Coffee Shop

Friday

The next afternoon at the coffee shop Evy sets down her pencil and takes a sip of the coffee sitting untouched, by her hand. It's cold. She looks up at the clock as she stretches her arms behind her to get out the kinks in her shoulders from sitting in the same position, for such a long time. It’s about time to head to the summer Jazz concert.

She looks down at her notebook and re-reads the words she's written. Her hand is cramped and her right ring finger is sore from the pressure of her pencil. She's always held her pencil "wrong" as she never felt the same control writing when she was forced to use the pencil grips provided by her elementary school teachers. To this day she has beautiful handwriting and given the quality of cursive she was able to produce, her teachers eventually gave up on the grips and let her build up a callus on her right ring finger.

She slowly starts packing up her things.

Knock, knock on the table top.

Evy looks up to see Jake standing by her table.

Her heart speeds up when he says a scruffy sounding "Hey" and she answers back with a lilting, "Hey."

"Fancy finding you here."

Evy laughs. "Where else would I be?"

"True. Were you leaving?"

"Eventually."

"I want to grab some coffee before we head over to the concert. Don't leave yet."

"Ok."

Evy watches Jake walk to the counter, wondering to herself at her attraction.

She fiddles with her empty coffee mug until Jake gets back to the table. He sits across from her and asks:

"Where are you in the book?"

"What book?"

"Narcissus and Goldmund. The book I loaned you yesterday."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Evy answers as she searches through her bag to find the book and after finding it, opens it to the page marked with a yellow sticky note. "Well, I think Goldmund just arrived at the cloister and has gotten in some scuffle with the other students. I really like it so far. It follows Hesse's style."

Jake turns the book towards him and answers, "Yeah, I don't know what all those markings in the margins are. I got that book from my friend Bryce. I got most of my Hesse from him. I just ordered Steppenwolf. It should be in by now."

"I pulled my copies of Steppenwolf and Siddhartha off of my shelf to pack and now I can't remember what box I put them in. Otherwise, you would be welcome to borrow my copy."

"Well, thanks. How's the packing going anyway?" Jake smiles at Evy.

"It's going. I've got most of the things I won't need in the next few weeks in boxes along with most of the kitchen. I just sold the couches today."

"That's great! How much did you get for them?"

"$1200. Exactly what I bought them for!

"Nice! I'm looking forward to the concert tonight. I heard the group coming is really good."

"That's what I've heard too. Oh, David is having some of his friends over at our place later tonight for drinks, you're welcome to join us."

"Of course. I have to help you drink up all that extra alcohol before y'all move."

"I definitely can't do that by myself.”

"I can't believe you're moving."

"Yeah, me neither. It's a little surreal. I never thought I'd be moving to Hollywood. I always figured I'd end up in New York."

"You'd probably do well anywhere you move. Just don't let Hollywood go to your head."

They laugh and Evy responds, "I'll try. It's funny to me that I've had so many new friends I really like come into my life these last few months right before I leave. I've been back here for two years. Why did I have to find friends now, instead of earlier? It's easier to leave once I'm tired of the people I'm around. Now it's like I'm leaving during the honeymoon phase of all my friendships."

Jake laughs. "I guess so. I've been around the whole time you've been here. Are you saying you're tired of me and I'm easy to leave?"

"Not at all! You don't count. You know that." Evy laughs. "I just don't want to have to make all new friends and I'm a little sad about leaving."

"Well, you won't miss us much when y'all are all rich and famous." Jake is joking and Evy pushes him playfully on his shoulder.

"I'm not going there to be rich and famous. It was just the warmer choice of California over New York."

"Yeah, sure. Did you still want to have a few beers at my place before we head out to the concert?"

"Isn't that a little out of the way?"

"I guess so. I have a few in my car, so I guess we could drink in the parking lot at the college before we go into the concert."

Evy laughs and starts putting her bag over her shoulder to leave. "I knew you were a little redneck, but really, is that necessary?"

Jake laughs and shrugs, mockingly joking while he walks across the room to the trash can to throw away his coffee cup. She follows him and they walk out of the coffee shop waving goodbye to the barrister. Evy offers to take her car, but Jake insists on taking his truck.

Once they get there, they shoot back a beer each, in the college parking lot, before the concert. It's a perfect summer evening with one side of the endless Texas sky beginning to pinken with the impending sunset and the other threatening a summer shower before the night is over. There's a slight breeze in the shade that makes the heat almost comforting.

They find a spot in the outdoor amphitheater near the back, but still close enough to see the musicians without having to peek through heads, and Jake sits close to Evy.