Fifty Shades of Friar

Colored Blind

Floating down through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now.
In the space between the heavens
and in the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream
I had a dream
Good-bye Ma
Good-bye Ma
After the serng slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel
And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream.
A place to stay

- A Gunner's Dream; Pink Floyd
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"It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream."

― Edgar Allan Poe
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I instantly spotted the others sitting in a booth closest to the window as I parked the car in a surprisingly open space from across Amorino. I had locked the car after climbing out and when I stomped over to the front entrance, I saw Joey exiting. He halted for a second at the sight of me and pursed his lips, obviously noticing the enraged vibes surfacing from me, then he wordlessly held the door open for me. I didn't speak a word; I just walked past him and made my way over to the booth.

Everybody was in a cheerful mood, boasting loudly and chattering rapidly about things I couldn't understand, except Jonathan, who was scarfing down a mountain of what I like to call diabetes waiting to happen. From the looks of it, it was a pistachio sundae with four banana slices, three flavors of syrups, a layer of sprinkles and gummies, and three cherries on top. His mouth was splattered of ice cream and his eyes were bright in energy. Oh great - now I have to deal with a sugar-induced Jonathan and go through a struggle to tuck him to bed.

I could see Antoine going through his phone, most likely scrolling through his Instagram feed, and laughing shamelessly on whatever posts he sees. Beside him, Riley and Jordan were talking in their own world, going through the stills of his camera. More like Riley doing most of the talking as she went through his camera while Jordan stared at her with a familiar gleam in his eyes and a dazed smile. Uh oh - I don't want Riley to be involved in any drama with his on-and-off girlfriend.

I quicken my pace to the booth, purposely making my steps hard enough to make my boots clack loudly. Riley immediately recognized the sound and turned to me in glee only for her welcoming smile to fade into a troubled frown.

"Peaches, what's wrong?"

I just shook my head as I slid into the booth beside her and took a spoonful of her melting ice cream. I regretted doing that because it was rainbow sherbet. I grab a napkin and spit it out.

"You look angry," observed Riley. She has a creepy talent in spotting the obvious about me. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Riles," I mumbled.

"Then why is your face red? You look like you want to murder someone right now," she said, her voice tender and soft. I could see her eyes pooling in worry. She wraps her arm around and hugs me close, rubbing her hand over my shoulder. I didn't really want to talk about this right now or at all.

"I had to save a cowboy," I murmured. I wasn't going to mention the aftermath. "He almost got run over by a bicyclist."

Her eyes widen. "Oh my God, is he okay? Is that why Joey had to leave?"

"He's fine - I saved his ass and knocked the bicyclist unconscious with a rock," I said.

"That's good - well, not good that you hurt someone with a rock - I thought I told you to stop doing that or you'll get arrested for assault one of these days - but it's good that you saved him, Maya. You're a hero." She hugs me tighter. "So how was coffee? Did anything interesting happen?"