Red Line

4

The smell of coffee and the soft voice of a woman softly awoke Rosealeana from her sleep.

"Sweetheart," the voice said warmly, causing Rosealeana to jump suddenly, realizing she needed to be awake.
She opened her eyes to a middle aged woman with bright blue eyes and sandy blonde hair.

"A coffee for you," she said softly with a smile.

"Oh thank you," Rosealeana smiled back "$1.25 right?"

She turned to grab her wallet, but the woman stopped her "the boy over there bought it for you before he left," the older barista said pointing to the spot where the tanned boy sat everyday.

"Oh," said Rosealeana "thank you."

The woman nodded and turned to return behind the counter.
"Wait!" Rosealeana said, abruptly stopping the woman "what's your name?"
"Nancy," she smiled.
"Nancy, who is that boy?" She asked almost desperately.
Nancy smiled and sat across from her "well..," she began "his name is Kalim.."

Nancy told Rosealeana wonderful stories of how smart and kind he was, how he had a weird habit of never leaving the house without being perfectly groomed. She told Rosealeana how he was a teacher at a college in the afternoon, and his favorite drink was a vanilla latte.
The whole time Nancy spoke, Rosealeana's eyes sparkled in wonderment.

Nancy was so intrigued by the girl who had caught Kalim's fancy. She thought he had given up on women, because every time they found out he was deaf, they would run.
Nancy decided not to tell her he was deaf, surely this would determine if she was good enough for him.

"What's his full name?" Rosealeana asked.

"Kalim Imani."

"Kalim Imani," she repeated, rolling his name around in her mouth.
"Kalim Imani," she repeated again with a smile.