by a slim laptop. Although Ellie wasn’t computer savvy at all, Kevin had talked her into providing free Wi-Fi to her customers. She had seen an immediate uptick in traffic and along with it had come some regulars like Melanie. She enjoyed seeing the little community that gathered in her shop each day. Even though she didn’t interact wi
th it, it was nice to know it was there.
A hand wave was the only response she received. Kevin emerged from the back and saw Melanie buried in her notes. He looked at Ellie, who nodded. Kevin moved over to the espresso machine and started frothing milk for a large skim latte.
In Ellie’s opinion, Melanie didn’t need any caffeine at all. She was plenty hyped up without it. Usually Melanie downed three large lattes at Ellie’s and then whirled out the door into an unsuspecting world like a tiny Tasmanian devil.
Melanie frequently quizzed Ellie and her employees for their opinions on “what would you do if this happened to you” situations. Ellie hoped that none of Melanie’s characters resembled her in any way.
With her first customer satisfied for the morning, Ellie returned to her musings. She worked automatically, not thinking much as the customers started to wander in. She settled behind the espresso machine and let Kevin take the counter. They worked in silent unison, although Kevin cracked jokes with the regulars and smiled enticingly at the lady patrons (who usually added a dollar to the tip jar after that). All of them knew that he was gay, but it didn’t seem to matter. It was a day just like any other day.
At noon the door opened. Ellie’s replacement for the afternoon shift had arrived.
“How are you today, darlings?’ Linda Jordan said in her smooth Southern drawl as she swept in the front door.
Six months ago, Linda had wandered into Ellie’s shop inquiring about the little handwritten Help Wanted sign in the window. Ellie still had no idea why someone like Linda Jordan wanted to work in a coffee shop.
While Kevin made her feel sloppy, Linda made her feel downright frumpy. Linda was ten to fifteen years older than Ellie, but she exuded a quiet confidence and sense of style that made people take notice of her. Today her strawberry blond hair had been pulled back in a tasteful chignon. She was wearing ivory pearls that complemented a soft blue silk blouse paired with a black pencil skirt and exquisite-looking black pumps. And the unusual thing about Linda was Ellie never saw an indication of her aura. So she was an enigma to Ellie in more ways than one.
Linda had shared in her job interview that she was recently widowed, and had been clunking around her house with nothing to do but boring charity work. Then she saw the sign in the window of Ellie’s shop and pondered on it for a few days. Linda thought the little coffee shop was just so charming, and told Ellie that she thought it would be wonderful to come in and socialize with the community for a few days a week.
Trying to balance the hours and increased business between her and Kevin was getting out of hand, and Ellie had desperately needed the help. Linda’s desire to just work a few days a week lined up perfectly with what Ellie could offer. She said yes, figuring that Linda would quit after recovering from her bout of temporary insanity.
Instead, Linda had completely endeared herself to the customers and Kevin. She always had a smile and word of encouragement or advice for anyone who was down. Ellie would find her sitting with the customers after her shift ended, regaling them with stories about her extensive travels. Ellie now thought that Linda would work for free if times got rough and she couldn’t afford to pay her anymore.
Less endearing was the Mother Hen role that Linda assumed with Ellie. After the divorce was final and Jake finally left her alone, Ellie decided that she needed a break from dealing with the real world. The colors and energies required to interact with people was just too much to bear. So she had retreated inside her head a great deal of the time, and Linda had been doing everything she could to pull Ellie back out. Ellie hated the way Linda meddled in her life, even though a little voice in the back of her head said it was for her own good.
Kevin beamed as Linda made her way behind the counter, and the two did a cheek to cheek kiss. Ellie refused to admit that Linda and Kevin’s closeness sometimes made her jealous. They made the interaction seem so easy. Linda turned to Ellie, who tried to clear the scowl away before they could see it.
“Oh, Ellie. You are much too young to be so unhappy. At this rate you are going to be a bitter old woman before you’re thirty-five,” Linda sighed before going in back to drop off her purse.
Ellie saw Kevin smile behind his hand and then cough in an effort to hide it. “What?” she demanded.
“Linda’s right,” he answered. “I know you went through some rough stuff with Jake, but that part of your life is over and done with now. You have to snap out of it and start living again. Meet new people, take a class, get out a little bit more.”
“That is so easy for all of you to say,” she said. You can’t see what people are feeling every minute of every day and have that knowledge start to drive you insane. Oh, and your ex-husband wasn’t completely psychotic, she thought but she kept that to herself.
Kevin raised his hands in mock surrender. “Don’t take it out on me and Linda. We’re your friends and we are worried about you. We want you to be happy, Ellie.”
Ellie closed her mouth to bite back the unkind words on the tip of her tongue. “I know.”
Linda bustled back into the room with her apron on. Linda always wore an apron, but that could be because she always wore outfits better suited to a ladies luncheon than a coffee shop to work. Although she was woefully overdressed, Linda seemed to fit right in behind the counter. She had a knack for making people feel at ease. Ellie wished that just once she could see Linda’s aura. It was like Linda was hidden from her, and that made her uneasy.
“Now children,” Linda said, “no need to argue. Our little Ellie is going to get her head straight any day now. I can feel it.”
Then she hugged Ellie, and Ellie couldn’t help but hug back. A smile spread across her face. The human contact felt good. She didn’t know why, but hugs from Linda always seemed to make her feel better about things.
CHAPTER SIX
As the afternoon wore on, Ellie started to feel better than she had in a long time. She even caught herself laughing at a few of Kevin’s off-color jokes, and thought she saw a satisfied smile on Linda’s face when she thought Ellie wasn’t watching. She wondered how she could have made it through this time without her friends.
A while later, as Ellie was going through the day’s receipts and other odd paperwork at a table near the front of the shop, the door swung open and David walked in. He was wearing khakis and a blue button-down shirt that matched his eyes. His hair had the same curl swung over his right eye as that morning. It made him look dashing, as if he had positioned it there on purpose.
Ellie wondered if he had been serious about getting a cup of coffee with her. She appraised him with a new eye from behind a piece of paper. His aura was a light blue tinged with deep purple. David was tired.
“David!” both Linda and Kevin exclaimed from behind the counter. David smiled at them and waved, but spotted Ellie and bee-lined for her table. She glanced at the paperwork strewn all about her and sighed. Would he ever see her completely put together and organized?
“Hey there, stranger. They tuck you back here in the corner for doing something bad?” he asked.
“Hi, David,” she said as her hand went to her hair again. She wondered if he remembered how disheveled she had appeared that morning. “I’m just trying to get a jumpstart on some paperwork.”
She looked up into his eyes and her brain short-wired. Her social skills were failing once again. Work was the only thing she could think of to talk about, since work was the only thing she ever did. She suddenly felt like a completely boring person. “How was work?”
“I’m actually on my way in now. I had a short break this afternoon and was able to get a quick nap in. The hours can be pretty intense but I manage,” he replied. He seemed amused.
“Oh, I work a lot too, but nothing like that. I’m sorry you’re so tired,” she said. She saw David look at her with a question in his eyes and realized that she had said too much. “I mean, I’m sure you are tired. Long hours,” she said, backpedaling.
Then she saw him nod. “It can b
e draining, but it’s worth it.”
He smiled at her again, and suddenly she felt very warm. She’d have to check the thermostat. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Linda and Kevin taking an obvious interest in this new plot twist.
“I don’t have to be there right away, so I thought I’d head out a little early and drop in to see if you were still interested in having that coffee,” David said. He gestured at the chair across from her, but she didn’t make any indication either way. He plopped down in it anyway.
“I don’t think…” Ellie started to say, and then Linda was suddenly at her side.
“David! How thoughtful. We’ve all been talking about how nice it would be if Ellie had someone outside our little circle to talk to. Meet new people, see the world, that kind of thing.” Linda pushed a coffee cup into his hand. “Here’s your usual. It’s on me.” She winked at Ellie and strolled away.
Ellie blushed and caught herself before shouting something nasty in Linda’s direction. That wouldn’t give David a very favorable impression of her. When she looked back at him, he seemed perfectly at ease. His aura had settled into a pretty shade of blue.
“Your employees seem to be a bit out of control,” he noted as he took a sip of his coffee, grinning into his cup.
“Out of control doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she sighed. She gathered her paperwork and placed it in a stack off to the side. She was terrified of engaging in whatever this was, but at the same time she didn’t want David to leave. The last thing she was ready to do was open up about herself.
Looking into his blue eyes, she searched for something to say. “How old are you, David?” she asked. Deflection was a great weapon.
“I’m twenty-nine, and though I appreciate the interest, we can talk about me anytime. I’m not the one that needs somebody to just shut up and listen. I want to talk about you.”
His eyes twinkled and Ellie lost her train of thought again for a moment. She cleared her throat to gain her composure. She was acting like she’d never been around a man in her life!