Beyond Denver

Chapter 25

The coffee shop is slow through the rest of the afternoon, the hours taking forever to pass. I let Jeff talk about the last Avenger movie and spoiling for me. All I can do is to share with him the Incredible Hulk was the only Avenger movie I'd watched.

"Which one?"

"The one with Edward Norton."

He cracks a laugh, "Where did you spend most of your years, Cassidy?" he asks me before deciding to go for a smoke outside by the dumpsters.

"May I help you?" I ask a man that comes in suddenly. He appears as if he hadn't taken a shower for many days. His long-braided beard is bigger than Jeff's. His jeans above his tennis shoes are torn apart, exposing the different color pair of socks underneath.

"Yes, an espresso coffee, ma'am," both of his hands are shaking when he handles me a one-dollar bill.

"It is one dollar and fifty cents," I tell him the correct price politely.

"I don't have fifty cents," He tells me as he scratches the side of his back.

"That's fine. You can have it." I grab fifty cents from the tip jar, dropping it into the cash register along with his one-dollar bill. "Would you like something to eat, too?"

"Maybe this chocolate muffin," he smiles with his crooked teeth.

"Oh, here it is," I handle him. I place another two-dollar and fifteen cents from the jar into the cash register.

"Oh, I really appreciate it." He tells me before sitting at the table after handling his coffee, the espresso coffee, and the muffin. Denver enters Sophie right after and orders a cold wrap.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him. I'm almost certain Scarlet won't come back, but still, I don't want to take the risk of being reported or creating more trouble.

"I came here to get something to eat. That's all," I look at him as if I don't believe him. I handle him the only chicken ranch wrap we have available. "I was just walking in the neighborhood and decided to stop by." Then he sits at a table at the corner and eats his wrap while staring at me from time to time.

I grasp a dark roast coffee package, grab a filter, and brew some more fresh coffee in the pot. By the time I'm done, Sylvia also comes through the door. She is wearing a nice dress, and her smile looks vibrant.

"I'm going on a date," she tells me. "Where is Jeff?"

"He is in the back in his smoking break." Should I have told her that? She doesn't seem to mind. "But that's nice that you're going on a date." She has her hair nicely done with highlights that brightened her up and her tanning skin. Her tamed eyebrows stand out over her makeup, and her muscle body is toned over the white jeans.

"Yes, I can't believe it. I'm about to turn fifty, and I realize I'm not dead. Maybe you should go on a date, too, Cassidy. There are nice guys in town. Look at that cute one," she shows me Denver eating his wrap at the table. He smiles at me.

"You see? He is even staring at you like he wants to take you on a date."

"But he is a customer...I shouldn't."

"Holy crap. Who cars if he is a customer. Go get him, girl." I don't know where to place my face since she is louder than normal, and I fear Denver is listening. Jeff comes over at the moment. Sylvia handles the schedule for the next two weeks.

"Wow," he says when he looks at her, all dressed up.

"I'm going on a date tonight, Jeff. Do you think the guy will like me?"