Coffee Talk

Four

There was no sign of Delilah the following morning—not in the living room where she'd last seen her, not in the bathroom taking a longer-than-necessary bath, not in the kitchen complaining about the lack of available coffee.

With a sigh, Angela returned to her bedroom to contemplate the previous day's events. It wasn't the first time she and Delilah had been at odds—it was just the first time it had been over someone else. When she was younger, she'd heeded Delilah's warning-laden advice, and often her friend's judgment had been correct. But never before had there been someone Delilah couldn't read. That alone should have been enough for Angela to want to avoid Seth at all costs... but there was something about him that made her want to know more. There had to be a reason Delilah couldn't see through him, and if nothing else, Angela wanted to get close enough to figure out why.

The phone on her bedside table buzzed and Angela picked it up.

Delilah was still nowhere to be seen while Angela confirmed plans to meet with Seth via text, nor while she showered and dressed simply in a light pink skirt and a white button-down blouse.

There was no sign of her, either, as Angela ate a quick breakfast of her favorite sugary cereal paired with a cup of tea. Perhaps it was for the better. With the way Delilah had acted the night before, some time alone with Seth without Delilah's constant objections and interruptions would be refreshing. It would also give her the time to figure out more about him without Delilah's assumptions overshadowing their meeting. Not to mention it had been far too long since she'd really spent time with another living mortal being, and there was no better time than the holidays to reacclimate oneself with the spirit of the season.

She slipped on her boots, wrapped herself in her winter jacket, and headed out into the wintery afternoon. The sidewalks were still white from the new-fallen snow. It all looked so pure. So peaceful. So innocent.

She could almost hear Delilah's snide remarks about how quickly it would all turn to shit, and Angela instinctively glanced over her shoulder just to be certain her companion wasn't behind her.

But there was still no sign of her.

Should she be more concerned that Delilah couldn't read him for the sinner he may or may not be? Was her friend's continued absence a sign of how deep-rooted her beliefs were?

Perhaps.

But that was Delilah's dilemma, not hers.