009

June walked hastily along the streets of Manhattan, stepping on the last dry leaves that had fallen from the trees as winter approached, in the direction of the one place in the whole of Manhattan that sold the only coffee worth drinking. In fact, she didn’t have a preferred season, but rather enjoyed the characteristics of each one. In Autumn’s case it was the dry fresh air and somewhat subtle perfume of dry leaves. Coming to the city was in itself tiresome enough without having to run all the errands she’d had to since the early hours of the morning, so even when she stayed at John’s place, she tried to make the visit as short as possible, squeezing all her appointments as tight as her agenda allowed for. It had been a long day, and she was anxious to curl her fingers around that warm coffee cup and relax in the cozy atmosphere of the coffee house.

As she walked through the door she quickly glanced at the little round table by the corner and noticed that the two deep red velvet armchairs next to it were empty, then after a fleeting salute to the attendant and subsequent order of her coffee, she navigated among the small chairs and seats scattered around the room towards her selected place. After taking off her coat and placing her notebook and pencil on the table, she discretely took off her shoes and placed them on top of the radiator that ran low along the base of the wall. The one thing that bugged her about the cooler seasons was that there was no method for keeping her feet warm, whatever she wore wouldn’t be enough to prevent them from freezing, unless, that is, she exposed them directly to a heat source. She closed her eyes and smiled at the feeling of the comfortable warmth that finally reached her blood. 

She usually met with other young authors of the publishing company for creative workshops or discussions of certain subjects to keep their minds in motion in an attempt to prevent writers’ block to find its way. The usual outcome was that she got too hung up with certain subjects, like the one from the last meeting. Can art exist without suffering? She felt how the fire of her inspiration burned bright with the fuel of her experiences around the world, her dreams, and also her nightmares. As she wrote down the flow of ideas and thoughts that came to her mind, at the same time she unconsciously scanned her surroundings with her peripheral vision. Somebody coughed, then a glass was broken in the kitchen, people came in and out. None of them altered her concentration, but she was aware of everything happening around her.

After more than an hour and a half later, she stretched her back for a brief moment before slouching back on the fluffy cushions of the sofa and lazily reaching for her almost finished second cup of coffee. When she was putting the empty cup back on the table in front of her, she saw a familiar figure walk past the window on her left. The familiar figure walked towards the entrance of the coffee house and stepped in. His face was hidden by spiky strands of hair that peeked from underneath the baseball cap and he was wearing sunglasses despite the fact that the sun was already beginning to set behind the tall buildings of Manhattan. It had been a while since they had last seen each other, at least personally. Had it been more than a year? Probably. His image right now couldn’t be further away from the polished one he’d been sporting lately in magazines and TV shows, but his features were nonetheless unmistakable.

He approached the counter and ordered a black coffee, but June decided to wait until he was done to approach him and say hi. He probably had enough staring at him as it was for her to add to the crowd. He looked as if he attempted to look shaggy but he just couldn’t make it work: blue jeans, white T shirt and a thigh-length leather jacket that looked as it had been just taken off a coat-hanger from some expensive store on

5^th Avenue

. His hair, even under its seclusion, made it evident that whoever took care of it was an expert and the skin behind the two day beard was perfectly smooth. She turned her gaze back to the papers she’d splayed on the small surface of the table and brushed off the rubber debris she’d left some minutes earlier. As she did so she didn’t realize that the man that was by the counter had glanced at her a couple of times while he waited, though she could hear his distinct voice as he held an apparently gentle conversation with the attendant, causing the young woman to let out a couple of loud giggles that resonated throughout the room. June tightened a smile, she was no stranger to the effects that manly, raspy voice produced.

Then she felt it, his penetrating stare, and immediately turned her head in his direction, only to see him swaggering towards her with the head slightly tilted to a side as he took off his sunglasses with his free hand, uncovering his furrowed brow. With a slightly embarrassed smirk that made his face look ever so slightly innocent and naïve, he asked.

“June?” 

“Jon”, she smiled as she stood up to greet him. “Long time no see” 

“Yeah…” he said with a tired voice before embracing her in a hug. “How’ve ya been, girl?”. He sighed deeply and lingered in the hug. He’d been alone and secluded for almost 24 hours, he hadn’t expected to meet anybody he knew, but he secretly appreciated it. The shoes under the table caught his attention and provoked a soft chuckle to escape his throat. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

June frowned, mesmerized. She pulled away and followed the direction of Jon’s gaze as he looked down to the floor. Her shoes. She giggled and looked at Jon’s questioning but amused look. “Long story”, she replied to his unspoken question.

She quickly turned to the table and started to put on her shoes, but somehow what was supposed to take her no more than a minute seemed to be taking ages. She felt his stare. Why was she nervous?

“Need any help?” he offered, still amused, with a wide smile now drawn on his face. He was surprised that such a mundane and silly thing was somehow lifting his spirits up.

“Nah, nah, big girl here, no need to-“

Jon didn’t wait for her to finish and squatted, his right foot slightly ahead. “I’ll get the left one”. He patiently started loosening the cords of the shoe. “So what brings you to town? New book comin’ out? I heard you’ve been doin’ great”

“The usual staff meetings, random errands” June answered carelessly while Jon grabbed her ankle to slide her foot inside the shoe, trying to ignore the fact that as she bent over to tie her shoes, their heads almost touched. “What about you? How’s the little princess? I heard she’s a cutie”.

“She is…I can’t believe she’s already 5 months old”, he nodded, and placed her foot back on the floor, he let out a puff of air in amusement at acknowledging his own situation: “She likes to hear the Cinderella story”. Finally, he skillfully tied the cords.

June chortled. “It was my favorite story, too”.

“There ya go”, Jon slapped the shoe and straightened back up. He felt the bitterness of his thoughts fill his veins. Fairy tales. Happy endings. Bullshit. “’Was’, huh?”

“Well, it still is…it’s just that I have a whole new perspective about it now”

“Welcome to the club…”. Jon added ironically and his own words surprised him. June’s baffled reaction mirrored his. Only Richie knew the reason why Jon had left his wife and baby in New Jersey the previous afternoon and fled to his apartment in New York. He’d been determined not to let anyone else know anything until he was able to figure it out by himself and fix it. He’d done it before, specially these past few months, and this time wasn’t going to be the exception. He just needed to be alone for a short while. However, the person that was now standing in front of him provided a sort of comfort, a feeling of no barriers between them. He suddenly just didn’t feel like hiding or secluding. He retrieved his cup of coffee from the table and took a sip.

“I was on my way out, I’ll walk out with you”, June commented softly, and Jon nodded silently as he took another long sip from his cup, appreciating no further inquiries. She couldn’t help but host a pinch of concern: Jon looked wary, and just off bed. She knew how crazy the rock n’ roll kind of life could get - John had been very thorough in recapitulating his adventures -, but as she was tempted by reason to think that Jon was probably in town for other activities that didn’t necessarily include changing diapers, his eyes told her that fun was the last thing he’d been having.

“I seriously need to get a computer” June commented in an attempt to change the subject to a less serious one as she picked up her belongings and grabbed her coat. Jon kept sipping from his cup, thoughtful. After putting on her coat, she turned around to face Jon again. There was no answer for her question and he looked adrift.  “Jon?”

“Can you hang on for a second?” he didn’t wait for her answer and pursing his lips walked back to the counter. June saw him speak to the attendant, then signal for her to walk over.

As she did, June observed how Jon brushed his left hand over his right cheek and scratched his beard, then ran his middle and index finger along the the line of his jaw and chin. She also noticed his wedding band.

When June finally reached him, he spoke “Café alla panna, right? No sugar. It’ll be ready in just a moment” he smiled mischievously and tapped his chin with his fingers, his eyes sparkling. “What are your plans for later?”

“I should get going back home”, June shrugged. “But I’ll drink one more cup o’ coffee with you, then I can blame you for not being able to sleep tonight”. It wasn’t supposed to come out like that, but once she heard it, she just smiled. It was too late to fix it.

Jon smirked. “Well, you have unexpected company for dinner. My place’s right around the corner so…how ‘bout some catching up?”

Frustratingly charming, that’s what he was. “Yeah, sure, that would be nice”, she accepted casually with a nod. Everything he said, was said with such confidence that the idea of contradicting him seemed impossible. June didn’t want to, either.