Chasing Dandelions

Chapter 5

Charlie Sutherland could always be found at the corner where the road met the sand. He was the tall, lanky college student with easy looks but a slight smirk that he kept in the corner of his mouth, like he held a secret no one could ever know.

Charlie crossed the street from his neighborhood, his board underneath his arm. He carried it easily, years of practice making the motion simple for him. While the surfboard under his arm and the faded navy-blue and white board shorts indicated who he was, it was the musings that passed like traffic on a Friday at 5 o'clock that reflected who he really was inside. Those musings kept him bottled up and secret— with the world never really knowing him— and that was how he wanted it. As they all say, never judge a book by its cover—Charlie was a full thesaurus tucked away behind a Sports Illustrated cover.

He strolled to the coffee shop that was half a mile from the boardwalk and carefully set his board against the brick wall, adjusting his backpack and swinging the door open. The bell rang and Charlie looked around at all the people who were busy chatting around coffee and scones, tables full of college students studying for exams and writing papers.

Heather, the owner, glanced up and smiled when she saw him. "Good morning, Charlie!"

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked with a grin, unzipping his backpack and digging around for his wallet. He'd been a regular since his grandfather had passed, nearly four years ago, and Heather was one of six people he didn't mind speaking to.

"Oh, just making coffee for punk kids," she rolled her eyes and lowered her voice to a whisper. "That guy over there? The one with the spiked-up hair, sitting next to the blonde girl."

Charlie looked over to a table where two teenagers were whispering and cuddling on a chair that was clearly intended to fit one person. "Yeah?" He asked, turning to face Heather with a chuckle.

"They've been here since 7 o'clock. It is now 9 o'clock. Two whole hours, Charlie. And only one of them bought something. So help me God, I'm not in the mood for this today. Why are two teenagers out so early? Where are their parents?"

"Well, it looks like they're having a meaningful conversation."

"They're grossing me out. So help me, if he goes in for the kill and they start making out. . ." Heather trailed off, shuddering.

"I'm sure you'd handle it with the utmost professionalism."

"Yeah, yeah. Hazelnut latte?"

"You know me."

Heather took the five dollar bill he held out to her and popped open the cash register, digging around for change. "What are you doing today?"

"Right now I'm headed out to surf."

Heather nodded, her lips pursed in amusement. "Naturally."

"Then, I start a new job this afternoon."

Her head shot up. "Charlie!' she scolded. "I didn't know you were looking. You should've applied here—you practically live here as it is."

"Yeah, but between me and you," he dropped his voice to a whisper, imitating her. "The owner can be a real...."

"Okay!" Heather's eyes rolled up to the ceiling and she shook her head. "Forget I said anything. You and your sarcasm, Charlie...jeez." She dumped the change into his open palm and he tucked it away into the side pocket of his backpack.

Charlie grinned. "Awe, come on. You know if I worked here, it would ruin the special bond we have now. Plus, you'd fire me within a month."

"Yep, sounds about right. Besides that, I'm training someone new anyway and I would not be in the mood for your shenanigans."