Hugs & Blows

California

Odette loves Ethan, but she hates California. Hate isn't the right word, she taps her pen against her chin thinking of a better word to describe her feelings for California. She's writing, actually she's attempting to write. She's leaning against the coffee counter. Odette can't think of a word to describe how California makes her feel, she decides to try to depict what California doesn't make her feel.

She misses the overwhelmingly abundant amount of green in her hometown. She misses the steely silver skyscrapers of New York, her favorite city. If hummingbird valley is green, and New York is silver then California is orange.

A fake brown-orange hybrid. The color of so many californians' skin, the color of the sunset, the color of the sand. Sometimes she wonders if someone walks the beaches late at night, painting the sand a perfect sandy color. California feels perfect. So full of beauty. She is aware of the dangers in the large state but it still feels too serene.

She misses the grit of the city, and the almost invisible grime of her hometown. She starts to wonder if maybe she just misses Betsy.

Ethan has to live here, because he is an actor, an on screen actor, and all the film actors seem to reside in sunny California, because that's where the jobs are. She is okay with living here with Ethan because he has to be here. She's a writer and that's something she can do pretty much anywhere, she's also a barista and she has a cozy gig here at Tic Tac Joe's, with a staff like a family.

Tic Tac Joe's, which is currently closed, Lindsay called a staff meeting but only Drew and Odette are here.

Drew, who had sold his condo and moved into the loft above the coffeeshop. He let her in. Lindsay is running late, stuck in traffic. Drew is mumbling some complaint about it, he has an accent she's never really noticed before. He mispronounces "Tic Tac Joe's." always saying "Tic Tock Joe's." Odette finds it fitting that he says tock, Drew reminds her of a time bomb, set to blow any moment, and she isn't sure why.