The Society

Chapter 5: The Meeting

The Meeting - Cassie Cassadaga

The alarm clock pulsated next to me, both the light and noise being pushed out of it in quick aggressive bursts felt like a stick pointing me hard in my face repeatedly. I smacked it across the top, silencing it with violence and rolled over on my stomach. Normally I wasn’t one for grumpy mood in the morning but these last two days had really taken its toll. Last night, after Duncan’s untimely appearance at Lenny’s Jen, Joe and I had moved on to another bar and had a few more drinks. A few more drinks, that I was now feeling the effects of.

I zipped up my grey dress and pulled my hair into a messy bun. My hair fell around my face, still a little bit damp from the shower. Time for breakfast. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

“Yes?” I opened the door to Mrs. Duchan, in her dressing gown, newspaper under her arm and a brown paper bag in her hand.

She smiled at me and waved the bag in her hand. “I brought croissants.” Sometimes she really is a mind reader. It’s like she knows exactly when I need her and she just happens to appear then.

“Thank you Mrs. Duchan.” She handed me the paper bag and smiled a hearty, motherly smile.

“Do you want to come in for coffee?” As soon as I had extended the invitation she was already bursting past me and into the kitchen. By the time it took me to walk the few steps over to the kitchen she had already put the pot of coffee on and loaded the dishwasher.

“Oh, Mrs. Duchan you shouldn’t do that. You know that I can make you the coffee!” She looked as if I had said something in a foreign language and pushed me down in one of the chair around my small kitchen table.

“Don’t be silly Cassie sweetheart. You know that I have restless hands.” This was Mrs. Duchan’s standard excuse for taking care of you, when she deemed that you needed taking care of.  “So Cassie sweetheart. Tell me, how are you feeling?” She turned around, facing me with a look of care and concern.

“I’m okay Mrs. Duchan, I really am.” She made a grunting sound with her back to me, which told me that she didn’t believe me at all. “Okay, I’m not okay. But I’m getting there. I guess with time it will become easier. Plus I have this big work task to focus on.”

“That’s good Cassie sweetheart. The way that boy treated you, walking away like that. You shouldn’t give him the time of day.” Mrs. Duchan had clearly witnessed a lot more of the argument between Duncan and I that what she was letting on yesterday. No wonder that she brought croissants.

She sat down next to me and we ate our croissants in silence. Without saying anything she grabbed my hand and patted it lightly. She looked at me with compassion. “Do you want another croissant, Cassie sweetheart?”

I shook my head, “No thank you Mrs. Duchan. I really should get to work.”

She nodded, got up from the chair. I turned around to grab my handbag and coat. When I faced her once more, she handed me a croissant wrapped in a napkin and one of my travel cups filled up with coffee. I knew that arguing would be useless, so I took it and smiled.

She hugged me and as we headed out of the door she said, “Well this paper won’t read itself” and scurried down the stairs to her apartment below. As I turned the key to lock my door, I heard her shout, “If you need anything Cassie sweetheart…”

I placed the croissant and the travel cup on my desk and hung up my coat. Joe spotted me from across the office and gave me a gentle wave. He looked like he was suffering from last night’s outings as well. I opened up my laptop and as it started up with its gentle humming noises, I searched through my desk drawers. I’m sure I have a bottle of aspirins in here somewhere.