As we moved into the coffee shop, I could see more aisles and rows of bookshelves retreating back from the second floor balconies. It was all very chic in a shabby kind of way.
“Okay, now what?” I asked. “Do I just stand here and wait, or should I go grab a book to read until she comes in?”
“First off, you should probably go get yourself a cup of coffee with the money I gave you. Then you need to take a seat there,” Hauser said, pointing to a table at the perimeter of the small café, “and sit with your back toward the door.”
“You’re so very precise, Hauser. How long did it take you to calculate every action and setting? I feel so very much like a marionette,” I said sarcastically.
“Just get the coffee, bub. I’ll wait here.”
Feeling more comfortable with public interactions by the minute, I bought my coffee and sat at the table with my back to the door. “Okay. Am I sitting properly? Should I cross my leg? Or should I sit here with my head on the table?”
“That’s enough, smart-ass. Just sit and wait. You should also take the lid off of your coffee,” Hauser said.
I removed the lid and took a small sip of the steaming liquid. It had been quite some time since I’d had any caffeine whatsoever, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I could practically feel the liquid adrenaline pulsing into my veins.
As the minutes passed, I continued to take small sips of the coffee. Hauser stood next to me, scanning the bookstore, looking for Penny’s arrival.
“Okay, you’re on champ.”
I instinctively straightened my posture and adjusted the collar of my shirt.
“Now, when I tell you, I want you to spill your coffee.”
“Just pour it out, or do I—”
“Just knock the damn thing over,” Hauser snapped. “Now.”
I swung my arm to the side, tipping the nearly full coffee cup over. The liquid quickly spread across the table and dripped into my lap.
“Holy shit,” I exclaimed. “That’s fucking hot.”
“Well if you weren’t such a klutz, you’d stop spilling liquid all over yourself,” Penny said, standing next to me.
I sprang from my chair and reflexively swiped the steaming liquid off my pants. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what just came over me. I went to look at my watch and just knocked my coffee cup right on over.”
“Are you going to be all right, or do you need me to call somebody to take care of those burns?” Penny asked.
“I think I’ll be okay. It doesn’t hurt too bad… but if you have a couple of napkins, that might help with this mess.”
Penny walked up to the counter and returned with a handful of small cocktail napkins to dab up the remaining coffee from the table.
“Thanks,” I said. “I’m actually kind of surprised that you’d even talk to me again.”
“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry I stormed off. You probably understand. I’m an emotional mess most of the time, and that day was not particularly good for me,” Penny said.
As I finished cleaning up the spilled coffee, I retook my seat and motioned for Penny to join me. “That’s understandable, Penny. I remember experiencing days just like that after my wife… you know.”
Penny accepted the offer to join me and smiled discreetly. “So, do you live around here or are you stalking me?” she asked.
“Neither. I collect books. It’s a crazy, expensive addiction. A friend of mine told me about this place, and I figured I couldn’t pass it up.”
Penny smiled again and looked at me with a strange, sideways glance. “You know, it’s funny. I know you said that you’ve been to the community center before, but I just… I don’t know. I think we’ve seen each other someplace else. I just can’t put my finger on it.”
Panicked, I said, “That doesn’t surprise me. I’m told that I have a very recognizable face. You would not believe how often people tell me that they remember seeing me from someplace else.”
“Nice cover, Jack,” Hauser said. “Now, change the subject before she thinks about it more. Buy her a cup of coffee.”
“I’m sorry, where are my manners? Can I get you something? Maybe a cup of coffee… that’s not spilled all over my lap?” I asked.
Penny giggled. “That would be great, thanks. House coffee with cream, please.”
I excused myself and bought two more coffees quickly. I sat down again, and we both sipped awkwardly at our hot drinks.
“So, Penny, seeing as I was here first, I think it’s you that is stalking me,” I said teasingly.
“Don’t you wish, perv,” Penny said dryly. “Actually, I live nearby and coming here takes my mind off of… things.”
“This place certainly is wonderful,” I said. “What with the vast book selection in all genres.”
Penny nodded. “Yeah, there’s that. But then when I get to the family and parenting section, I usually lose it.”
“Yikes, I’m sorry. Change of subject?” I asked.
“No, it’s all right. Like we said the other day, it’s sometimes good to talk about things.”
“Okay then, tell me about yourself.”
“What do you want to know? Am I single? Do I enjoy long walks on the beach? Do I like the sound of rain?” she said sarcastically.
“No, nothing like that. Tell me about your family, about your parents. Do you have sisters or brothers?”
“I had a brother, but he died a few years ago,” Penny said, her voice dropping. “I don’t know my real parents. I’ve been in foster homes for as long as I can remember,” she said, her mood dropping even further.
Well, crap, I thought.
“Have you tried to track down your real parents?” I asked.
“I tried several months ago, right after I got pregnant. But it was a lost cause. Nobody had any paperwork on how I even entered the foster care system.”
“I really don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I’m sorry, Penny.”
“It’s all right. It’s not your fault. I just seem to have been dealt an unlucky hand in life, or so it seems sometimes.”
“Can I ask about the father of your child? Is he around?”
“Ha, funny story,” Penny said sardonically. “The father of my child was my very last foster father.”
“Holy hell, Jack. Change the subject quick,” Hauser said.
Ignoring Hauser momentarily, I pushed further. “I’m curious. Did you still live with your foster parents when that happened?”
“No, I thought they were actually good people all along. I’d been living on my own for a few years by then, but I still stayed in contact with them. Having dinner with them occasionally, holidays and weekends and such. Then something changed. Theodore, my foster father, just snapped one day and forced himself on me, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.”
“Oh, Penny. Did you report him to the police?”
“No. He told me if I said anything he would hunt me down and kill me.”
My blood began to boil with each additional detail Penny told me, thinking about the injustices of collecting the good souls while assholes like Theodore continued to live.
“You know, the police could have protected you,” I said, walking gingerly through the conversation, remembering how volatile her personality was from our last meeting.
“Yeah, I know that now, but back then I was pretty scared. Now I don’t really care what happens to my life.”
“Penny, all life is precious. You’re a very special young woman, and you have a lot to offer this world.”
“Is that your expert opinion? After what? Having a few brief conversations with me?” she asked angrily.