Coffee and Conversations, Tag: Lydia

Saturday, May 28th | 8:30 A.M.

Daniel made his way into Coffeebeans, the local mom and pop coffee shop. He knew that there was a Starbucks down the street, but he preferred to support the local, hard-working men and women who ran their own businesses, rather than a coffee conglomerate that sold overpriced caffeinated beverages. Holding a newspaper in his hand—which he had purchased on the way into the shop—he tucked it under his arm as he approached the counter and ordered his coffee.

When it came to how he ordered his coffee, Daniel differed occasionally. He had a tremendous sweet tooth, but that normally came out for foods and not so much for drinks. He enjoyed the natural sweetness of fruit juices, but he found the sweetened coffees to be too sweet. Daniel knew that he could get a coffee with less sugar, or with a sugar substitute, but he normally preferred to drink his coffee black. Occasionally, he would splurge and get a fancy, sweet coffee; but he found it easier to drink the coffee straight and black, as it came. Plus, that made it easier if he were in the police station or out on assignment to grab a quick cup of plain black coffee rather than have to wait for a specialty coffee to be made for him or to take the time to add sugar or cream to the hot beverage.

His coffee in hand, Daniel thanked the barista and paid her before he secured his newspaper in one hand again and his coffee in the other. Once both were in a secure grip, Daniel made a precursory glance around Coffeebeans, looking for a seat at a table that he wanted. Being a detective, Daniel preferred the seats in the back of restaurants, or at least the ‘cop seat’ at a table. He liked to keep an eye out on the room, his gaze perpetually scanning the area around him.

Daniel made his way toward the back of the coffee shop, having to squeeze past people who were taller than he was, being a little under average for his height. Just as he was passing a much taller man, the guy stepped back, causing Daniel to pull back quickly to avoid getting knocked into and having his coffee spilled on him. In the process of pulling back, however, he bumped into the table closest to him. Once the taller man had passed, Daniel turned to apologize to the woman sitting at the table.

“Sorry,” he said to her, shrugging his shoulders and nodding with his head toward the edge of the table as he added, “I didn’t mean to bump into your table.” He paused for a moment as he straightened up to his full five feet and eight inches of height and glanced at the table top as he surreptitiously studied the dark-haired woman from the corner of his eye. She seemed to be alone and he didn’t see anyone around the coffee shop that seemed to be there with her. He wouldn’t mind the company on this early Saturday morning, so he hoped she wouldn’t mind his company; but there was only one way to find out. “Do you mind if I sit with you?” he asked suddenly, motioning with his hand that was holding his coffee cup to the empty chair next to her.

Daniel's Outfit

Lydia knew she couldn't have too much caffeine but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a relaxing time at Coffeebeans. It was better than sitting at home and the more she did, the more Lydia grew depressed. She knew she had to get out and do something instead of moping around. She hoped the fresh air and homey atmosphere would help brighten her mood a bit.

She had been there for about an hour or so now, her bag in tow along with a sketch pad and a book to read. She brought along her sketch pad to attempt to try and get back into designing again but so far there was no luck. So instead she pulled out one of her favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird and read along the pages while idly sipping on a mango smoothie. The taste of the sweet mango and the cool soft liquid did bring a comfort to her and she could feel it sliding down her throat with ease. She knew the little bundle of joy inside of her would enjoy something like this. To her surprise she hadn't really been craving much of anything abnormal. Sure she liked smoothies a bit more now and oreos but that wasn't weird...maybe dipping the oreos in the smoothie was. The more she thought about it the more she wanted that very snack and wished she would have packed some oreos in her purse.

Sighing to herself she shrugged and snapped out of her little craving and continued to read her book. She was focused on her book and didn't really pay much attention to anyone around her. Plus if anyone knew her they could have just came up and say hi, but other than that she wasn't expecting to run into anyone she knew or anything.

The bump into her table did startled her a bit and blue eyes peeled away from the book as she looked up at the man who bumped into it. She gave a small smile to his sorry and nodded knowing why he apologized. ”It's okay” She told him before letting her eyes fall back onto her book. Hearing him speak again she pulled her eyes back up and smiled again at him, her head shaking ”No not at all please do” She said as she motioned for him to sit.

Daniel waited patiently and quietly for the dark-haired woman to respond, and he didn’t have to wait long before she answered his question. He smiled and nodded at her silently before he spoke up and gave her a soft, “Thank you,” before he started to set his things down and get situated in his seat.

As there were more than just two chairs at the table, Daniel chose to leave an open seat between the chair in which she was sitting and the chair in which he picked to sit. He didn’t want to crowd her or make her feel uncomfortable by sitting directly next to her. After all, if they struck up a conversation during the time they were both sitting together at the table, and the conversation were interesting and intriguing, Daniel knew that one of them could always move into the empty seat to continue the conversation.

Daniel didn’t want to strike up a conversation with the woman right away, wanting to give her some space for a bit longer because he didn’t want to seem like he only asked to sit next to her just so he could bother her by incessantly yakking away at her. Instead, he situated his cup of coffee and his newspaper in front of him, keeping the paper within reach but a safe distance away from the coffee in case there was an accident where the cup of coffee got jostled or spilled, because he didn’t want to get the newspaper that he had just bought wet. As a detective, Daniel was used to seeing accidents made in his field of work, so he tried to avoid them in his days off as much as he could.

As he sat down, Daniel scanned the area once again, his job habits kicking in as his eyes swept over the coffee shop. He took notice of the entrances and exits, places to take cover, and anyone who looked suspicious. Fortunately for him, no one looked suspicious or out of place, so he was able to calm down and relax as much as an off-duty detective could when always used to being in a perpetual state of hyper-vigilance.

Reaching out with his left hand, he pulled the newspaper toward himself and unfolded it. Sipping his coffee, he read in silence for a few minutes, looking over the town’s current events. After about five minutes, the dark-haired woman was beginning to intrigue him again, so now he wanted to start a conversation with her and see what she had to say. Leaning toward her slightly, resting the arm closest to her on the tabletop while the other stayed in his lap, he gave her a welcoming look. “Hi, I’m Daniel, or Danny, if you prefer,” he greeted her suddenly. Then, hoping to make her feel at ease and in an attempt to add a bit of humor to their conversation, he smirked and added quickly, “Now, I’m no customer opinion survey guy, so you don’t have to worry about that . . . but, how is your smoothie?” nodding at her drink as he asked the question.

Lydia nodded and flashed him a small smile "You're welcome" She watched him for a moment settle down and get situated before she returned back to her book. A sudden shiver went throughout her form and she grabbed the navy blue jacket from behind her to wrap it around her bare arms and shoulders.

Letting out a small sigh of relaxation she resumed reading, blue eyes scanning over each word until she was finished with one page, then another and then another. She only briefly glanced up at the man at her table but it was more to see if he was situated than anything.

If he wanted to speak she wouldn't have minded. In fact Lydia liked talking with new people. She missed being out there and getting to know new people but it was hard to let anyone in with all that has happened to her. Not wanting to dwell on it, she shook her head lightly, making those thoughts leave her mind before a hand came up to tuck a piece of stray hair back behind her ear, only to have that same hand rest on her baby bump, idly rubbing it. It was a habit she picked up now and actually it helped calm her and sooth her.

Lydia finally was getting back into her book but the unfolding of a newspaper got her attention and she stole a glimpse of the man at her table. He was definitely interesting and intriguing but he also seemed like he didn't want to be bothered. So she would just let him read his paper undisturbed. Just as she brought her eyes back down onto the page she was on, she caught movement and looked up to see the man leaning towards her. A brow raised briefly before a friendly smile took over her features "Hi, I'm Lydia...just Lydia" She giggled, extremely friendly as she looked. "Ah um, well I hadn't pegged you for one but my smoothie is good." Well at least he was friendly....friendly and cute...both good combinations "How about your coffee is it good?" She asked, as she closed her book and placed it on the table in front of her. Perhaps Lydia was a bit too eager when he struck up conversation but even if she was, she happy to just be talking to someone again