Sip by Sip

Chapter Two: Save It

He couldn't stop imagining names. The millions of possible names she could have. It was well into the afternoon and he still thought of what her name could be. When they had parted that morning she asked if he visited the coffee shop often. He explained how he went to the shop every weekday before work, yet never went on the weekends. She then asked if she could sit with him tomorrow. He agreed on one condition; she would tell him why.

She smiled and enthusiastically nodded her head. She then waved him goodbye and headed off to work as well.

The only worry he had was of his girlfriend. Though open minded, she probably wouldn't be happy about the idea of him meeting a girl she didn't know (not that he knew her either) at the coffee shop in the mornings. He didn't expect it to be a daily thing, but he could see how it could be misinterpreted as cheating. He would have to go about it carefully.

    Hopefully when she would tell him why, he would be able to figure out how to handle his girlfriend. Until then, he wouldn't mention the girl with the bright eyes.

    Ava? Eva? Kira? Kyra. No, not Kyra . . . Kelly?

    He scrunched up his face. Not Kelly.

    Abby? Addie? Connie? Jenny?

    She almost seemed like a Jenny. But not quite a Jennifer.

    Emmy? Emma? Jenna?

    She could be a Jenna. But he shook his head again.

    Julie? Julia? Juliana? He hoped it wasn't Juliana. That was the name of his girlfriend, and the two sharing the same name would be confusing.

    Ana? Anna? Anne?

    No, no, no. None of them fit.

    But he knew that once she told him, it would fit her perfectly.

    Unless it was something like Kelly.

    He returned home to the wonderful smell of take out Thai, which Juliana had warmed up from the night before. He smiled at her, pleasantly surprised. Juliana usually didn't sleep over for more than two nights in a row. He hoped she'd stay for Friday and the weekend, but that was unlikely.

    He wanted to tell her of the coffee shop girl, mostly because it was the most interesting part of his day. But he moved around it, as he never really mentioned the coffee shop. Juliana knew he went there every morning, but she herself had never visited.

    After explaining all there was to tell her (not including the girl), she proceeded to ask, "how was your day?"

    Mistake, he realized. Huge mistake. She started off reasonably with the claim that a promotion might be in her future, but soon continued onto the subject of her work drama. By the end she was screaming and cussing out her fellow colleague.

    "That bitch can go talk about me however the fuck she wants, but you know what? I don't give a shit!" She finished, breathing heavily through her nose. She obviously gives a shit if she is so worked up over it, he thought to himself, but didn't say a word. This was not the time to speak freely.

    "So what? You have nothing to say about it?" she demanded angrily. His lips parted slightly, but his eyes shifted to the table. Maybe you were being a bit unreasonable, he thought. Maybe you should see it from her persepctive. He didn't say a word.

    His silence was the answer she needed. In a low, annoyed tone she growled, "see you tomorrow."

    "Wait-"

    "So now you have something to say? Save it." She slung her purse over her shoulder and slammed the door on her way out.

    He was left sitting alone with a few open boxes of rice, getting colder by the minute. Sighing, he didn't bother to clean up before he headed off to bed.