All That and a Bag of Chips

Chapter 23

Around lunch time it started to rain. At first it was just a drizzle, darkening the silver-gray of the sidewalk outside the smoothie shop to the deeper color of graphite. Pedestrians pulled up hoods and quickened their pace. But soon the drops hit against the plate-glass windows with a steady plunk-plunk-plunk, coalescing into rivulets and streams. The few people still out all walked down the street clutching umbrellas.

With the rain picking up, Janet walked in through the doors, shaking off a large golf umbrella and stamping her wet feet on the logo-embroidered welcome mat. "No one's buying a smoothie in this weather," she remarked as she walked through the empty lobby and towards the back of the store. "Collin, follow me."

He put down the rag he was using to wipe down the counter and followed.

"We need to cut hours," Janet said. "You opened today, right?"

"Yes. With Tom."

"Well, I'm here now. You can go home. Let me look at the schedule, but he can probably leave too."

Collin was relieved. After his exchange with Sam that morning, his head felt as cloudy as the sky outside. He pulled at the apron string around his waist and then pulled it off over his head, throwing it in the open washing machine. Then he went into the staff bathroom to switch his shirt.

"Is there a spare umbrella I could borrow? I really don't want to ride my bike home in this rain," Collin asked.

Janet looked up from the printout of the schedule that she was studying. "Yeah, I think there is one around here." She wheeled the office chair back from the desk and opened one drawer. "Here you go." She handed him a bright red compact umbrella.

"Thanks," he said as he accepted it.

Changed into his street clothes, Collin waved goodbye to everyone behind the counter and walked outside, opening the umbrella towards the sky.

As he made his way down the street, thoughts of Avery plunking against his jeans and dampening his shoes. Obviously, Gina had been a mistake. But she wasn't an accident. Why was Sam suddenly on Avery's side?

That almost pissed him off more than Avery complaining about the bed she made and now had to lie in.

Collin passed the flower stand, a round kiosk set into the sidewalk near the curb. Buckets of flowers were set out under an awning: bright orange Gerber daisies in one of them.

Collin stopped walking. Those were Heather's favorite flowers, weren't they? It was a sign.

"Can I have a bouquet of a dozen on those?" he asked, pointing to the orange bursts, bold as lions' manes.

"Do you want a mix of colors?" The man stood, adjusting his flat cap.

"All orange, please." Collin's smile radiated as bright as the daisies as he pulled out his wallet, paid, and then accepted the beautifully wrapped package.

He looked at his watch. Heather would still have to work for a little while, but he knew it was better to be early than to be late.

Holding the umbrella with one hand and the flowers in the other, he crossed the street and then walked back up the block. He stopped outside the cafe. The patio tables and chairs were beaded with rain. He looked through the glass window on the door and saw a few college kids sitting around a table, all looking at one laptop, and an older man in a khaki jacket reading a paperback in one armchair. But there was no line.

He looked over at the large clock tower and noted that Heather would be off in about ten minutes. He opened the door, closing the umbrella with one hand, and walked inside.