head to emphasize the excellent idea, she tossed another abandoned cup of cold coffee into the sink and packed up her laptop into her computer case. Slipping out of her building, she walked the five blocks to the gourmet coffee shop, ordering a large frappe. Sitting down in the relatively empty coffee shop, she felt even better and she logged into her computer and felt the story line come back. There were just enough people moving around and talking that it felt like white noise to her. The small distractions actually helped put her into a more concentrated state of mind.
She was working through the plot, building up the characters as they started to fight with each other when a shadow fell over her computer. She tried to ignore it and breathed deeply, smelling the strong, fragrant coffee with touches of cinnamon and vanilla, ingredients several of the patrons obviously added more often than others since it scented the store nicely. Closing her eyes for a moment, she forced her mind to concentrate. There was something wrong though. Something inside the coffee shop had changed and she could feel it, if not understand it. Some aura had gone bad, which broke into her concentration.
She remembered reading mystery novels where the victim felt something wrong, his or her hair standing up on the nape of their necks. She’d always thought they were silly to ignore that feeling, but here she was, trying to rationalize that feeling, thinking she was safe since she was in a public place with people milling about and sitting relatively close by at the other tables. She almost smiled to herself as she thought of a way to incorporate that feeling into her current plot, but then thought of the results of ignoring that sensation and forced her fingers to freeze on the keyboard.
Looking around, she wondered what could possibly have made her so wary all of a sudden. She searched the faces of the other patrons, looking for something wrong, something that didn’t fit. But no one seemed out of place and she didn’t see any malicious expressions directed her way. Of course, serial killers and rapists rarely had a sign advertising their intentions, did they? She almost laughed at the way her mind had drifted into one scenario after another, ending at looking up and seeing a horrible person glaring at her with malicious intent.
Then her gaze swerved to the back of the store, where the clerks were making coffee for the newest patrons and there she saw him as he stared across the store at her. Drew.
In an odd way, she viewed the last few moments objectively and thought how ironic it was that the man who had shared her life for so many years had created such a bizarre reaction in her subconscious mind. It was just like in those mysteries, but, with relief, she knew that she didn’t consider Drew to be the villain in her life anymore. He was just…the past, she thought analytically. Not a good part of her past, but at least it was over, thanks to Victor’s help.
Drew was standing in line for a cup of coffee, his eyes staring right at her with his arms crossed over his chest in the aggressive way she remembered so well. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. She waited, watching him and wondering, where was the anger? Where was the resentment she’d felt so strongly after he left her for his mistress? Why wasn’t she breaking down in tears and sobbing out her frustration and anger over his betrayal?
There was nothing. Looking at the handsome man with classic blond hair and blue eyes, she wondered what it was she’d seen in him all those years ago. He was goodlooking, there was no way to deny that. But now, knowing Victor and all of his strengths as well as the hard, external ruggedness of his features, she wondered what it was about Drew that made him look so…unappealing, she finally defined. He had a weak chin and pointed nose, his shoulders were droopy and he didn’t dress nearly as nicely as she’d remembered. Drew wasn’t even in
She was working through the plot, building up the characters as they started to fight with each other when a shadow fell over her computer. She tried to ignore it and breathed deeply, smelling the strong, fragrant coffee with touches of cinnamon and vanilla, ingredients several of the patrons obviously added more often than others since it scented the store nicely. Closing her eyes for a moment, she forced her mind to concentrate. There was something wrong though. Something inside the coffee shop had changed and she could feel it, if not understand it. Some aura had gone bad, which broke into her concentration.
She remembered reading mystery novels where the victim felt something wrong, his or her hair standing up on the nape of their necks. She’d always thought they were silly to ignore that feeling, but here she was, trying to rationalize that feeling, thinking she was safe since she was in a public place with people milling about and sitting relatively close by at the other tables. She almost smiled to herself as she thought of a way to incorporate that feeling into her current plot, but then thought of the results of ignoring that sensation and forced her fingers to freeze on the keyboard.
Looking around, she wondered what could possibly have made her so wary all of a sudden. She searched the faces of the other patrons, looking for something wrong, something that didn’t fit. But no one seemed out of place and she didn’t see any malicious expressions directed her way. Of course, serial killers and rapists rarely had a sign advertising their intentions, did they? She almost laughed at the way her mind had drifted into one scenario after another, ending at looking up and seeing a horrible person glaring at her with malicious intent.
Then her gaze swerved to the back of the store, where the clerks were making coffee for the newest patrons and there she saw him as he stared across the store at her. Drew.
In an odd way, she viewed the last few moments objectively and thought how ironic it was that the man who had shared her life for so many years had created such a bizarre reaction in her subconscious mind. It was just like in those mysteries, but, with relief, she knew that she didn’t consider Drew to be the villain in her life anymore. He was just…the past, she thought analytically. Not a good part of her past, but at least it was over, thanks to Victor’s help.
Drew was standing in line for a cup of coffee, his eyes staring right at her with his arms crossed over his chest in the aggressive way she remembered so well. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. She waited, watching him and wondering, where was the anger? Where was the resentment she’d felt so strongly after he left her for his mistress? Why wasn’t she breaking down in tears and sobbing out her frustration and anger over his betrayal?
There was nothing. Looking at the handsome man with classic blond hair and blue eyes, she wondered what it was she’d seen in him all those years ago. He was goodlooking, there was no way to deny that. But now, knowing Victor and all of his strengths as well as the hard, external ruggedness of his features, she wondered what it was about Drew that made him look so…unappealing, she finally defined. He had a weak chin and pointed nose, his shoulders were droopy and he didn’t dress nearly as nicely as she’d remembered. Drew wasn’t even in
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