17
Athena suggested a coffee shop a few blocks from his mother’s house. When they arrived, Blue opened the door for her.
His sister Sadie had pressed him to at least ask Athena for coffee. She was certainly smart and attractive, but this felt awkward. He’d known Athena most of his life, but always as his brother’s girlfriend, and then as his wife. And now, his widow.
“This place opened last year,” she said. “The owner is a parent from my school.”
It was a cozy spot with exposed brick and mismatched antique chairs. Blue thought of Jo, of the red Formica and vinyl booths, and the aroma of her Queen’s Blend coffee, but he said nothing.
They stood in line at the counter. “What will you have?” Blue asked.
“They make a good latte.”
“One latte, one black coffee,” Blue said when it was their turn. He paid for them, and then they waited. Once they had their coffee, they found a table by the window.
“It’s nice to… to see you again,” Athena said, a little awkwardly.
“Likewise,” Blue said with a polite smile. This small talk was killing him. He glanced out the window.
Outside, a woman pushed a stroller with a screaming baby into a grocery market. A bus rumbled by, sending a spray of water from the morning’s rainstorm over a man on the sidewalk. The El train rattled overhead, and screeching tires cut through the morning.
Everything was raw to him.
Athena wrapped her hands around her cup. She wore a white lace blouse and small pearl earrings.
Charles had loved her deeply.
They both sipped their coffee as if not knowing what to say.
Finally, she said, “I want you to know I didn’t ask your mother to arrange that dinner. That was all her. And your sisters. I mean, we’re friendly, of course. They always have me over for Charles’s birthday and the day…well, you know.”
“I know,” he said. “I figured.” Blue always called his mother on those days, too.
“But I’m glad to see you.” She met his eyes. “Charles loved you very much. He was so proud when you graduated from the Police Training Academy.”
Blue laughed. “I still remember him calling me a rookie.”
They chatted briefly for a few minutes, reliving the past.
Athena had always been easy company. She talked about teaching third grade. She loved the kids but didn’t like the increasing paperwork.
Blue watched her. She was saying ordinary things in an ordinary way, but something underneath didn’t match. Her fingers were restless on the side of her cup. She kept glancing toward the window and back, then taking a breath as if to speak but stopping herself.
“How long are you staying this time?” she asked.
“A couple more days. Ty needs an answer before I leave.”
She nodded slowly. “Your family wants you to take the job. What do you want?”
Blue didn’t answer, only looked at her across the table. Charles had married this woman in the church four blocks south, with Blue standing beside him as best man. Their whole family had filled those pews, and Blue had watched his brother’s face when Athena came down the aisle. He’d never seen anyone look that certain about anything.
He could see the life his family wanted for him. It was laid out like a map. A house in this neighborhood, Sunday dinners at his mother’s table, his nephews growing up with their uncle down the street. And Athena, who was kind and smart—and already family.
It would be easy. A life that made sense to everyone except the two people sitting in this coffee shop.
Blue clasped his hands and leaned forward. “May I be very direct?”
“I wish you would.”
