Page 5 of Yours, Forever

Max: to any federal agents, investigators, or lawyers reading this, it was love at first sight

Javier: I believe it

Jake: very in character

Gabe: Lina and I welcome your wife into the fold

Max: thanks, friends. Now, I'm going to my wife

Chapter 3

Eva

The trip to Vegashad been a blip in the radar of my mind, just as planned. Two weeks had gone by, and it was like I had never left my small town.

I leaned on the counter next to my commercial espresso machine. Patrons lingered in the sitting space at the front of the shop, their favorite beverages and baked goods with them. Windows lined the outside wall, casting diffuse, natural light all over the place.

The main door opened to let in a new customer.

"Hi Eduardo," I called, continuing my maintenance tasks while my friend Alejandra helped him with his order. He was one of my most loyal customers, and got coffee from me almost every day.

Ale,Ah-leh, was the first help that I got running my small-town café. She didn't do it consistently, but enough that I'd finally been able to take time off for a few days.

"The usual?" Ale asked.

"Actually, I'm a bit peckish." Eduardo gazed at the food display right by the entrance. Every time someone came in, pastries, baked goods, and handheld savory foods welcomed them. "I'll take an empanada for dinner and a couple of those cookies."

"You want the empanada warmed up?" Ale grabbed the cookies and put them in a small paper bag.

"Yes, please. Dinner of champions, am I right?"

I smiled but didn't comment; Ale finished up the tasks while I continued mine. She moved efficiently, her tricolor hair in its usual half-bun, showcasing the brown, pink, and orange combination. It contrasted with her dark green, cat eye glasses, and her mostly-black clothes.

I washed a couple of dishes and, when Eduardo's coffee was done, I switched to cleaning the espresso machine.

I'd put careful thought into the design of the space; it wasn't very big, but creating informal sections made it seem bigger. Several small tables lined the long window at the front. A large bookshelf occupied the entirety of the wall opposite to the counter, with two armchairs next to it that formed a reading nook. Next to the armchairs, a big sofa with a coffee table centered the back long wall, with a huge painting of Laguna Island drawing the eye above it.

I gazed at the art and bit back a sigh. I still got a little emotional when looking at it, a large landscape of the bay from the point where Main Street ended and the beach began. The little rocky island that gave the town its name, with a simple stroke of the brush to signify the small lake at the top, and a more detailed rendition of the old mansion on it. The simple design, almost impressionist in its style, brought a flutter to myheart. It reminded me of the spirit of the town; just like the small island, it withstood. Despite harsh weather and stormy waves, it remained.

Before the love for my hometown could overwhelm me, I tore my eyes away and smiled at the lone student using the working table. Most of the youth still living in Laguna Island studied in long distance programs and, once in a while, they liked to work from rEvalution. Often, one or two would spend all day here, headphones on and a focused look on their face. The table at the end of the space, between the sofa and bathrooms, practically belonged to them.

Aside from the student, Luis, and Eduardo sitting on the sofa, a few patrons sat working on their laptops, reading a book, or chatting quietly through a coffee date. I folded the cleaning cloth and threw it on the to-wash pile, then washed my hands. This was the life I had signed up for. This was exactly what I had committed to build and invest in.

Now all I needed was to find a way to increase my income and pay my debts. With that tackled, I could search for a nice guy who loved the simple, tight-knit, small town life as much as I did. At that point, my life would be made.

A tiny smile curled my lips. It always did when I thought of that future.

I stepped around Ale to check the status of the food displays, and made note of the shifting supply tallies. We were a bit over an hour away from closing time, and I would rather leave work with most things ready for the next day.

"Daniel is coming to pick you up later, isn't he?" I asked Ale.

She stood by the Point Of Sale screen; I leaned with my hip on the counter and stared at her.

"Yep, but it's still a bit till we close, and he's not done at work yet." With no current sales to be handled, she mirrored me andcrossed her arms. She faced out, I faced the back, and we took the opportunity to catch up. "He'll come soon, though. Why?"

"Not much." I shrugged. The door leading to the back room was dark next to us, on the wall behind the service station. I mentally added an item to my list, to check what may be missing from the fridge in the back. "I wanted to ask him about the grant application he was working on."

She lifted her eyes and looked briefly past me, before settling on my face. "Beware, because Mr. Grumpypants is in full force. Grants really grind on his nerves, for some reason."