The Suite Adult Life

Halloween (1.1)

"Coffee, black, please? Oh, and an old fashioned cake doughnut." He said handing over a few bills, putting the change in the tip jar. The bodega was at the end of his block, on his way to work. It was tiny and unassuming but the coffee and doughnuts were better than any large chain could produce. His little bodega was decorated for Halloween and Dia de Muertos. The owners took great pride in decorating for any and all holidays. It brought a little cheer to the dreary late October weather. This was one of the reasons why he loved New York. He liked how he knew the people on his block. How every block had a bodega and a tiny grocery store where everyone knew your name and didn't care what your story was. Just that you were part of the community. He wasn't a very sociable person but that was okay with him. His face was perpetually behind a view finder snapping shots that he found interesting.

Cody Martin had become a photojournalist for the New York Times. They liked how he was well traveled before he went to college and that he chose to continue traveling while he studied at Columbia. So while his one bedroom was tiny, it was clean, and inviting for when he came back after an assignment. He had something that made him want to come back. It scared him to think of what kind of drifter he would be if he didn't have this anchor.

His drip coffee and doughnut was presented to him in under a minute. The creamer and sugar were on the other side of the long community table. Grabbing his items and giving a silent thank you again, he pivoted around and immediately felt a body crush into him. He sent up a silent thank you that there was a lid on his cup or the damage could have been bad. "I'm sorry..." He said quickly, but his voice quickly died at the pair of brown eyes looking back up at him. It had been how many years since he had seen those dark pools of light? "Bailey?" He questioned, fully knowing the answer. Bailey Pickett was his high school girlfriend and the first love of his life.

"Cody?" She smiled brightly up at him. "Oh my gosh! Hi!" She gave him a brief hug, mistaking his open arms as an invitation.

"Uh... hi? What, uh, what are you doing in New York?" He racked his brain for the last piece of information he had about his ex-girlfriend. Zack, his identical twin, was the one who usually kept up with their old classmates through social media.

"Work and pleasure. I'm visiting with my fiancés family!" she chirped brightly. "What about you? I heard you work for the New York Times, that's amazing!"

Cody's brain couldn't keep up for once. She was engaged. The thought just kept echoing in his brain. It had been ten years since he last saw her. Of course she was engaged. He was surprised she wasn't married. "Uh, yeah, I do." He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. "I'm actually on deadline," that was a lie. He pointed to the door and the line of people waiting on them.

"Oh! Of course! I'm sorry." She apologized with that still blinding smile. "It was so good to see you and I'm so happy that you're doing so well."

Cody smiled with closed lips before doing the awkward shuffle to get around her. At the add-ins station he shut his eyes tightly, his face screwing up to the side. This was a bad idea. Colossally bad. But his mouth moved before his brain could stop it. "Hey, do you want to get coffee while you're in town? Catch up?" Oh the irony.

There was that smile again, "Absolutely. Give me your phone." He pulled out his smartphone, handing it to her. Bailey's small hands deftly entered her number. Was she always that small compared to him? He knew he had grown a few more inches in college but she wasn't always that tiny, right? "Text me," she said, handing his phone back. Today was going to be a long day.