The Coffee Shop

by Lauren Hunter

  “Sure, that sounds good. You take all the time you need.”

  Annie glanced around the store. “I miss working here.”

  “I miss you working here too.”

  “So, you never thought I was in the way?”

  “Now I never said that. Honestly, I don’t know where you get these ideas?”

  “Oh, maybe it has something to do with overhearing Amber say it to you.”

  Angela grinned sheepishly. “Oh, you heard that did you?”

  “It’s all right. I know I was more of a hindrance than a help. I just thought…Oh, I don’t know what I thought.” She laughed, and shrugged.

  “Hey.” Angela took Annie by the shoulders, looking her square in the eye. “I never said that.” She tilted her head and smiled. “Don’t go listening to what Amber has to say. Just because she took some night school class on herbs, she suddenly thinks she’s an expert.” Seeing Annie’s downward gaze, Angela gave her a hug. “You look beat. You go home and you get some rest, you hear? You just take your time. And you come back and you visit me. All right?”

  Derrick came bursting into the penthouse. “Annie?” Pulling his cell phone from his pocket he tried her number again. The customer you are calling —

  “Damn it, Annie, turn on your phone!” Rushing back to the front of his building, he climbed once more into his limousine. “Perfectly Natural, please, Lawrence.”

  The traffic was heavy, and twice Derrick had to refrain from rolling down the window and yelling an obscenity. But at last they were pulling into the parking lot of the store. Derrick jumped from the limousine before Lawrence even had a chance to bring it to a stop. Running to the entrance, he pushed the door open impatiently.

  “Angela!”

  Angela turned at the sound of Derrick’s voice, and she signaled Amber to come and take over for her with a customer. “Derrick? What are you doing here?”

  “Annie still has her phone turned off. Have you seen her? I know how close you two are, and if she would come to anyone, or confide in anyone, it would be you.”

  “Come to confide? Derrick, what is going on? Did you two have a fight?”

  “Are you saying she hasn’t called you?”

  “I can honestly say, Annie has not called me.”

  “She came by here, didn’t she?” She didn’t need to say a word for him to have his answer, her expression said it all. “Angela, please, when was she here?”

  “I’m sorry, Derrick, she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

  Derrick stood staring down at her, his disbelief pushing the boundaries of his restraint.

  “Derrick, what is going on? What happened?”

  He dragged a hand over his mouth, his ability to keep from tearing up fast leaving him.

  “It’s not my place to say. I would think she would want to tell you herself.” He was unable to look her in the eye, and he sighed. “Can you please just tell me what she said to you?”

  Angela shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

  “Annie is dying, Angela. Is that what you wanted to hear? She is dying and there is nothing I can do to stop it!” He was unaware he was yelling, every person in the store turning to stare at him. He looked to see them all watching him, and he took a step back. Angela was staring up at him, her mouth open, but she wasn’t saying anything. “She has cancer — it’s metastasized to her bones — she has maybe weeks to…” The tears started flowing, and he wept right there in front of her, as she stood looking up at him, but she hugged him to her. They held each other tightly in that moment. “Please, Angela, I need to know where she is.”

  Pulling away from him, she held his arms as she looked up at him. “She told me she was going home.”

  “And?”

  “And?” she asked.

  “What else did she say?”

  “That was it. That she was going to go home.”

  “That’s all?”

  Angela just shrugged.

  “I guess I’ll go back to the penthouse then. But if you hear from her you let me know immediately. She shouldn’t be alone just right now. Not with this.”

  “I will.”

  Leaving the store, Derrick climbed back into the limousine. Calling his building, he asked to speak to the doorman. “Harold. Has Annie come back yet? We seem to have lost track of each other, and I was hoping she was already home.”

  “Miss Maddock? No. Not here, Mr. Sloane.”

  “Thanks, Harold.”

  “No problem, Mr. Sloane.”

  “Uh, Harold, could you please call me the moment she does come in?”

  “Sir?”

  “She has her cell phone turned off. I wanted to surprise her with something, and I just need to know when she gets back, that’s all.”

  “Yes, sir. No problem, sir.”

  “Thanks again. I appreciate it.”

  “Hey, Mr. Sloane, just glad I can help.”

  Derrick hung up his phone. “Annie, where are you?” But then he remembered. “Her apartment.” Dialing up Angela, he held the receiver to his ear. “Angela.”

  “Did you find her?”

  “No, any word?”

  “None. Derrick, I’m getting worried.”

  “Don’t be. I’m sure she’s just gone off somewhere to be alone for a while to take it all in. I would probably do the same thing.”

  “You’re right. Yes, that’s probably what she’s done.”

  “I need to ask you a question. And I need you to be honest with me.” There was a pause and he could sense her tension.

  “Did Annie keep her apartment?” There was another silence. “When we moved in together, did she continue to keep the apartment?”

  “She…yes, she did. But it’s not what you think. It has nothing to do with your relationship. That’s just the way she is. That way if you ever had a fight or anything, she’d have someplace to go to be alone if she needed to be. Oh, my God, Derrick. Do you think that’s where she’s gone?”

  “I’m going to find out.”

  “Oh, please let me know when you find her.”

  She didn’t say it, but he knew she was scared. “Don’t worry. I will.” He disconnected the call and looking at Lawrence, he sat forward on his seat. “Annie’s apartment, Lawrence.”

  “Right away, sir.”

  It only took minutes to get there, but it was minutes too long, as far as he was concerned. He ran up the stairs, not willing to wait for the elevator, and pounded on her door. “Annie?”

  “What is it? What’s going on out here?”

  Derrick turned to see Mrs. Fleming peering out her door over her glasses.

  “Mrs. Fleming, have you seen Annie? Is she here?”

  “No. Haven’t seen her since she moved in with you.”

  “Are you sure? Are you sure she’s not in there?”

  “Well, I was in the bathroom for a while she could have come in then I suppose.”

  “Do you have a spare key?”

  Her already wrinkled face became even more so as she stared up at him. “You want a key?”

  “I just need to be certain she’s not there.”

  “Well, if she was, wouldn’t she just answer the door?”

  “Maybe not.”

  “Oh, you two have a fight?”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?” He tried to calm down, and smiling down at her, he took a breath. “Something has happened, Mrs. Fleming. Annie has gotten some very bad news, and she’s gone off on her own. I am trying to find her because I am very worried about her. So…please, Mrs. Fleming, did she give you a spare key to her apartment?”

  For a moment, Mrs. Fleming just stared. “How long has she got left?”

  Her question took him aback, and he took a step back at her words.

  “I recognize that look. My Gerald died six months ago, but I’ll never forget that expression on my face when I looked in the mirror.”

  He couldn’t meet her gaze and trying to keep his voice steady he licked his lips. �
�It’s metastasized to her bones.”

  “Oh, my dear man.”

  He raised his eyes to see her hand over her mouth.

  She held up a finger. “Just give me a minute.” She disappeared into her apartment, reappearing a moment later with a key. “Here. This is Annie’s key.”

  Taking it, he turned it in the lock. Stepping into the dark apartment, he moved into the main room. “Annie? You here?” He walked into the bedroom, and from there into the washroom, but she wasn’t there. Opening the closet door, he could still see a few clothes on hangers. Pulling drawers open there was a couple of pairs of socks and an old issue of some health magazine. She definitely hadn’t been there. There was a layer of dust on all the furniture, and if she had come there, even if it were for only a moment, she would have taken the time to dust. She couldn’t help herself.

  No, she had not been there. He checked his cell phone to make sure it was on and the battery still had a good charge. It did.

  Stepping back out into the hall, there was Mrs. Fleming, still framed within her apartment door. A hopeful look in her eyes as she stared up at him. He shook his head, and handed her back the key. “Thanks, Mrs. Fleming.”

  “I know…it’s hard. But you can find strength in family and friends. It doesn’t make the pain go away, but it does help.”

  He nodded, and walking the length of hall to the elevator her words came back to him. “Family and friends. Family…Home. Of course! That’s what she meant by home. She meant home. Home where she grew up. Home where…” Pushing the button to the elevator, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Angela. Glancing back, he saw Mrs. Fleming still watching him. “Thanks, Mrs. Fleming, I think I know where she is.” She stared at him questioningly. “Home, she’s gone home.”

  Mrs. Fleming nodded in understanding. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I hope I won’t need it.” The cell phone rang, and Angela picked up. “I know where she is. She’s gone home.”

  “Yes, that’s what she said.”

  “Home. Home where she grew up.” There was a silence. “Please tell me you know where that is, Angela.” Again there was another silence.

  “She hated to talk about it. She never said why. But she did mention it once.” Another silence. “Oh, God, where was that she said…Brandon’s Field. Brandon’s Field…uh…Oh Derrick, I can’t remember.”

  “I’ll find it.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive!”

  Derrick stood before the door to the old house. It wasn’t very big, and from the look of it, it had seen better days, much like Mrs. Fleming’s couch. The paint was cracked and peeling, the porch swing looking like it was about to fall off its chains. It hadn’t been hard to find her, in a small town like this. Everyone knows everyone, and it was the first and only time he appreciated that. And it turned out she had bought the first house she’d ever lived in from the old woman who had bought it from her parents, giving her a very nice price for it. And he wondered why she did that. If she hated it here so much, why buy the house in the place you wanted to escape from?

  He knocked on the door, hearing a movement inside. And seeing Annie look at him through the glass of the door, he just stood, staring at her. He saw her shoulders slump, and she shook her head, her gaze falling away from his. “Annie?”

  “You shouldn’t have come, Derrick.”

  “Annie, please open the door. I’d like to talk to you.”

  “Why?”

  “Why? How about because I love you and I want to be with you and I…Annie, please. Just open the door?” She sighed, from what he could see, and hearing the chain lock slide open, he wondered why she even needed one.

  “Derrick, why are you here?”

  “I think we both already know the answer to that question. Annie, I love you. And I want to be with you.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “What? Of course I do.”

  “No…what I mean is…you don’t want to…I watched my mama die of cancer. It ate her alive, until there was nothing left of her but a shell of what she used to be. Do you have any idea what that’s like? To see someone you love…” Tears welled up in her eyes, and she bit her lip trying to keep control, but the tears slipped from her eyes and slid down her cheeks. “There was nothing left of my dad after that. Took the life right out of him. I would never wish to…”

  “Subject me to it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t you think that’s my decision to make?”

  “Not when I’m the one that’s going to be looking up into that face every morning. The one that is going to be looking down at me with that expression.”

  “What expression?”

  “The one you have on your face right now.”

  “You mean the one that says I love you so much I wish I could die for you if I could? The one that says I want to take your pain away and show you how much it’s possible to love a human being more than life itself?”

  “You didn’t happen to stop by the card shop on the way here did you?”

  “Did you just make a joke?”

  “Did I?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “You’re amazing!”

  “What?”

  “Here I am trying to comfort you, and you’re the one busy making jokes to break the tension.”

  “Oh, was there tension? Sorry I didn’t notice it when the sentiment was so thick you could cut it with a knife.”

  He knew she was scared and this was her way of trying to deal with an impossible situation. “I hate that this is happening to you!”

  “Would you like to throw something? I found that helped for the first while, but then I ran out of things to break. So, that kind of put a crimp in my plans. Oh, but then there is always a sledge hammer and…”

  Taking a step inside the door, he drew her into his arms. He held her like that, wanting to hold that moment close and letting her go he brought his hand to her face. “I love you. You do know that, don’t you?”

  “I had wondered.”

  He laughed. “I didn’t want to do this here but…” Kneeling before her he held up a ring. “Annie Maddock, will you marry me?” Her expression was one of shock, and she stepped away.

  “What is this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, let’s make the dying girl feel better by offering to marry her.”

  “What are you talking about? I love you. You know that. This has nothing to do with — ”

  “It doesn’t?”

  He stood, coming closer to her. “I bought this before we knew anything about the cancer. I was planning to ask you — ”

  “But you just hadn’t gotten around to it, right?”

  “Annie, what are you doing?”

  “I won’t take your pity.”

  “That’s what you think this is? My God, Annie.”

  “Just go! And take your bloody ring with you!”

  She tried to push him back out the door and slam it shut, but he held it open forcing it back as he stepped through it. “Annie, I know you’re scared.”

  “You don’t know anything.”

  “Please let me help you.”

  “There’s nothing you can do. Or weren’t you listening to that part of the conversation?”

  “Annie, I won’t let you do this alone.”

  “Oh, and what makes you think you have any say in that?”

  “I love you. That’s what gives me a say. And you love me. I know you do. I know you don’t want my pity. I know you think I’m only asking you to marry me because you’re…”

  “Dying?”

  His voice cracked, and he fought to maintain his composure. “Yes. But I want to be with you. I want to spend every possible second I can with you. Is that so terrible?”

  She didn’t say anything.

  “If that makes me selfish, then I’m the most selfish man in the world right now. Because that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to spend every waking moment
telling you I love you, and kissing you, and holding you. And never letting go.” He couldn’t hold it back any longer, and the tears flowed freely down his face. “Annie, if I could fight this thing for you I would. If I could take it from you. God that I could.” He slipped his arms around her, crying into her neck.

  “Hey, that’s not how this is supposed to work. You’re supposed to be comforting me. Remember?”

  He laughed, kissing her and holding her tight. So tight that he never wanted to let go. “Annie, please, will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and let me show you how much I love you?”

  “That might be worth it just to see what you have in mind.”

  “You can’t stop joking for a second, can you?”

  “If I do, I’m afraid I won’t stop crying.”

  “Then you joke all you want.”

  “Derrick?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you so much it hurts.”

  “You sure you’re not the one that visited the card shop on the way here?”

  She smacked him on the chest. But then brought her hand up to caress his face and wipe his tears. She smiled up at him through her own. “Yes, I will marry you, Derrick Sloane.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Annie looked to the sky, the sun now low on the horizon, and she smiled.

  Slipping his arms around her waist, Derrick drew her to him as he stood behind her, watching the sunset in the distance over the water. “What are you smiling about?”

  “I was just remembering.”

  “Remembering what?”

  She laughed. “Oh, the first time we met. You…talking about pink boxers and chains.”

  “Hey, I thought we agreed we would never bring that up again.”

  “I never made any such agreement.”

  “Oh, that’s right. That was a conversation I had with myself in my own head.” He grinned. “God, I was so nervous. I don’t remember being that nervous before in my entire life.”

  “I made you nervous? You, this big time mover and shaker, nervous of some small town nobody.”

  “A small town nobody you are not. You were never that to me.” He turned her around, drawing her to him in the sand. Bringing his hand to her face, he stroked his palm across her cheek, brushing her hair from her eyes. “I always loved that you didn’t care what other people thought. You were your own person. Dressing how you pleased. Doing as you wished.”