Page 2

Parked next to your car

He presses the send key, waits for it to go through, and then focuses his eyes on the front door again, not moving an inch and barely breathing. The faceplate changes twice as he stares, and finally the automatic doors glide open as a young woman wearing a Giant uniform and carrying a small purse shuffles out. Adam immediately grins and looks down at the dashboard, pretending he didn’t notice, but he can’t stop himself from looking up twice while she traverses, shivering, across the painted lines. Her hand finally rests on the door handle and pulls to no avail, causing Adam to quickly lean across the seat, unlock it manually, and put the cookies on the console. The cold is audible in the few seconds she takes to sit and shut the door again. "Whew, chilly…" she announces in a warm, sultry voice.

Adam’s eyes lock on her. She turns her head over and smiles, exposing rows of perfect white teeth, nearly matched by her pale skin. Her enormous brown eyes blink twice as she pushes the vibrant red hair away from her skinny face. Adam’s nearly blank expression only hints at a smile. "This one’s yours." He says, pointing at the coffee cup farthest from him. "Thank you…" She says clearly, grabbing it and taking a big sip. Adam watches her quietly. When she finishes, she lets out a satisfied sigh and looks over again with a smile.

"Long time no see."

"Really."

"How’ve you been?"

Adam pauses to consider the question while she digs into the box of cookies and shoves a few in her mouth. Adam can only muster weak shrug and a bob of his head. "You?" She continues chewing, her mouth nearly full. "Mmm, caugh compwaugh…" Adam lets a bittersweet nostalgic grin escape his face. "Doesn’t matter how long it’s been… I can still understand you with your mouth full." She makes an adorably embarrassed face, stifles a short laugh, and covers her mouth.

"Sowweh…"

"No worries. Night shift going well? You able to stay awake?"

"Mhm. Wawa French Vanilla always helps… thanks."

"Not a problem."

"…so… how are things with that girl?"

"Danielle? Going good, I guess. We both like to be up late talking and such…"

"Oh, good! I’m glad to hear that."

Adam barely nods his head as he takes a sip of his coffee. He lets a sigh of satisfaction slip, putting the cup back in the holder as he takes a breath to speak.

"Did you hear about that stuff happening in Broomall?"

"In Broomall?! I don’t think so… what’s going on?"

"Man, it’s all over the news. Some weirdo protestors or something are just wandering around the streets and in the neighborhoods. I heard they were blocking up traffic and banging on people’s front doors and stuff. Some of them were hit by cars, and they said some of them might even be starting fights with people…"

"Wow…"

"I don’t know, I just heard the word Broomall on KYW and immediately thought of you."

"Been a little while since I’ve lived there…"

"I know."

"…but I still feel like I should call someone to check up and see what’s going on."

"Who knows, maybe if they’re protesting something good, some of your friends will join forces?"

Shar lets out a muffled snicker as she drinks more of her coffee. Adam smiles too as he takes another sip. The smile gently fades from Adam’s lips, but Shar’s slowly becomes bigger. "I really missed you." She says, following a brief silence. Adam stares at the steering wheel blankly. After a moment, a sigh softly escapes through his nostrils. He edges his head over to her in just enough time to catch the smile bleeding away from Shar’s face as she stares at the dashboard. Adam returns his eyes to the steering wheel where they stay fixed even as she glances over at him a few times. "Okay…" She mumbles, violently shattering the frozen silence. Adam’s eyes don’t move as she fumbles for the next sentence.

[ Continue to page 3 ]