Works in Progress

Untitled: Chapter 1 - A Meeting

Lorena Fowler watched the steam leisurely gather itself to dance and sway just above the surface of her black tea before it slowly dissipated into the chilly fall air, losing any poetic distinction from its surroundings as it cooled to the ambient temperature. Black to mahogany to auburn to caramel. The colors of her tea leached away from their bag, aquatic tendrils mimicking the swirls of steam above them. The colors would momentarily settle into a monotone; individuality lost, but the ideal tea achieved.

Lorena fought the urge to sneer at the thin cloth bag trapping the tea leaves, but her eyes narrowed accusingly nonetheless. A cafe that put tea leaves in bags was not normally a cafe she would bother even knowing about.

She smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from her outfit. She wore chestnut wide-leg suit pants with gold pinstripes. Under the matching vest, she wore a cream silk blouse with billowing sleeves that ended in tights cuffs and gold cufflinks. Three on each side. She was, as always, impeccably dressed.

The rest of the clientele at the outdoor cafe were unremarkable. At the dozen or so iron grill tables scattered across the patio, wives of middle class shopkeepers and a few merchants taking an afternoon off chatted amongst themselves with various levels of enthusiasm. The dull hum of their voices blended amiably with the throb of passing carriages on the brick road. Occasionally, jarring growls from a motor car passing through the intersection just beyond the courtyard carried sharply through the crisp autumn afternoon. With the exception of the motor car's clangour, Lorena supposed the tedium could be rather meditative.

Her narrowed eyes shifted from the tea bag to the empty seat across from her. Lorena sighed through her nose. It seemed that timing was not her appointment's strong suit.

An overly loud, bubbly laugh burst out across the cafe's courtyard. Turning her head to the offending sound, Lorena caught sight of her tardy companion. After one last quip to the host and yet another piercing laugh, the woman caught Lorena's eye and hastily made her way over.

Lorena noted her blue dress that would have been near the height of fashion last year, though the quality of fabrics suggested it was... well, she supposed "cheap" was not the right word. Moderately priced at best. The woman's makeup could not quite be described as garish, but strayed dangerously close in Lorena's opinion. A matching blue hat that complimented the dress surprisingly well topped the woman's dull blonde, nearly brown, curls. Lorena felt resigned.

"Oh, I am so sorry I'm late!" the woman exclaimed as she took the empty seat opposite Lorena. "You must think so poorly of me. I swear I was here on time, early even, but then I saw Raul--I had completely forgot he worked here on Thursday afternoons, honestly, I had very nearly completely forgot it was even Thursday-- and I just had to ask after his sister's daughter. Not the eldest, the middle daughter, you know? Did you hear? She's just trying to start selling her own jewelry-- you should look into it, she's so talented, it's absolutely to die for-- but! She's completely besotted with the blacksmith, who's a fine enough fellow, I know his cousin, but he's apparently very nearly engaged, word has it, and Raul's sister's daughter, the middle one remember, was crushed; not even sure if she would continue to request his help with her pieces because she could barely stand to look at him. Young love is always tragic, isn't? Anyway, I did arrive early and I saw Raul and I thought I had enough time to catch up with him before you arrived, but he's a talker, you know, and time completely got away from me. I am terribly, terribly sorry. I'm so glad you went ahead and ordered tea. Are you feeling peckish at all? I could order biscuits for us. Or croissants! They're absolutely divine here. If you haven't had one before you absolutely must try one!"

Lorena vaguely wondered if she had ever heard more information less relevant to her life. She was not sure the woman took a single breath throughout her tirade, and Lorena marveled that the woman hadn't fainted.