Coffee and Books 1

Chapter 2

I could kiss Thomas for his perfect timing! I rush out off the door, the box with muffins in my hand. I didn't even get my jacket and I still have my apron on. It's a bit chilly outside, as it has been cast over all day and I'm just wearing a green shirtdress paired with dark green leggings. I should have grabbed my jacket. But I couldn't care less, I'm just glad I got away from a very awkward situation. Besides, summer is coming soon. The weather will improve in a short while, I'm just a little ahead of time with my outfit.
I whistle softly to the tune of Bob Marley's Jammin', a song that was playing in the coffee shop just before I left. Aunt Yvonne often shows her Jamaican roots in her choice of music.

Stark Tower is just a ten minute walk from the coffee shop. We don't have a delivery service, but we make an exception for some companies at our block, Stark Industries being one of them. Once or twice a week they order muffins or cake, probably when there is a meeting or something. Sometimes the order is just addressed to Stark Tower, sometimes to The Avengers. I guess they like muffins too. The last couple of months there is also the occasional order of books, on a wide arrange of topics. Just last week I delivered some works on Greek and Roman mythology, along with a box of muffins.

Away from Chad, I can feel my shoulders relax again and I take deep breaths. The streets are busy like they always are, but I don't mind the hustle and bustle. When I glance up at the sky I regret again not taking my jacket, I don't think I will get back without catching some rain. Or thunder, as I hear a faint rumble in the distance.

Across the street from Stark Tower there is a half an acre of green, with a monument for the people that lost their lives during the alien invasion. On the site used to be a building, but that got demolished in the attack. The monument is a tall marble column, pointing at the sky, with the names of the people inscripted at the bottom. It's in the middle of a lawn, surrounded by some park benches.
The column always reminds me of the great obelisk in the middle of Place de la Concordia in Paris. I have visited the French capital a couple of times, it was just a five hour drive from my hometown in Holland. Compared to some of the distances here in the US, that is nothing.

Before the monument a group of people is gathered behind a barrier. They carry signs that say things like 'No more secrets', 'Stark sucks' and 'The Avengers are criminals'. It's a well known sight, there have been protesters outside Stark Tower ever since the attack on the city. I get it, I really do. Your whole life gets turned upside down, maybe you lose loved ones... You are looking for someone to blame. I don't know if Stark or the Avengers are to blame for the alien invasion. I don't think they invited the aliens over for tea.

Lisa told me the protests aren't that heavy anymore as they were in the beginning, only the hard core protesters are left. Most people have moved on. The public is getting more and more used to having a few extra special people in their society, people like The Avengers. They're celebrities now, some of them show up in the entertainment section of newspapers and on tv. But this is Manhattan, New York, there are lots of famous people here. Every now and then we've got photographers waiting outside the coffee shop. Thomas always knows which one of our guests they're after, he seems to know every actor, singer or tv-star. One time, we even had to get one of the guests out through the back door. Thomas said he was from some famous boy band, but I didn't recognise him. My boy band phase was almost fifteen years ago.

Just as the first big drops of rain start to fall I enter the lobby of Stark Tower. It's a huge white space, with several elevator doors to my right, glass doors with metal detectors and guards at the end and a big reception desk to my left. I make my way to the reception desk. All the receptionists are busy, so I wait my turn and look around for a bit. In the lobby it's a coming and going of people, most of them dressed in business suits. There's also the occasional dark uniform, a bit military like. I guess they're special forces or something, like The Avengers.