by JD Strand
"This is absurd," she thought. "Other than his name, I know nothing about the guy, except that he seems to spend a strange amount of time hanging around a coffee shop. And Cody? What kind of a name is that? Sounds like an old cowboy. And besides having a silly name, what kind of a man lets his little girl wander around the streets alone? The sooner she made things clear to him the better."
This is the feeling Elise held onto as she strode into the coffee shop.
“Welcome to the Cup of Love. What can I brew for you?” the girl behind the counter repeated unenthusiastically as Elise walked past.
She was perfectly clear on precisely what she was going to say to Cody. The confident young businesswoman marched up to the table where he sat by himself.
"Cody, I need to talk to you," she began well enough. As he raised his head of long curly, blond hair to make eye contact with her, Elise forgot everything else she had planned to say.
The unexpected look of anger in his eyes knocked the wind out Elise and made her feel like a child again. It was something she had not experienced since she was ten years old and her father had told her that he was disappointed in her grades in school.
"Look, I don't know what kind of game you're playing. I mean, I don't really care of you want to mess with me. The thing that gets me is you hurt Penny, and I really can't understand why anyone would do that." He looked at her with such a strong gaze that she had to look away.
Elise started to reply but stopped.
"You probably don't realize how difficult Penny's life has been. How could you?" Cody shook his head slowly as he appeared to be remembering something.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Elise started to leave and then turned back to say, "I'm sorry."
"So you're just going to run away again?" He asked loudly enough for others in the coffee shop to look over. "That seems to be your answer for everything. Running away, I mean."
For the first time in a very long time, Elise felt incredibly self-conscious and practically ran out of the shop to escape the curious looks.
She was standing on the sidewalk, trying to figure out which way to go to get back to her car when Cody appeared next to her.
"Are you serious about being sorry?" He asked. "If so, have dinner with me and Penny and tell her yourself."
Almost everything inside of her told Elise to turn down the invitation. After all, she had come here to make it clear that she had no place in her life for a relationship. Yet she was now thinking about spending more time with these people.
"You told Penny you loved her, right?" Cody asked, obviously having trouble understanding. "Why would you do that if you just planned to leave her like everybody else?"
She pictured Penny as she waved and called, “Love you, Elise” outside the store site. She also saw herself as she replied, “Love you too, Penny.”
Elise could not have felt worse at that moment. She had betrayed the trust of a wonderful little girl who deserved so much more. All the thoughts she’d had earlier about cutting all contact with Penny and Cody now seemed so cruel. She wasn’t sure how or why exactly, but they were now connected and that could not be denied.
Without thinking further, Elise answered, “Okay, let’s have dinner.”
Cody smiled and said, “Good. It will mean a lot to Penny.”
For a split second, the question of whether dinner together would also mean a lot to him entered her mind. In response, her lips curled into a slight smile. Elise could not believe how quickly her feelings changed these days. She realized the biggest reason for such new thoughts and changes was standing right in front of her. Since meeting Cody, her well-planned life had gone in directions she had never considered. The fact was she knew very few details about him. She instantly went through a mental list of what she knew: one, he liked to surf. Two, he spent a lot of time sitting in a coffee shop. Three, he had brought Penny into her life. Four…the only fourth thing she could think of was that she could not get him out of his mind.
He seemed to have some idea of what was going in her thinking process. “I have known Penny for a few years now.” Cody smiled at Elise’s obvious confusion. “Penny’s mother, Deborah, worked at the coffee shop for a few months. I’m not sure if she had the drug problem when she started working, but I know within a few months she started missing her shifts or showing up obviously high. Then she just stopped showing up at all.” He paused for a moment, recalling memories that were clearly painful for him. Elise was about to reach out to touch his shoulder when he said, “Anyway, nowadays Penny spends time between me at the coffee shop and her mother on the streets.”
“Do you know where she is now?” Elise asked, feeling the need to hug Penny right away.
“Sure, come on,” the handsome surfer turned toward the coffee shop. “She’s in my office.”
The words in my office caused Elise to stop in her tracks for a second. Suddenly, she felt foolish. This was Cody’s coffee shop, his business and not just some place he hung out.
Just inside the door, Penny reached out and grabbed Cody’s arm. “So tell me is that why you were picketing in front of the Smart-Shop? To protect your coffee shop?”
He grinned and answered, “Well, that’s part of it. I also think it would be bad for lots of folks around here and take away from the vibe of this place.”
Elise followed him past his usual table into a narrow hallway which led to three door. The first two were for restrooms. Third was for his office. He opened the door to reveal a surprisingly large room. She looked around to see it was more of a studio apartment than an office. There was a small kitchen area in one corner, a door to what she assumed was a bathroom, another corner with a couple of sofas around a large television, and still another corner with a large dining room table and several chairs around it. In one of those chairs sat Penny who was deeply concentrating on the paper that she was coloring.
Elise moved behind her and looked to see what the little girl was coloring. What she saw made her feel very happy and incredibly sad at the same time. There on the paper, the little girl had drawn a wobbly-looking building with Smart-Shop written on top. There was a big box drawn on front of the building that she assumed was a window, and inside the box was a stick figure with long hair and a frown. Elise could only assume that it was supposed to be her. Even more upsetting was the drawing Penny was working on now. In the lower corner of the page, she had drawn two figures, a taller one holding the hand of a shorter one. At first sight, Elise smiled at the pair, but her smile vanished when she saw the little circles Penny was drawing to represent tears.
“Oh, honey,” she gasped as she moved closer to the little girl.
Penny had been so focused upon her drawing that she hadn’t noticed anyone come into the room. The sound from Elise startled her and caused her to jump. When she realized Penny was there, a broad smile stretched across her face. A moment later, the smile faded and an expression of suspicion took its place.
“Oh, hello, Elise,” she said quietly. “What are you doing here?” The little girl asked and looked toward Cody.
Before he could say anything, Elise answered, “I came to have dinner with you and Cody!”
The smile returned immediately. “Really? That’s great!”
Now it was Elise’s turn to be startled as the little girl bounced out of the chair and hugged her. She looked down and stroked Penny’s curly red hair.
After a minute, Cody asked, “So what do you want for dinner?” He walked over the kitchen corner of the room and opened a cabinet. “Looks like our choices are spaghetti and…uh…spaghetti.”
“How about some spaghetti?” Elise asked with a laugh.
Penny broke her embrace of Elise to say, “Spaghetti is my favorite out of everything!”
“Wow! I never knew that,” Cody laughed. “So that’s why you ask for spaghetti every time we eat together!”
The three of them laughed, and it felt good. The rest of the evening was spent making and eating dinner. For such
a little girl, Penny certainly ate her share of the spaghetti.
After dinner, Cody asked Penny, “You’ve still got math and reading to do, right?” She nodded her head and made an exaggerated frown. “Elise and I will do the dishes while you get to work.”
She slowly slid off the chair and made a show of walking very slowly over to a little school desk next to the bed. They watched as Penny lifted the desk top and took out a pencil and a math workbook. She let out a heavy sigh and sat down to work.
Elise watched Penny for a moment before turning to look back to Cody. She was surprised to find his bright blue eyes fixed upon her. He smiled a smile that brightened the room and sent butterflies fluttEliseg in Elise’s stomach. She smiled back at him, but her expression faltered a little as she recalled the last time she had felt something similar.
It had been in Elise’s sophomore year of college when she had gotten involved with Brian, a friend of one of her classmates. They had met at a party when both of them were a bit drunk. The session of awkward passion had led to dating and the typical rollercoaster ride of a college relationship. The whole thing had lasted all of three months and counted as her most serious relationship. Elise could not remember the last time she had thought of Brian.
She returned to the table with Cody to find him still smiling at her. “So you’re a master spaghetti maker, coffee entrepreneur, and a school teacher?” she asked him.
Cody blushed a little and answered, “Well, I don’t know about all of that. I can’t make sure she goes to school, but I can try to teach her what an eight-year-old kid should know.” As a clear attempt to change the subject, he said, “I guess I should get these dishes done.” He stood and, without looking at Elise, began clearing the table.
Elise was touched by his obvious discomfort with being praised. She watched him as he watched he washed the dishes and she dried them.
In a completely uncharacteristic moment, Elise found she couldn’t keep from saying, “You’re a good man, Cody.”
He looked up from the sink and grinned. “Ah, shucks, ma’am,” he replied jokingly.
Penny cleared her throat loudly to scold them for making noise.
Elise giggled and Cody made a show of shushing her with his index finger against his lips.
They finished the dishes and were sitting back at the table when Elise noticed that it was after eight.
“Oh, I didn’t realize it was so late!” She exclaimed, getting up from the table.
Penny was instantly next to her. “Her car is way up by clinic. I think we better walk her back,” she announced and grabbed Elise’s hand.
“That’s a good idea,” Cody said, “But I don’t like the we part. I’ll walk her back while you finish you school work.”
Penny’s lower lip came out once again as she began pouting.
“It’s okay, Penny. I’ll see you soon,” Elise said, trying to cheer up the little girl.
“Promise?” she asked, still pouting.
“Promise!” Elise answered and kissed her on the cheek. “You have to study so next time you can read me a story.”
“What story do you like?” Penny asked.
Penny tried to remember any stories but drew a blank. “I like whatever story you like so surprise me, okay?”
“That could be very dangerous,” Cody warned.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” she said. “I’m going to start looking for the perfect story right now.” Penny walked back over to her desk.
As if just noticing Elise’s clothes, he observed, “You don’t have a jacket. You’re going to freeze outside.” He went over to a big wooden wardrobe near the back of the room and opened it. Inside were an assortment of jackets and sweatshirts. Before Elise could ask, Cody said, “You can’t believe how many jackets and stuff gets left behind in the coffee shop. If they’re not claimed in a few weeks, I put them in here. I’ve been meaning to donate them to the Salvation Army. Lucky for you, I haven’t gotten around to it.” He pulled out a light green gabardine woman’s trench coat from the closet and said, “I think this might fit you.”
Elise slipped into the coat like it had been made for her.
“You look beautiful!” Penny exclaimed as she ran back over from her desk.
“I have to agree,” Cody said before ushering Penny back to her desk and kissing the top of her head. “I’ll be back soon to check your work.”
She waved and Penny waved back as Cody led Elise out the door.
The coffee shop was surprisingly busy even at eight thirty. Cody stopped at the counter to tell an older woman taking orders that he would be back soon and that Penny was in the office doing her homework. The woman nodded and examined Elise suspiciously.
Out on the sidewalk, she asked, “So did I pass inspection?”
“Inspection?”
“Well, I couldn’t help notice your cashier giving me a close look. Am I different than all the other girls you’ve back to your office?” Elise asked, realizing that she felt a twinge of jealousy.
“I think the reason Evelyn was staring a little is because you’re the first person besides Penny who I’ve ever brought back there.”
Cody’s response made her feel excited, special, and frightened all at once. But perhaps the main emotion Elise felt was confusion. She seemed to forget everything that mattered in her life whenever she was around Cody. Elise had worked and planned a long time to get where she was, establishing herself as rising star with a future sure to be full of success. However, in the presence of this man, she became nothing more than a lovestruck teenager. In that moment on the sidewalk, it seemed right.
It even seemed right when she reached over and took Cody’s hand in hers. She sensed him looking at her but kept her eyes looking straight ahead. A slight smile twitched on her lips. The night was cool, but the borrowed coat kept her warm and the hand in hers made her feel protected.
They walked along through the various people on the street, silent for a while. Finally, Cody broke the silence with a question, “So how did you wind up working for a big corporation like Smart-Shop?”
The question took Elise by surprise, and it took her a moment to respond. “Well, ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of being in charge.” She smiled at the memories of organizing her sisters when they were young.
“Well, it’s not like it’s my dream job or anything. It was my first job offer out of college and seemed like a good place to start.”
Cody was watching her closely, and Elise was surprised to find that she enjoyed his attention. “So if this isn’t your dream job, what is?”
Cody appeared to have a knack for asking questions that caught her off guard. Elise watched his intense gaze as she answered, “Well, I don’t know… I guess, I’ll know when I find it.”
She nodded and said, “Okay, how about you? What would your dream job be?” Elise found herself very curious to hear his answer.
“Hmmm, I guess my dream job would be something like the head of a charity. I mean, I’d love to be in charge of some huge fund that was for helping people, and I would be in charge of who got the money.” He looked at her as she smiled and then away as if embarrassed by what he said. “You probably think that sounds ridiculous, right?”
Elise shook her head and replied, “No, I don’t think it sounds ridiculous at all. It sounds kind and wonderful.” She squeezed his hand.
They walked for a few minutes without talking. Elise was thinking about how nice this felt and wondered what was going on inside Cody’s head. As they reached her car, Cody said, “Thanks for spending some time with Penny. I know it meant a lot to her.”
“Oh, really? It meant a lot to her? How about you?” She giggled, feeling just like a teenager on her first date.
Cody’s grin and dimples were back. “Yeah, I kinda liked spending time with--”
Before he could finish, Elise pushed him back against her car and kissed him. Her uncharacteristic action took both of them by surprise and resulted in
an awkward first kiss. However, the long kisses that immediately followed felt more comfortable and grew in passion.
Finally, as both of them came back to reality and the fact that they were standing on the street, they loosened their embrace and stared at one another. Their breaths were heavy. For a time, it seemed like neither one wanted to break the spell of the moment by speaking. As if on cue, a taxi going by honked and popped their romantic bubble.
“Okay then,” Cody laughed and took a deep breath.
Elise felt like her head was spinning and couldn’t find word that were right. Eventually, she simply said breathlessly, “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She kissed Cody on the cheek and got into the car. Cody stepped back from the car as Elise started it and drove away.
Elise watched him in the rearview mirror as he stood on the sidewalk waving and still grinning. The sight sent the butterflies fluttering once more.
Chapter 7
As Elise parked in her space at the apartment, she realized that she was lucky not to have been pulled over by the police. With the way her heart was racing and the smile stretching across her face, no cop would believe she was sober.
The smile grew broader as she thought about what an eventful day it had been, from the meeting with the city council to her dinner with Penny and Cody and to that good night kiss. It had certainly been a day better than any she could remember.
The smile was still on her lips as she rode up the elevator and went through the door of her apartment. Elise looked around the place and thought of having Penny and Cody here for a meal. Elise pictured herself at the cutting board and then at the stove. It occurred to her just how long it had been since she had really cooked a meal. She used to love cooking, but it was one of those things she had given up in order to focus on getting ahead at work. The smile was still on her face.
The light on the answering machine was blinking, which was unusual enough to catch her attention at once. She pushed the button to hear her messages. Then her smile disappeared.
