For the Road

1

The smell of bitter coffee engulfs Anne as she places her order at the café counter. She thanks them once again and takes a step back. Plastered on the walls are aesthetic pictures of tea, coffee, and biscuits. She notices the café isn't as filled as it normally is, which is a relief. Dark-brown tables line the walls and fill the space. Most of the tables have two or four chairs. One of the walls is lined with brick, whereas most are covered with near-black paint.

"Your hair is gorgeous, where did you get it done?" Anne turns and sees a woman standing next to her. Anne reaches up and lightly touches her hair, trying to remember what she's done with it today.

"Where? This salon in Homes Chapel," Anne answers. The woman gives an understand nod, and they both awkwardly turn back towards the counter. Anne glances back towards the woman and notices her Louis Vuitton handbag. The bag is on the smaller size and is dark brown with cream-colored handles. Anne is instantly jealous.

"I love your handbag," Anne whispers. The woman looks up at Anne and smiles softly. Anne watches as she opens her mouth to speak but is cut off by the sound of a number being called. Anne gulps nervously and glances down at her ticket, realizing that the number is her own.

She goes to the cashier and grabs her drink. Anne looks back to where she was standing, hoping to find the woman she'd been speaking to before. She makes eye contact with her from across the café in the corner. The woman waves her over, smiling. After making sure the woman isn't waving over someone else, Anne hurries over to the table.

"Want to sit with me," she says. Anne shrugs, taking the seat in front of the woman. It's been a while since Anne's made any new friends, and she's looking into branching out a little. Her social life has taken a hit with the stress from her job and trying to support her son through university. She has no clue how she's handling it all, but she's doing fine so far.

Anne takes the time to go over the other woman's features. She's in her mid-forties, Anne'd guess with brown hair hanging a little past her shoulder. Her bottom lip is plump, and her eyebrows are arched. The woman's eyes are blue, reminding Anne of the ocean. She looks familiar in a strange way that Anne couldn't place, but she shrugs it off.

"I'm Johannah, but you can call me Jay," The woman introduces. Anne smiles, now being able to place a name with a face. She decides that Jay suits the woman.

"I'm Anne, but you can call me Anne," Anne replies. Jay laughs. Anne's more than proud of herself for making Jay laugh. It isn't very often that someone laughs at Anne's jokes. Normally it's just her son, Harry, who laughs. They're both huge suckers for cheesy jokes.

"So, Anne, I assume you live in Homes Chapel?" Anne takes a sip from her drink and nods.

"Yeah, how about you," Anne asks. Jay tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Anne picks up her biscuit absentmindedly and dunks it into her drink, only to take a bite of it a moment later.

"Doncaster for me. Do you have any children?" Anne can tell that Jay doesn't seem as open to the idea of discussing in-depth details about her personal life, which Anne respects. She's never been talkative herself. Anne's surprised with what she's revealed already, but she figures it has something to do with Jay's inviting personality.

"Yeah, I have a 23-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son. How about you?" Gemma, her oldest, got her degree last year and is now a blogger. Her son, Harry, just finished his first year at university and she couldn't be prouder.

"I've got seven. My oldest is 22, then 15, 13, 10, 10, and two four-month-olds. That's five girls and two boys, in total. I've even got two sets of twins," Jay explains. Anne feels tired just listening to it all. Seven kids under one roof sounds too high-stress for Anne. She has no clue how Jay's still breathing.

"That's certainly a hand-full, how've you handled it? I'm sure you've done good so far," Anne says. Jay sighs loudly and take another sip from her drink. Anne can nearly see the gears in the woman's head move as she thinks.

"I have no clue. My oldest helps a lot, though. He's the sweetest and always calls me. I love him to death. He's put up with so much. I've been married twice before, but now I'm engaged to be married at the end of the month." Anne's face lightens up.

"That must be so exciting!" Jay blushes lightly and shrugs Anne off. Anne loves weddings. In fact, she loves most social gatherings. She prefers planning events rather than attending them, but she tends to make exceptions for weddings. Something about planning an event and watching it run smoothly does something for her.

"Yeah, we've got a lot of things planned already, so there isn't much more to do," Jay admits.

Anne watches as the woman glances at her wristwatch and sighs loudly, "Well, I have to run, but it was a pleasure chatting to you." Jay stands and grabs her bag. Before leaving, however, she turns to Anne. "I had such a great time talking to you, do you think it would be weird if I got your number, so we can chat again?"

"No problem at all! I've had a great time talking to you too. Here, I'll write it down, so you can be on your way," Anne says, scribbling down her number on a nearby napkin and handing it to Jay. Jay looks it over and smiles, shoving it into her bag. Anne stands, figuring she better be on her way as well, when Jay pulls her in for a hug.

"Again, such a great time talking to you. I'll text you," Jay promises, as she exits the cafe. Anne laughs lightly, tossing her plastic cup in the bin. 

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Hey guys! So this is a new book and I'm not really sure how I feel about it quite yet. If you like it, however, please vote and comment so I know! Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed! ~B