“Without any family?” Felicia suggested, her grin turning wry.
“Yes. Sorry. That was a bit insensitive of me.”
“No, no. I understand. You’re very family-oriented. I get that. Honestly, there are a few things that mystify me about your situation.”
“But not in a bad way?”
“No, not in a bad way at all.”
“I’m glad.”
Our conversation meandered from there, pausing every now and then for us to chew and swallow. I was surprised at how easy it was. I wasn’t an introvert by any means, but I also didn’t consider myself particularly glib. With Felicia, though, talking was as natural as breathing, whether we were talking about the price of flour, delivery schemes of small businesses, or how my family dealt with the very complicated dynamics of having about two dozen teenagers around at all times.
I could have explained to her that we weren’t all related, that my pack actually consisted of three main genetic lines with people marrying in and out all of the time, but that would just complicate things. So, for simplicity’s sake, I let her think we were one giant family.
It was wonderful. It was fun. And before I knew it, all our food was gone, but we continued talking as we sat on that cramped, metal bench. Yet it was entirely enough.
It was too soon, far too soon, to be so emotionally invested, and yet I knew without a doubt that I’d never clicked with someone as easily as I clicked with Felicia.c1MD
Felicia
Two of a Kind
I was freezing my ass off, but I couldn’t care less. When I’d gotten ready, I certainly hadn’t dressed for an early spring night outside, but we’d had to adapt, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
I had tried to hold my tongue at first in the restaurant. I knew how stressful it could be to work with the public. But when the server had rudely cut off Cas, who was possibly one of the most polite people I’d ever met, I was done.
I’d been all geared up to read her the riot act, but a look in Cas’s direction made me realize we were even more on the same page than I had thought, and that was how the two of us ended up leaving.
I hadn’t walked out of a restaurant like that in years, but I was so incredibly relieved that Cas had picked up on all the same rudeness, too, and that he was willing to partake in street food. Was it a fancy steak dinner? Not by a long shot, but it was so damn good.
“So, do you have any customer horror stories?” Cas asked once he’d drained his drink. I was stunned that he had room for anything else after he’d wolfed down three full meals. He had to work out like a fiend to have an appetite like that and keep up his good physique.
Some people had all the luck.
“You bet,” I said, clapping my hands. “Only one situation ever turned kind of dangerous, thankfully, but mostly it’s been little old ladies trying to pull an advanced Karen.”
“Dangerous?” Cas repeated, and I appreciated the slight warning tone in his voice. We knew next to nothing about each other, but I liked that his hackles raised at the thought of someone hassling me.
Protective? Check.
“Yeah, someone tried to rob me. Unfortunately for him, he did it at the end of my first week of business. I’d been so overwhelmed with everything that I forgot to get change for my cash register, so there was only twenty dollars in it.” I shook my head, thinking back to that time. The guy hadn’t had a gun, hadn’t even had a knife, but I’d been so panicked that I’d shown him my empty register anyway.
“You were robbed?” The smile had vanished entirely from Cas’s face, and he looked legitimately upset. That wouldn’t do.
“Wait, no, this is a funny story. I promise.”
“If you say so,” he muttered, crossing his arms. Although I preferred him smiling, the protective look on his face wasn’t half bad. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have him protect me.
Getting a little ahead of yourself there, Felicia.
“You see, I showed him my register, and he stood there for a moment and asked if business was bad. I told him it was my first week and I didn’t have the buzz I’d expected, but then the door chimes, and wouldn’t you know, it’s a couple of cops coming in for fresh donuts. I’d put an advert out that all medical personnel, teachers, and law enforcement got half-priced breakfast items before eleven.”
“Really?” There was that smile. Small, but there again. “Cops literally walked in?”
“Yup. It was so awkward. All four of us froze there for what I swore felt like five solid minutes. It was probably less than ten seconds, but man, in the moment it sure didn’t seem that way.”
He let out a sharp bark of laughter at that. “I can imagine. Did they arrest him?”
Now here was the moment where I knew I was going to learn a lot about Cas real fast. “No, I covered for him so he could go.”
His eyes went wide for a moment-just a moment-before he cleared his throat. “You what?”
“He was a young kid. Couldn’t have been more than eighteen. I grew up in the poorer areas-I know how easy it is to get off on the wrong path. Sometimes you just need a little nudge one way or another to entirely change your life. So, I hoped maybe I could be a good nudge.”
I watched Cas’s face closely as I explained my reasoning. I knew some people would say I was an absolute moron for what I did, but they didn’t get what it was like to be that desperate. The good thing was that while Cas looked concerned, perhaps even a little confused, I saw no judgement in his face. Just a desire to understand.
That told me so much about the kind of person he was. It told me he was a safe soul to be around. Granted, I felt like I’d picked up on that from the moment I met him.
“So, I told him that yes, I did deliveries, so he could tell his mother I was happy to do her birthday party downtown, and then he beat it. I thought that was that, but wouldn’t you know, he came back two weeks later with his grandmother. We didn’t talk much, but he bought her a croissant, coffee, and a small quiche for them to share. They sat at one of my tables for two hours, during which the grandma called two of her friends to join her. All three now stop by at least once a week on their own, and they have an official breakfast at my place once a month.”
Cas let out a low whistle. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
Whoa, that was kind of out of left field. I found myself blushing pretty hard. “What, for giving a kid a second chance?”
“For seeing him as a kid at all.” Cas paused, the muscles in his jaw moving as if he was thinking exactly what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. “I feel like so many folks today look at a person and judge everything about them in a few moments. So much so that they don’t see an actual person at all.
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