Waters of Oblivion

Chapter 1.2: The Coffeehouse

The snow was still coming down hard, but plows had cleared the streets of the prior accumulation. Easily getting to the coffeehouse just a few hundred feet away, they ordered their drinks and jumped right into introductions.

It turned out Gabe was a freelance journalist who'd just moved back to the DC area after working in Philadelphia. Reine also took the opportunity to clarify the reason behind her unusual name: it was from the French for queen and not the little brown bird.

Everything was going smoothly until she added a spoonful of honey into her tea.

"You wear a band on your left ring finger." Gabe suddenly noticed what had always been there. "Are you married?"

"Yes. I mean no," she stammered, taking a slow sip of the scorching hot liquid to gather her thoughts.

He cocked his head at her contradiction. "Well, now I'm really intrigued."

Placing the mug back on the table, she kept a firm grip on it with both hands. If only she could tell him the truth. She had no one to share it with, and for some reason she just wanted to tell Gabe everything.

She sighed. Of course she couldn't.

Saying she was older than she looked would have been an understatement. She also couldn't tell him she'd been married over a dozen times. Admitting that none of it was for love, but merely for survival would have made it even worse. Yet, it was the truth.

Some of her husbands were actually bearable; a few she even liked. There was only one man who could have probably made her happy. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to find out. The missed opportunity wasn't her choice, nor was it Timothy Cooper's. The thirty-something London solicitor seemed just as ready to commit to her as she'd been to him, but an unexpected intervention stopped him from doing so.

Reine had often wondered about what could have been, so it was no surprise to her that even after more than one hundred years, she thought of him now. Although he was physically the polar opposite of her current companion – Cooper had dark hair and deep, chocolate brown eyes – he had a similarly magnetic personality as Gabe. They both made her feel at ease, almost to a dangerous level.

Reine had to be cognizant of her words and actions, lest she reveal too much about herself. So although there was a somewhat logical reason she continued to often pretend to have a husband, it was still unnerving that Gabe was silently waiting for the explanation.

She cleared her throat. "No, I'm not married. I wear the ring to discourage unwanted suitors."

"Unwanted suitors." He repeated her words before taking a long drink of his coffee. It was his turn to take the extra time to ponder something. "So, does that mean some suitors could potentially be wanted?"

While his phrasing was adorably awkward, she needed to stop the conversation before it went further. She may have been open to something without commitment, but she'd hate to have to deny him if he decided to ask her out.

"I'm really not into the whole dinner and a movie thing." She swept a wavy, auburn lock – still wet from the snow – from her forehead.

He nodded. "Fair enough."

It was impossible to tell how he had interpreted her answer, but she needed to start a new topic before things got really uncomfortable. "Enough about me. All you've told me is your name, so it's your turn."

He smiled. "All right. What do you want to know?"

"So, you're a journalist. What kind of stuff do you write?"

"Well, I was doing mostly political op-eds and that sort of thing in Philly. But I was offered this more regular position, which is better for paying bills. So I'm putting my journalistic integrity on the line for the travel and leisure section." He frowned.