One Shots

Snow and Coffee

Snow was falling down from the sky like shards of glass. Cutting against cheeks, making them red as blood rushed to warm the freezing skin, and crunching along in just running shoes was Jane. Snow was seeping through the crumbling material of prehistoric sneakers and even though she was wearing three layers of wool socks her feet were soaked to the bone.

But though Jane was in a pitiful position she didn't feel even the least bit sorry for herself. In her thread bare coat that just barely covered her forearms, and too small jeans that she had to keep hoisting back up over her waist. No, Jane was a warrior trudging through the snow drifts like a soldier marching through trenches. She pushed on ignoring the looks that people gave her as they carried on, arms laden with shopping bags as they did last minute Christmas gift buying.

The sighs the rich church women let escape as they saw her messy brown hair sticking up off her bare head, and her chapped, red fingers numbed by the falling ice did not disturb Jane; for she had a mission. She had a place to be, something to do on this Christmas eve morning that was utterly urgent, basically a life or death situation. So on Jane went quickening her pace every few minutes so that she could get to the other side of the city for 12 o'clock noon.

* * * * * * * * *

Pete was serving up coffee at the tiny coffee shop on the corner. Fretting about whether his girlfriend was going to dump him at her Christmas Eve party tonight. Or if he was going to be fired in the New Year, as the Starbucks across the street was quickly putting the non-chain joint out of business. And when Pete had decided that he wouldn't be fired he went back to griping about his paycheck and how after all the Christmas shopping he had done he was broke.

Though obviously Pete wasn't really that broke. Because even if he personally didn't have and loose change kicking around in his age old garage- sale- bought- taco –shaped piggy bank at home, his family was well off. In fact it was practically impossible to tell that Pete didn't come from a well off family. If the brand spanking new pair of headphones he wore around his neck as he went around making cappuccinos weren't a giveaway than the Abercrombie shirt was. Still, Pete was busy grumbling on about how he didn't have the newest iPhone and how this dead end job was a waste of his time.

He complained about how his parents never quite got him and how everybody thought he was a typical lazy teenager when just this morning he had donated two whole dollars out of his hard earned money to Salvation Army. When he finally looked up from his grumbling a young girl was standing in front of him.

************

Jane stared at the boy with the messy blonde hair that was obviously supposed to look messy. She looked at his fancy top notch headphones, and though she didn't envy him she wished he understood how lucky he was. How most kids dreamed of a decent pair of jeans for Christmas and here he was probably wishing, no, wanting for the latest tablet, or laptop of something of the apple product sort.

Reaching into her pocket she scraped out the few dollars she could spare. All in change made up of the out of date pennies and regretful dimes. She spilled it onto the polished coffee shop counter and asked, "What will this get me?"

*************

Pete glanced at the meager amount of change sitting on the counter and quickly deduced how little it would get. He looked back up at the girl, her raw skinned face and tired brown eyes, something came over him. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Today is give a random customer a free coffee day."

He saw the doubt in her eyes, but she accepted his generosity all the same. As Pete went about brewing the coffee he watched her fingers jitter on the table her foot tapping as though she was in a hurry.

"Where you going?" Pete asked as he brewed coffee and added foamy whip cream to the top.

"The Warm Bread Organization on Ferris Street," she said. Pete recognized the name of the local food bank. Once again he looked over this girl; a rubber band holding back un-brushed hair, and broken nails at the tips of her fingers. She must have seen the pity in his eyes because a soft smile broke her hard features.

"Not to eat," she said reassuringly.

Handing her the coffee, Pete's eyebrows furrowed. "Then why?"

Her cold fingers wrapped around the coffee, and the girl met his eyes with her own. Pete was surprised to see the hurt, and treachery etched into them, but alongside it was a queer kind of confidence, a new outlook on life.

"Why else," she said. "To help." With that she turned away, marching back out into the frozen tundra that was the city. Pete felt strangely guilty, as he watched her walk away. He shook off the feeling and moved on to the next customer.

**************

On his way home that day Pete passed a man sitting on the street corner. His eyes were hollow, his cheeks sunken, and a scruffy beard graced his bony chin. He looked half a sleep as he sat, with his head laid back against the wall. Almost dead.

Person after person passed the man by, to busy going to parties, or arguing with someone on the phone to notice this poor guy sitting on the cold winter sidewalk with no coat. Pete made sure to walk in a wide circle around the man, following the crowd. As he reached the crosswalk, he felt a weird niggling feeling in his stomach. Above him, on the other side of the frosty street the light changed, and the little walking-man symbol glowed on the screen, but instead of crossing the street and hurrying on home, Pete pivoted on his heel and began to walk in the other direction.

As Pete once again neared the homeless-man, he dug into his pocket pulling out twenty dollars worth of tips from work that day. He dropped the bills in the coffee cup near the man's feet. The man cracked open one eye. Pete's heart pounded. "Thank you," the man said his voice, rough, and scratchy. Pete nodded. The man's gaze locked on to Pete's. "God Bless." Pete stood up and hurried up the block to catch the light, with no idea that those twenty dollars later bought that man the meal that saved his life.