Broken Souls ... by Annay Dawson
Chapter 4
The screen door of the café closed behind him with a small clatter as he walked in and across the room to the table where he always sat. The place was busy, but not as busy as it was at lunch. The table was by the fireplace against the wall. There were a few other people in the place that he noticed giving them a nod or wave as he walked by. This place was busiest at lunch when all of the office and other such workers scrambled in for something good to eat. The evening crowd was thinner and seemed to dribble in over a two to three hour period leaving room for the occasional drop in. Usually with one or two tables open. He was lucky that the table he liked was open.
They weren't open for breakfast but if they were he was sure they would do a booming business. From what he knew the owners just wanted a small business to keep them busy, earn a little money, but not to tie them down. Most people in here he had seen before and he gave them a small nod or wave as he passed, but it wasn’t until he sat down that she came into his sites. She was new.
“Hey Holden, twice this week. To what do I owe the pleasure,” Doris was approaching his table. She was just over five and a half feet with features that weren't above average. She weighed about ten pounds more than she should have as well. And as she approached his table she didn't miss the fact that he was staring at the newcomer.
Doris had waitressed at this place for the last ten years and over the many times he had been in town she had gotten to know Holden. Doris was about ten years older and many husbands wiser, but if she had been younger Holden knew she would have tried to get his attention, adding him to her list. It was in the way she looked at him each time he came in. It looked like she could make a meal of him starting at one end and slowly moving her way up. Her eyes gave away the place where she would start as well. It was also in the way she made sure that she stepped just close enough to be in his personal space every time she came over to him. And even though he liked the attention he was thankful that she didn’t go any farther than that. He wasn’t looking to be another notch on her belt.
Doris loved looking at him. She could stand there all day and look if he’d let her. She appreciated a fine work of art. At six foot one inch he was built just right, broad and powerful on top, slimming nicely into the jeans that rested happily on his hips with a pair of thighs that were all muscle. She was sure of that as she had purposely bumped into him a couple of times over the years just to find out for herself. With her curiosity satisfied she had gone back to just stepping close enough to feel the heat that radiated from him, but she wasn’t ready for another husband and this one was too young anyway. It was just fun to imagine and no one got hurt this way. Plus she wasn't the focus of his attention right now.
His dark, slightly wavy hair was growing out a bit but it didn’t matter how he wore it, it always looked good and she could only imagine how soft if felt. It framed his rugged suntanned face just perfectly. Doris hadn’t seen him come in but she was going to make sure that she watched him go out because she wasn’t sure how many times that would happen before he was off again. And seeing that tight backend was one of the best views in town and a personal pleasure for her. After all she wasn’t dead just taking a break.
“Addy and Mia headed out for a girls night at the mall,” he smiled. This happened to be one of the places Addison ate on a regular basis and he could understand why, “Hair, nails, the whole thing with a group of Mia’s friends.”
“Oh the Precious Princess. I hear that they do great group parties, and you’re missing all that,” she said incredulously placing one hand on her hip and giving him a sarcastic smile. Holden loved bantering back and forth with Doris. He also knew that all he had to do was say the word and she would have jumped him, age be damned.
“I know,” and he flashed a grin, “Addy all but told me to stay home and watch football.”
“And yet here you are,” she folded her arms in front of her and waited for his answer, "Couldn't stay away could you?"
“Was missing your smile, and a man’s got to eat. I really didn’t feel like cooking tonight or watching football,” satisfied with his answer Doris went to hand him a menu and he shook his head, “No, don’t worry about that. All I want is the meatloaf, potatoes and,” he paused a moment looking back over at the new comer, “to know who that person is that is sitting alone over there?”
“New in town I’d guess. Haven’t seen her before tonight. Don’t know that much about her yet either. Not much of a talker but as you know if she keeps coming in here,” and Doris tucked the menu under her arm as she winked at him.
“You’ll soon know her life story,” and he laughed.
“Don’t you know it,” and she walked away sashaying just a bit more. Holden now had a moment to study the new woman in town. Maybe she was just passing through, maybe she was here to stay, but this cafe wasn't on the main path and would be a surprise if she had traveled in just to eat here. She was eating soup and a sandwich while engrossed in some file, which made him think that she might be in town to stay. She seemed to be consumed by work. Similar to someone else he knew and he grinned a bit. No matter he was enjoying watching her, studying her.
Her hair, it looked like honey. There were strands of it that had escaped from her ponytail and were drifting down past her cheek obscuring bits of her face. The blue sweater she wore hugged her curves nicely. When she nonchalantly pushed her hair back behind her ear Holden got his first good look at her face. It surprised him, she had to be late twenties, early thirties. Soft, pretty features reminded him of the porcelain dolls he had seen in the window of the antique store, but like those dolls her face looked like it was fixed. She really didn’t look like she smiled a lot. He could see the beginnings of frown or worry lines on her forehead, and they didn't belong there. Shouldn't be there. He knew he was intently looking at her, staring really, but she intrigued him. It looked like this pattern was more the norm for this woman than the exception as he saw no smile lines. It made him wonder what had happened in her life to make her give up on living. Was it her job that caused this or her life? Glancing at his watch he thought about going over and introducing himself.
Kari subconsciously pushed her hair back behind her ear. The file she was reading was sobering. She had had some hard knocks in life, to say the least, but this family just kept getting bowled over by life. The boy, Daniel, was really ill and would always be fighting to stay alive. They had worked hard to care and love the boy for the last eight years of his life, but they would be caring for him for as long as he lived, if he lived. That would be up to his heart and what the doctors could do about that. Daniel had been in the hospital down the road an average of five times a year for one thing or another and if history was correct he was due for another trip pretty soon.
Silently she sighed and closed the file. Kari was glad she had made them the first stop on her list. They were going to need her support fairly soon. And even if she thought her life had been a mess, it had all been over fairly quickly. With that thought the sadness overtook her again. Pulling out her wallet she placed about twelve dollars on the table knowing that would cover the food and the tip. She may not have a whole lot left but what she did have she knew enough to share. Getting up she walked out without looking around. Never knowing that she was being watched.
Holden couldn't take his eyes off her as she left and wasn’t surprised that she didn’t wait for Doris to bring her the bill. It also didn’t surprise him that she didn’t talk with anyone. Her face and body language had all but screamed that she had wanted to be alone. It was too bad really. A pretty woman like that shouldn’t be so isolated, or so somber. As Doris came out of the back she noticed that she had left and she walked over to the table. Doris cleaned off the table routinely and picked up the money. Looking at the amount she just shrugged her shoulders and placed it in her apron before walking in his direction.
“Guess I’ll have to try for that history some other time,” she said in Holden’s direction.
“Guess you will,” but he doubted it would be an easy conversation. He also doubted that she would really get down to the reason for her deep sadness. Just by reading her body language, Holden was sure she protected that piece of herself pretty well. She would be a tough cookie to crack.
It wasn’t long before his food arrived and he ate it without much thought of who or why the blond had been in the cafe. It was true that he was feeling better. A good night’s sleep was also on his list of things to do and realizing that if he could get home and get into bed before they got back he would have a much better chance at achieving it. He had tried to tell Addison that his injuries had been nothing, but even he knew she didn’t believe him. As he drove back to the dark house, he wondered if he would ever have the guts to tell her, or anyone, the whole story.
He walked into the house and didn’t bother to turn on any lights. The moonlight filtered through the room leaving some corners dark and secretive but letting just enough light in for him to function. Exactly how he felt right now. Grabbing the notepad by the phone he started to jot down a note for the two women in his life right now.
‘Had a great evening. Went to bed early. Can hardly wait to see your nails Me-Me.’ Taking the heart shaped magnet he stuck it to the frig and went upstairs quietly. Stripping down to his boxers he threw on an extra large T-shirt that hid as well as protected the scars and slipped into bed. His last thoughts were of the pretty but extremely serious blond he had seen at the café. Getting comfortable in bed so as not to aggravate the new tissue he smiled as he came to the conclusion that they both had secrets they wanted and needed to protect.
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