Fawn met Dekker inside a coffeehouse one awful morning. Her simple order for a simple coffee became the perfect excuse for a lovestruck optimistic in search for the right moment for love to just happen.
Bogart. Dekker loves the films of Humphrey Bogart. To him, Bogie was the quintessential man. Not just the tough guy but a kidder with a soft touch of humor and charm. Every movie Bogart made is a testament to how Dekker perceives the world around him, full romance and bravado.
The onscreen chemistry Bogart shared with the likes of Hepburn and (off-screen) with Becall was the kind of relationships Dekker unsuccessfully sought after with every love interest he’s managed to ruin.
Searching for the right person and furthermore, the right moment was a recipe for dying alone without ever having truly loved.
Dekker was fully aware of Father Time’s unforgiving relationship with Lady Luck. He would spend the majority of his adult life alone; now a thirty-something bachelor living a dangerous life in a dangerous profession.
To settle was to fail and Dekker was no quitter. There’s a pending right moment with the right person somewhere and that somewhere so happened to be inside a coffee shop between Perfect Street and Not-A-Chance Avenue when a woman stumbled in through the doors of a coffee house mumbling up a storm of obscenities about how’s she’s so late and how much she hates this city.
A caffeine freak or just stuck in the rigmarole of working life; this visibly frustrated woman could have easily settled for a cup of coffee anywhere along this city block where morning Joe flowed plentifully at any bodega, food cart, or newspaper stand. But in all the coffee joints in this city, she walked into his, Coffee Java Coffee. Stupid name, damn good coffee. So it’s understandable she would choose to suffer rather than settle.
Dekker was fully aware of Father Time’s unforgiving relationship with Lady Luck.Doe-eyed Girl
Dekker watched as the hotheaded woman waited patiently in line for ten minutes before her opportunity to order from the smug face barista manning the cash register.
Shit! My purse… the fucking cab!
Oh misfortunes of fate, why torture this poor woman more than you have this earliest of mornings? Thank you, thank you, you invisible miscreants.
Dekker couldn’t help but smile. This forgetful moment for this woman is just the opportunity he needs to be the white knight he so desired to become.
“What the hell are you smiling at?”
Dekker immediately averts his gaze. He didn’t realize he was staring at the woman as she hurried past him and out the entrance.
Think fast. Think smooth… What would Bogart do?
…
Dekker paid for the woman’s coffee and tipped the barista a quite handsome amount of hush money.
Just as the woman exited the coffee shop, she was met by the presumed cab driver who carried a purse in hand.
The woman embraced the cab driver and planted an Auntie like smooch on the side of his cheek, thanking him profusely.
“My coffee. The one without all the bells and whistles, c’mon! I just ordered it!
Boy, she’s really about to give it to that barista. He played it cool, though. Held his tongue. Dekker guessed he was used to this sort of verbal assault with how particular people are about their coffee.
Dekker stood behind the woman waiting for his moment to step up to the plate of chivalry and knock that trope outta the park.
“Excuse me, miss. I believe I may have taken your coffee by accident.”
“Accident… Really? Was it an accident you bought two cups of coffee?”
Shit.
“From the gift of obvious perception, ” pointing at her eyes. “I’ve noticed you’ve been standing over there alone at that table with that stupid look on your face.”
Dekker felt naked under the scrutiny of her gaze waiting for the scolding brown stain of coffee wash him of embarrassment.
“It happens more than you think.”
“Whateva… creep,” the woman offers in reply only after re-engaging the safety trigger on her throwing arm.
“Nice shirt.”
On her retreat, the woman’s hand made contact with Dekker’s arm which sent a surge of energy through his body that emitted this from his mouth:
“Doe-Eyed Girl.”
It was as if the spirit of Bogart possessed him in that very moment to make him say the one thing to stop this woman from storming out of the coffee shop and away from their moment.
Fawn stops short of the exit and turns around, “What did you say?”
“I like your name.”
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