The familiar scent of espresso relaxed my nerves as I walked into the coffee shop. The last time I was nervous going in my support group was the first day and I was not looking forward to seeing Nas after how he treated Charlie and I at his afterparty. Just thinking about it made me fume.
But today, we were conveniently talking about anger and how our traumas may have caused us to mischannel our emotions. My attempt at sitting away from Nas failed last week, so I left the house earlier than normal today in order to choose my spot more carefully.
"Indica!" Orien shouted at me from behind the bar. That boy is going to get himself fired. Every time I come in, he stops what he's doing to make my drink and greet me--even if he was helping other customers.
"Help those people first, O," I chuckled at him. I found an empty table on the wall adjacent to the register and sat my things down. Group didn't start until 2:30 and it was currently 2:05pm, according to my laptop. I looked through a few work emails relating to the exhibit opening that was in two days, making sure to keep an eye out for Orien's line of customers so I could pick up my drink.
My team and I were on pace to finish the exhibit by tomorrow night. I was waiting for the delivery of the podium that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood at when he gave his I Have A Dream Speech. The museum was filled with important artifacts like these, which is why I was so irate Meech even entertained the idea of someone coming in and buying up all the items I worked so hard to retrieve.
Orien's line was now down to one person, so I got up from the table and stood behind the last customer.
"I meant to ask you how your date went last week," I said, sipping the latte he slid to me on the counter.
"That shit was a zero out of 10. I'm never asking her on another date."
"Hey, watch your mouth!" Orien was 17, but I looked at him like a little brother, so I felt a certain unassumed responsibility over him. I felt the same about Charlie, even though she was months older than me. "Why was it so bad?"
"She talked during the whole movie! All I was thinking to myself was 'damn, can you shut the fuck up?!'. And she don't know how to kiss on top of all that."
The reenactment of his bad date earned a laugh out of me. "Well, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy yourself but thank you for bringing my car back in one piece."
"You know I got you. You got a meeting today or you just here for my free coffee?"
"Don't say it like that! I always tip your ass," I said, popping a hand on my hip. "And yes, every Thursday at 2:30. You should know that by now."
"What are these meetings for? Work or something?" Orien had never asked me about why I showed up to his job every week at the same time, but I can't blame him for his curiosity.
However, I wasn't interested in dishing out my traumas in the middle of a coffee shop, so I opted for a short and sweet answer: "Yep, work stuff."
"I won't be here when you get out, I gotta help my mom with some stuff." The mention of his mom made me remember the court summons that was sitting on my kitchen countertop. It was irresponsible of me to put it off for this long, especially because I was in such close relation with a lawyer that could help me.
"Speaking of your mom, I know she's a judge now, but does she still do any lawyer stuff?" I tried to ask in an uninterested way.
"I have no idea. I don't really talk to her about her work stuff. Why? You in trouble?" he asked as he wiped loose drops of liquid off of his workstation.
"No! Nothing like that, I was just curious." Orien squinted his eyes at me, in a way that said 'I don't believe you but imma let you slide'.
"Okay, well I gotta go. I'll see you next week, O." I headed to the back of the shop, now looking at the time and seeing 2:26. I rolled my eyes at myself for being so easily lost in a conversation and forgetting why I got here early in the first place.
