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“Sometimes I think about just putting everything in my car and driving somewhere new. Just cutting all ties and becoming someone else. Like Witness Protection, but without running from people who were trying to kill me and all.”
“Yeah, that part wouldn’t be so fun. But I get that. Wanting to go somewhere new. Being here with Anna kind of feels new, but it feels safe at the same time. It’s nice being here. Being able to do my own thing. And being at the café.” The café was a safe haven for more people than Jen and Sal would ever know about. They’d created something that was going to help so many people. It made me want to cry sometimes, thinking about it.
“We can talk about something else,” I said, and started talking about my own college experience, shying away from anything related to parents. She laughed at my stories and very soon I realized that I was hungry. Her stomach gave a loud growl and we both laughed.
“Want to go get something to eat? I bet I can get a couple of chocolate croissants at the café.” I knew how much she loved chocolate.
“Oh my god, that sounds amazing,” she said, rubbing her belly and hopping off the picnic table.
I almost held my hand out to her to link our fingers together, but stopped myself before I could. Shit. I was falling into patterns and I had to be on my guard or else I was just going to lean over and kiss her like it was nothing.
I had to be more vigilant.
Six
“Really? On your day off?” Anna said when we walked in. She’d come right from the library to do her afternoon shift at the café.
“What? I’m hooked on Daisy’s croissants.” Anna nodded.
“You raise a good point.” She seated us in a little nook and I couldn’t stop feeling like everyone was watching us. In fact, I looked around and saw Lacey on her laptop with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and a plate filled with crumbs on the table. I’d thought she was going to spend the rest of the day sleeping, but apparently not. Anna skipped over and gave her a quick kiss before taking the plate. Lacey looked dazed and heart-eyed for a moment before she looked back at her computer.
“That’s Lacey,” I said to Fiona, pointing her out. “She’s really cool.” She was. Effortlessly cool.
“It’s awesome that she let you stay there. I wish I had something like that.” She looked down at her hands and she was sad again.
“Wait right there,” I said, pointing to her so she wouldn’t move. I weaved my way through the tables and walked right into the back where Daisy was up to her neck in flour.
“Hey, you’re here on your day off?” she asked.
“Couldn’t stay away. Listen, can I get two chocolate croissants? I have a girl who needs them. And maybe if you could put a few aside in a bag for her to take home?” Daisy looked at me and then peered over the counter of the bakery at Fiona.
“Ohhhhh,” she said, as if she had caught on to something.
“It’s not . ..” I said, unsure of how exactly to explain everything with Fi.
Daisy put up flour-coated hands.
“Say no more. You’ve got it.” She scraped the flour off her arms and hands into the sink and then plopped two croissants onto a plate.
“I’ve got maybe five left. Is that enough?”
“Probably for a few hours,” I said. She gave me a look and then made a shoo-ing motion.
“Go, she looks hungry.” That was what Daisy did. She fed people. It was her thing. I set the plate on the table and Fiona looked up at me, a smile breaking out like sun from behind the clouds.
“Thanks,” she said, picking one up.
“Do you want anything else? I’m going to get some iced tea.” She said she also wanted some, so I rushed to the back and scooted by Jen, who also asked me what I was doing here, and filled two glasses with iced tea, and plopped two lemon slices on the rims.
I brought them back to Lacey and she looked up with wide eyes and a smear of chocolate on the side of her mouth. That was the only evidence that croissants had even existed. The plate was empty.
“I was hungry,” she said, sheepish.
“Damn, you should have told me you werethathungry,” I said, setting down the iced tea. “I would have brought more.”
The urge to reach out and wipe the chocolate from her face was almost unbearable. Finally, I did. I just let my hand reach out and my thumb scraped the chocolate from her skin. Before I could even consider the consequences, I popped my thumb in my mouth and licked off the little bit of chocolate.
Time stopped. She looked at me and everything in the café went away. Just like it had when I’d first seen her again. Only . ..
