Story #36 - Coffee

Hi everyone! For this week's story, I wrote about an age-group I haven't really tackled before - middle-aged! ;) As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially on how I did with this new perspective.

Title: Coffee (suggestions welcomed)
Warnings: none
Summary:  A middle-aged divorcee looking for romance.
Length: ~2,600 words
Notes: Third person point of view, past tense. Genre is... drama, I guess.

Coffee

                Charlie walked quickly to the elevator. He was running a bit late for work, but not late enough that someone would notice right away. He had to squash his urge to literally make a run for it (the elevator doors were closing!) because he knew that at this point actually running would be way more noticeable than being five or so minutes late because he missed the elevator.

Still, he was usually so punctual! But this morning had started off badly.  Shelby had overslept, and he’d had to get her all ready in time and drop her off at school and he’d had no time to get ready himself. He had dropped Shelby off while wearing his pajamas. Not something he was proud of, but at least he’d managed to get her to school on time. And almost make it to work on time.

Charlie had to admit that these things were easier when he’d had Claire around helping him out. But the divorce was for the best – it just hadn’t been working out between them, as much as they’d tried. And he was grateful that he got Shelby during most of the week, even if sometimes it made him late for work.

Charlie made it to the elevator just in time to see the doors closed. He sighed, crossed his arms, and resigned himself to waiting. Part of him wanted to take the stairs, but going up twenty flights would probably take longer than waiting for the elevator.

Charlie glanced at his watch. It was exactly 9:00 am right now. His meeting started at 9:30, but he had wanted to get to his office in time to sort through all his notes and make sure he knew what he was doing. Plus, Arthur had said he might stop by to discuss the lawsuit. He didn’t want Arthur to come to his empty office.

Finally! At 9:03, the elevator doors opened again. Charlie picked up his briefcase, adjusted his spectacles, and stepped inside. He pressed the button for floor 23 and was about to press the Close Doors button when he noticed a woman half-hurrying toward the elevator in the same way he had been earlier. So instead he pressed the Open Doors button for her, until she made it to the elevator (it took her a bit longer than him, since she was wearing professional high heels which seemed difficult to walk in).

“Thanks,” she said a bit breathlessly as she walked into the elevator.

“No problem,” Charlie said, finally releasing the Open Doors button. “Which floor?”

“24,” the woman said. Charlie pressed it for her and they waited in silence for a bit.

Charlie glanced surreptitiously (he hoped) at his watch. 9:06. Okay. That was fine. He had about 25 minutes to prepare. He just had to hope that Arthur hadn’t stopped by his office. 

“You got somewhere to be?” The woman asked him, raising a thin eyebrow.

“Oh, sorry,” Charlie said, not sure why he was apologizing. They were at work. Of course he had somewhere to be. “It’s just, I’ve got a meeting at 9:30, and I want to be ready for it.”

The woman nodded. “Ah,” she said, tucking some wispy strands of blonde/gray hair behind her ear. “Are you a part of the group that’s working on that Toyota lawsuit?”

Charlie nodded. He suddenly felt an absurd urge to impress this woman, who didn’t seem easily impressed. “I’m actually in charge of it,” he said.

“Hmm,” said the woman noncommittally.

Before they could say anything else, the elevator dinged. They had arrived at floor 23. Charlie wasn’t so eager anymore to get into his office, but he couldn’t stand here chatting to this mysterious woman all day, as much as he’d like to.

“That’s my stop,” he said idiotically, even going so far as to do a little bow in the woman’s direction. She shook her head and smiled.

“Good luck in the meeting.”

“Thanks,” he said, and stepped out of the elevator. He waited until the doors closed on her (giving her a little wave) before turning and heading to his office with a grin.

He hadn’t felt a connection as instant as that with anyone since Claire. Part of him was wary of that feeling, because it hadn’t worked out with Claire. But he was older now, and wiser, and surer of his feelings.

He hoped this wouldn’t be the last he saw of that woman.

A few days later, Charlie was running late again. This time it had been because Shelby had spilled oatmeal all over herself (you’d think she’d have outgrown the clumsy stage by the time she was thirteen, but he guessed that she was just doomed to be a klutz for life). He’d had to try to get the stain out, and then announce it hopeless and get her some new clothes.

She’d been late to school. They had had a little tussle over whether he should mark “Parent Fault” or “Student Fault” on the tardy form. In the end they had compromised and marked both.

“Compromise,” he’d said. “It’s when two people both give up a little something in order to reach an agreement.”

“Like a divorce?” Shelby had asked, her eyes wide and innocent and yet so jaded.

“Uh, not exactly,” he’d replied, but he hadn’t had time to elaborate before Shelby had to go.

Divorce was more what happened when people couldn’t compromise. But he supposed there were compromises in divorce. Like with custody over the children and pets. Shelby always talked about how she missed their cat, Socks, when she was with him.

Charlie stopped in his tracks, realizing that he had almost run into the elevator. He really needed to stop brooding over this divorce. It had been months now. But on the other hand, he had been with Claire for over thirteen years. So didn’t he deserve at least thirteen months to get over it? A month for a year, or something.

The elevator doors opened, and Charlie walked in and pressed the button for his floor. Then he stared at his shoes, lost in his thoughts, until someone next to him (he had hardly even registered the presence of another person in the elevator) said, “Hello?”

Blearily, Charlie looked up, adjusting his spectacles to see properly. When he saw who it was, he couldn’t contain his smile. It was his mysterious woman!

“Hi!” Charlie said. “We meet again!”

The woman laughed. “If it isn’t the Toyota lawsuit leader!” she said. “Running late again?”

Charlie grimaced. “Just a few minutes late,” he said. “And aren’t you too, unless your job happens to start at 9:07?”

“It actually starts at 9:30,” the woman said. “I’m an accountant, and we need the extra thirty minutes to make our coffee so we can calculate correctly.”

So, she enjoyed coffee. Okay. He could do this. He just had to make it seem casual.

“Coffee, eh?” he said. His voice cracked like a teenager, not the mid-forties man that he was. So much for casual. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Coffee, eh? The lifeblood of all corporate workers. Y’know, my job doesn’t start ‘till 10:00 on Tuesdays… do you want to go out for coffee some week?”

He took a deep breath when he was done. Man, that had been harder than he thought. He turned to look at the woman, who smiled at him.

“Sure,” she said. “I’d love to.”

Just then the elevator dinged. But Charlie had said everything he wanted to say, so he was all right. “See you around.”

“Wait,” the woman called as Charlie made his way out of the elevator. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name.”

“It’s Charlie.”

“I’m Sharon.”

Sharon. That was a nice name. It fit her. “Nice to meet you, Sharon,” he said.

She smiled, and then the elevator doors closed. Charlie walked to his office with a bounce in his step.

That night, as he tucked Shelby in to bed, Charlie announced, “Your Dad asked a lady out to coffee today.”

He wasn’t sure why he was telling his daughter this. She probably wouldn’t know what to make of it. She was only thirteen. But one thing Charlie had realized in the months following the divorce was that Shelby caught on to more than he had originally thought.

Another thing was that Claire had apparently gotten all of their friends in the divorce. He hadn’t realized how many of their friends were really just Claire’s friends until he was too late. He hadn’t realized how much he had pushed away his old friends when he was trying to be with Claire.

What it really came down to was this: he really wanted to tell someone about Sharon, and Shelby was the only person around to tell.

“You mean like a date?” Shelby asked, her little nose crinkling up adorably. When Charlie nodded, she said, “Ew! Dad, people over forty shouldn’t date!”

“Why not?” Charlie asked, mock-offended. Shelby’s antics never ceased to amuse him.

“Dating is for teenager,” Shelby said sagely. “Like I am with Daniel.”

“Whoa, hold it! Who is this Daniel and why don’t I know about him?”

Shelby waved her hand dismissively. “Doesn’t matter. The point is that old people don’t date. Mom says she’s not going to date again.”

Well, that would be because she had already found another man. But Charlie didn’t want to say that. “Don’t call me old,” he said instead. “I think thirteen is pretty old, too.”

Shelby smiled. “You’re silly, Dad.”

“No, you’re silly.”

Charlie straightened Shelby’s covers as she squirmed. When he was done, he stood up to turn off the light.

“Dad?”

He turned back to face his daughter. She looked so small in her bed, but somehow so wise.

“I want you to be happy,” Shelby said. “And if that means dating even though you’re over forty, well, then that’s okay.”

Charlie smiled softly. “Thanks, honey,” he said.

His daughter was really something else.

The next Tuesday, Charlie was working on his computer when he heard a knock on his office door. “Come in,” he said, looking up to see Sharon open the door. She was wearing a skirt and had her hair down. She looked beautiful.

“Hi,” he said with a smile. “What is it?”

“Well,” said Sharon, looking uncharacteristically uncertain. “It’s Tuesday, so I thought maybe we could go get that cup of coffee together. But if you’re working –”

“Oh, this?” Charlie scoffed, gesturing to his computer. “It’s not anything important.” He had the urge to throw his computer against a wall or suddenly turn it off or do something else drastic to prove just how unimportant his work was compared to their coffee date, but luckily he managed to hold himself back.

“Great,” Sharon smiled.

“Just give me a few minutes,” Charlie said. Sharon nodded in understanding. Charlie turned off his computer, put his papers away, and then headed out with Sharon. A few minutes later, they were once again in the elevator together.

“Just like old times, eh?” Charlie said. Sharon chuckled.

“Of all the places to meet,” she said.

“I don’t know,” Charlie ventured. “I think it’s pretty romantic.”

“Romantic?” Sharon looked at him, her eyebrows crinkling. Charlie didn’t know her well enough to read the expression on her face, but it didn’t seem positive. He quickly backtracked.

“Uh, nevermind. So, where do you get your coffee?”

Sharon still had that expression on her face, but she shook it off and said, “Starbucks. There’s one on the second floor. You knew that, right?”

“Vaguely.” He might’ve gone there with Claire once. That would be a weird coincidence.

The elevator dinged and they stepped out together. The Starbucks was directly in front of them. When they ordered, Sharon insisted on paying, even though Charlie protested. It was his date; shouldn’t he be the one to pay? But he guessed Sharon was just like that.

They sat down at a table when they got their coffee. It was 9:11 am. They had less than twenty minutes. Where had the time gone?

They chatted about random things for a bit. Charlie was gearing himself up for some kind of romantic confession – nothing so forward as “I love you,” not even “I really like you.” He wasn’t sure about anything yet. But he could go for something semi-casual…

“Your hair looks beautiful down,” Charlie finally confessed, accidentally cutting Sharon off mid-sentence. She raised one eyebrow, but then smiled.

“Thank you,” she said. “That’s very sweet of you. My boyfriend always says that, but…”

Charlie didn’t hear anything more after that. He was stuck on “boyfriend.” Sharon had a boyfriend?? Who had a boyfriend at forty? Well, who was he kidding. He had wanted to have a girlfriend at forty.

“You have a boyfriend?” Charlie asked, probably cutting Sharon off again.

She nodded. “His name’s Evan. We’ve been together for five years now.”

“Oh…” Charlie said. “I thought…” He found himself blushing. He didn’t want to say it.

Sharon gasped. “You didn’t think – you asked me out for coffee? Oh, no… Listen, Charlie, you’re a great guy, and I like you a lot, but I didn’t know – I mean, I don’t –”

“It’s okay,” Charlie cut her off. He couldn’t meet her eyes. He should be well over this kind of embarrassment, but God, he felt like such an idiot! “I didn’t think that you… thought about me like that. I mean, I have a daughter. I’m divorced. I’m not looking – I just didn’t think you had a boyfriend, is all.”

Sharon’s eyes were still wide and pitying. “Are you sure? I mean –”

“I’m sure. And it’s nearly 9:30,” Charlie interrupted. “You’ve got to get going. Listen, Sharon, I’m sorry about this misunderstanding. I think –”

“We can still be friends, right?” Sharon broke him off earnestly. “If this really was just one awkward misunderstanding. We can laugh about it later.”

Charlie looked into Sharon’s eyes. He had really thought about having a future with this woman (even if the future only extended to another date, but this time not in the workplace). But she was taken. She had a boyfriend, who would probably end up being a fiancé and a husband. But was that reason enough to not be friends with her?

Yes. For a while it was. He couldn’t be friends with Sharon while still thinking of her as a potential wife and stepmother. But then again, he needed some new friends. And Sharon could be a great friend.

“Of course we can still be friends,” Charlie replied with a smile, only half-forced. “I’ll see you around.”

And he would. And he’d be okay with it.

That night, when Charlie was tucking Shelby in to bed, she asked him, “So, Dad, how did your date go?”

Man. Of all the times for his daughter to take an interest in his life! He wasn’t sure he wanted to share his humiliation with her. But he sighed and resigned himself to it.

“It turns out it wasn’t quite a date,” he said. “The woman I went to coffee with – Sharon – she has a boyfriend.”

“Oh.” Shelby frowned. “I’m sorry. I would be sad if Daniel had a girlfriend.”

“Now who is this Daniel?”

Shelby rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. The point is, Dad… I’m sorry. I wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to have someone.”

Charlie brushed a strand of Shelby’s hair – black like his – behind her ear. “I have you,” he said softly. “I don’t need anyone else.”

Shelby smiled and leaned in to give him a hug. As Charlie returned it, he realized that he had spoken the truth.

All you need is love – and love from your daughter is more than enough.

THE END! J