Guts, Rearranged {INCOMPLETE}

Chapter 10 =Irish Coffee=

          The clear outside air is a welcoming change for Maggie as she steps out from the lobby with a cough, passing the occasional conversation between patients and visitors taking advantage of the available smoking leverage of the entrance. She walks briskly with her arms tightly wrapped around her, feeling the eyes of every window staring at her while she leaves. Eyes of the young, dying and ill peeling away the skin on her back with their stares. They slice into her muscles and entangle themselves into her bone marrow, tangling themselves and weightlessly weighing her down.

          Better walk faster.

          The heavy smell of coffee sticking to the floor invades her nose. The warmth from the surrounding cafes welcomes her as she approaches and she takes her time passing them, enjoying their sweetly bitter smells to distract from her aching bones. In each café, few people talk loudly with their utensils clinking on their plates. As she moves, snippets of conversations reach her ears, with most being elderly gossip and moms flirting with their affairs.

          Of all the aspects attacking her senses, a loud bang from behind startles her. She turns and sees a chair laying on the floor in one of the cafes with a grinning Carlton fighting strangers asking if he's okay and excitedly getting up. She watches as he runs out of the café and jogs over to her.

          "Hey!" he yells as he closes the gap between them. He reaches her and removes his tilted sunglasses, his grey eyes looking at her with nothing but happiness like that of a dumb dog.

          "You not working today, chick?" He asks, slightly out of breath from his actions. She opens her mouth to speak but he cuts her off by escorting her to the café he came from

          "This is so cool! Come on, let me shout you!" Maggie smiles at his genuine excitement to see her, he's practically vibrating.

          He pulls out an empty seat at the table he was at, his chair still on the floor, the thinning surrounding patrons look at them with distaste. Her body stiffens slightly from embarrassment and Carlton chugs the rest of the coffee he had left on the table. He drums his hands on the table briefly

          "So what're you doing here?" He asks, still grinning.

          "I don't work on the weekend." She explains bluntly, still chipping away at her nerves. As she looks at the beaming Carlton, she finds his mood a great distraction as the rest of the café appears to fall away as they talk.

          "That's so weird, I don't think I've ever seen any of the workers there away from the store." He mulls on the statement.

          "I didn't think you even lived here." Maggie confesses, unsure if she ever really thought of him outside of work in the slightest.

          "Oh yeah, I just travel a lot with the whole delivery thing." He waves his hand dismissively. He props himself up with his elbows supporting him on the table dramatically "So what're you doin' here?" He asks once more. "Sometimes I just need air, gets a bit stuffy sometimes." She chuckles awkwardly, unable to keep eye contact with him. Carlton nods and looks as though he's about to ask another question when one of the baristas approaches the table.

           "Hey guys, we're closing up now, we can get you one last drink if you'd like but you'll have to have it to go." They explain politely, although the annoyance in their chipper voice underlines their words at having to even talk to the two.

          "Oh, that's no issue." Maggie nods politely and Carlton joins her in going to the counter so he can pay for their drinks. Carlton puts on his sunglasses and squeezes her shoulder in appreciation for the gesture