CHAPTER TWO
The Coffee Dash was the café of choice.
As we entered, I breathed in the aroma of burnt coffee and chocolate brownies.
We walked past the cash register, and a display filled with brownies, cup cakes, and cookies on one side and sandwiches on the other. the man beside me caught the eye of just about every woman in the café. In a way, it made me feel special being the woman by his side.
"Table at the back, please," he said to a bulbous-nosed waitress who wouldn't stop gawking at him. What a nerve. If I'd been his girlfriend, I'd have been offended.
The waitress ignored the couple beckoning for her at another table and led us to a booth in the back. She handed me a menu but her eyes didn't leave my companion's face. When she gave him his own menu, she dropped it. Her hands were actually shaking.
The man picked up the laminated menu and handed it back to her. "I don't need this, thank you. Bring me a strong coffee with milk. No sugar."
"I'll have the same." I said. The money in my purse was just about enough for that.
The waitress nodded at him. I'd be surprised if she remembered my order.
"So, why do you look so sad?"
I swallowed hard, mentally forced myself to remain calm. Normally, simple questions called for simple answers. Not in this case. I rarely talked about this to anyone, except Lynnette and Melisa, and the therapist who volunteered at The Shelter once a week. "Who were you lighting a candle for?" I asked to give myself time to think.
"I asked you a question first. But okay, let's start with me." a trace of humor laced his voice. Then his expression darkened. "I was lighting a candle for my brother. He died a few years ago. The memorial was held at the St. Joseph Chapel."
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you. Your turn."
"Well." I reached for a napkin and twisted it between my fingers. "It's hard to..."
"Confide in a stranger?"
"Yes." I admitted. In fact, it was hard confiding in anyone for that matter.
He slid forward in his chair and his knee brushed against mine under the table. "I'm Nick, if that makes me more than a stranger."
"I'm Carlene." An involuntary smile curled my lips "And yes, it does help to know your name." I paused. "A few years ago, my boyfriend passed away. It was a very difficult time. The memorial was also held at the St. Joseph Chapel."
"Please accept my condolences." Tenderness filled his green eyes.
At that moment the waiter appeared with two cups. She placed Nick's coffee in front him and the other cup in front of me.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't order tea. I also wanted a coffee."
"Really? I'm pretty sure you ordered—"
"Excuse me," Nick looked up at the waitress. "Lauren is it?"
The woman glanced at the name tag on the lapel of her shirt."Yes, Sir."
"Well, Lauren. My friend did order coffee. Would you mind getting it for her, please?"
"Of course, Sir." She removed the tea and came back a moment later with the coffee. "I'm sorry about the confusion, ma'am."
"No problem," I said and Lauren left.
"Death is not an easy thing to come to terms with," Nick said, picking up where we'd left off. "Especially if I you lose someone close. It's so final." He lifted his cup to his lips and drank, despite a stream of steam curling from the cup upwards.
