The Crossword Cafe

1 - Meeting

A/N: This sci-fi/romance story is going to be set in 1968. I'm going to try to keep it short, perhaps ten chapters or so. There are several inspirations to this idea, they have all meshed together in my brain to become a beautiful one. I really, really hope you all like it. Cause I can already tell this book is going to mean a whole lot to me. Now without further ado, let's begin...

Important: The lines in italics are basically snippets from past conversations. Yes that might seem odd but just bear with me...it will all make sense later.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the gentle pattering against the little cafe's windows began, Teresa looked up and let out a sigh.

The forecast didn't predict showers today. She still should have gotten her raincoat.

A steaming mug of tea lay beside the book she was bent over. She could stay here for hours if it began to pour uncontrollably. The England weather was unpredictable that way.

The cafe was sparsely crowded. An old couple sat by the window. Another man sat nearby, reading the paper. And a pair of women sat by the table that had a plethora of hanging flowers above it. 

The cafe itself was tucked away in a corner on Regent street, facing away from the main road. People were lucky to stumble across it.

This cafe detour wasn't on her agenda for the day. She couldn't remember why she came here in the first place. All she knew was that she was tired, wanted a place to sit and unwind over a cup of tea and her new crossword book. It was a good thing she found this place before the rain began.

It's not very fancy but I still like coming here with you.

The front door jingled loudly but she barely glanced up. She was scrutinizing the white boxes that lay before her, waiting to be filled with her black ball-point pen.

"Eight letter word for standards. Easy...it should be criteria."

"Another word for elevators - lifts."

Her pen stilled over another arrangement. "A punctuation mark...five letters. Could be colon, could be comma, not sure about that." 

She took a quick sip of her tea as she frowned in concentration. A glance at the clock told her it was still mid-noon despite it becoming grey outside. The chocolate muffin she had seen earlier on the counter passed her mind. Maybe she should order it after she completed the puzzle.

There was a tap on her shoulder. She looked around to see a man sitting near her table. He wasn't there before. Funny she hadn't seen him come in.

"Excuse me miss but could you pass me that?", he motioned at the newspaper lying by her.

"Of course", she handed it to him. She went back to her crossword after that.

Normally she loved a good puzzle. The book was a gift from an old friend she couldn't remember the name of. It had seventy pages of crosswords of varying levels. Right now, she was on an intermediate one. It was slightly off-putting for she realized she wasn't as great a solver as she thought herself to be.

She let out occasional huffs and sighs, trying to fill most of the white spaces. When she couldn't find a nine letter word for 'square dance' after a long brain-wracking spell, she got up to get her muffin.

Whilst the server poured chocolate syrup over her dessert, she glanced around. Except for that newcomer by her table, the cafe held the same customers. She eyed the back of the man's chair. His beige coat hung over it and was stained with spots of water. He must have ducked in just when the first drops began to fall.