Coffee Talk

Seven

Angela half expected Delilah to be sitting on her window perch the moment they entered, but the apartment was empty. The lights from the Christmas tree were on, decorating the room in a colorful hue, but Angela couldn't remember if she had turned them on before she'd left that morning.

"You can put your bags by the coat rack," Angela instructed, placing down the ones she held in her own hands before removing her jacket.

Seth followed, adding his parcels to hers as directed and hanging up his own jacket before stepping deeper into the apartment. "I thought you said you had a roommate?"

"She's... out."

"Very fortunate and convenient." He gave her a knowing smile before looking down the hallway. "Do you have a bathroom I can use?"

"Oh, of course," she said, startling herself into action. "It's right down the hallway, first door on the right."

"Thanks." He gave her a nod before excusing himself.

Angela watched as he maneuvered his way through her apartment, her all-too-familiar stomach knot tightening, not only from anticipation but also from the unknown. She'd never had anyone to her apartment before. The possibilities for their evening seemed endless, so long as—

"What is he doing here?" Delilah asked.

So long as Delilah stayed away.

Angela turned around slowly. Her friend's sudden appearance on the sofa was the last thing she wanted at that moment. "I invited him," she said curtly.

"What did we discuss?"

"No, it was what you decided. You were the one with issues from the beginning, all because you couldn't read him."

"I was the one with issues because he can't be read! What part of this doesn't make sense to you, Angela? I can't tell a mortal by his sins. That's something that should cause concern!"

"Not everyone needs to live their lives according to some damn vision! I've listened to you too many times when you felt someone was off or wrong or you didn't think their coffee choice was relevant enough. How many more good people need to pass me by for you to be satisfied?"

"Has it ever occurred to you how many times that damn vision may have saved you from imminent disaster? Remember David? That train wreck was a catastrophe waiting to happen, and you would have been right in the middle of it if it wasn't for me."

"Leave David and his train wreck out of this. The only 'imminent disaster' is what's going to happen if you don't mind your own business and let me and Seth have a decent evening in peace."

Delilah leaned back on the couch as if leaving was the last thing she had in mind. "If you think anything decent is going to happen with someone like him—"

"Enough!"

"Who are you talking to?" Seth asked as he returned to the living room.

Angela whipped around, turning her back to Delilah "No one." Seth had emerged from the bathroom much quicker than she expected.

"Now I'm no one?" Delilah mused.

Angela glared over her shoulder. Her patience was running thin, and she was so close to writing them all off and hiding in her bedroom for the rest of eternity if only to crawl away from the uncertainty of her current situation.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong? I can leave if you want," Seth offered, but Angela was already beyond aggravated. This was not what she'd had in mind when she considered bringing Seth back to her apartment, and not what she needed right now, with him standing right before her. The stress of the situation and fear of having to further explain herself caused her head to pound; the pressure grew as if her skull was stuck in a vice.