Chapter Three
It had been a slow first week at the Auto store, and now it was Paul's first off day, Sunday. An to add to his demise he was up at 3am; 3 bloody fuck in the morning, he was beyond cranky. So getting up with a heavy sigh he looked outside to see the dead town, and alone shining in the dying fog was the insides lights of the donut shop. She was up and moving inside, witch made Paul feel weird why was he watching her like some stalker from the auto shops windows instead of going over there whats she gonna do tell him to go away hes a customer, who wants better coffe then this black silk shit the Ketchum drinks. He walked into the bathroom in the auto shop and washed his face before brushing his teeth, rolling his shoulders he locked the shop up and walked across the street, the smell of glaze hitting his nose before he got all the way to the door.
"Um hello,' was all he mustered up to say when he entered the door,
She jumped as he called out, and turned from where she was making donuts to see he had reached up and grabbed her bell to stop it from sounding. Not that she totally minded she hated that bell but she also didnt like turning around to a ton of people waiting for donuts.
"I dont have alot of donuts ready, but I have coffee," she said lowering her glaze, "black coffee,"
He nodded as he went about making himself a cup of it, she returned to making her donuts, humming to herself as she went. he slid into a booth on the side of the wall, lookng outside the window but also able to see what she was doing just incase she tried to walk up to him. Witch after 30 minutes she still hadnt done, it almost bugged him. There she was working her butt semi off to get donuts done and here he was sipping a cup of joe, this was reversed in his mind. He rolled his shoulder again mummbled to himself before getting up and grabbing the tray of donuts she was removing from the oven. She just side glanced him before walking away, and returning with a white apron.
"if your gonna help your gonna help all day, here put this over your clothes,"
And with that she went back to work, she did the dipping, sprinkling and decorating of her donuts he took to the rolling chopping and moving to and from the over, then to from the cooling rack to her, to the display, where she took them and placed them where they went. She was an odd one for sure unlike most donuts shops she didnt just slide the trays in the display she, organized them and honestly displayed them to her customers, with a white tray and pretty labels of flavors.
It was about 4:30 when they finished the first full set, and had the remaing ones ready to go in the oven, she walked over and grabbed his cup before pouring it out and refilling it. She came back to his booth and set his cup down before sliding in across from him. Nursing her cup of coffee, he watched her. She was pretty, her blue hair was pulled up in a messy bun with fly aways framing her face and two curled peices pulled out in front of her ears, she didnt have on makeup but her eyelashes looked long and seamed to catch his attention when the steam rose up over her face, of course it could have also been her eyes, so blue. He got busted staring then, she nodded at him and went back to her coffee, he shrugged and went to his own. Soon a car drove up and she got up to get behind the counter, as an older gentleman walked in dressed in dirt clothes and with a large thermos.
"Morning, coffee and a donut again," She smiled
"Yes Ma'am, the usual,"
"Alright, it will be the same as always 1.75,"
"Here Princess, have a good day,"
Paul sat there with his eyes closed, he must have been locked up too long, her voice was so damn annoying, or he wished he could say that, but here he was with the hairs on his neck standing up as she talked. She returned to sit across from him, this time she was looking at him, and openly displaying that she was, as she leaned on her elbow.
He was very handsome, to her, and manly it seamed. His face wasn't a face of a model but his cuts and shapes where appealing none the least, his lips drawled her attention at first as he sipped his coffee, kinda pale but they seamed like they'd be soft. She smiled at this comment before her eyes caught his, maybe she just liked his eyes.
"Kinda slow this morning,"
"Sundays are always slow, just a few stragglers and some church goes, but thats not until noon-ish,"
"So thats why you didnt make that many donuts huh,"
"It be such a waste," She refilled their cups
The silence engulfed them, the eye contact dying. It was comfortable this silence, it was almost like-
"So you gonna sit over there like you dont know me," was his comment as a customer walked in.
She almsot paled, before getting up and attending to the elderly woman. Sitting back down after she left, Dawn looked at him from the rim of her cup eyes shinning brightly.
"It would be ashame if a wife forgot her own husband,"
Again the store grew quiet as they sat in silence, he closed his eyes and returned to his cup of coffee while she turned slightly to look out the far window.
"That seams like such a long time ago, Paul, dreams, plans, none that came true,"
"We got married that was one,"
"Are we truely married anymore Paul,"
He was silent
"After that ordeal, I had to move, I had her to think about, I started over, I tried to,"
"Her? So the baby was a her,"
"I was gonna name her Pheonix Marie, like a strong flame she'd burn so bright, but that seams to have been cut down to just a dream,'
"Dawn-,"
"its not your fault Paul, even if you didnt go away I'd probaly have lost her still, Doctors said I lost her when I got sick, said it couldnt have been helped, gave me a sappy apologie and that was it,"
"I'm-,"
"Sorry, Ive heard that enough from people, it doesnt bring her back to me, or you,"
"You stopped writting,"
"You really wanna read I lost your baby, while locked up?,"
"I didnt wanna find out the way I did either,"
"And I didnt wanna be alone to go threw it all, we both didnt get our way Paul,"
He nodded she was right, he set his cup down and reached for her hand, she sat there one arm drapped on the table the other elbow up holding her chin as she looked out the far window.
"I'm here now,"
"Are you," she looked at him, "Are you really here, or is my mind being cruel again,"
Her eyes watered, he could tell she'd been threw so much without him, and he couldnt change that anymore than he could change the number of stars in the universe. She got broken in his absents and he was running out of tape for her.
"I Missed you, I missed you so much, I cried so much. You didnt even do it, the drugs in his system did but you-,"
"Stop, it cant be changed that time cant be brought back, just-,"
She locked eyes with him, a few stray tears running down her face to pool at the end of her chin, before falling. She shook her head before getting up and throwing her cup away, as the door bell sounded
"Morning Ash,"
"Mornin',"
"Usual,"
"Yep, oh Mornin' Paul, didnt see you there at first," he said as he paid for his donuts
"Just being quiet,"
"Like always, well enjoy your off day, I gotta get these home to the Mrs,"
"Good Bye,"
He nodded at her as he left, again the store grew quiet. She walked over to him and fiddled with the necklace on her neck, taking it off she let the ring on it slide off into her palm before sitting it on the table next to him. The black Band standing out on the red table, he looked up at her, but she was looking outside as she stood beside him. He grabbed it.
"So you gonna let me put it back on or should I expect the other one once you retreive it from your old jewlery box,"
"huh,"
"Your not wearing yours,"
She looked down at her hand before smiling, and knelt down to whisper in his ear
"You should look in the mirror more often," before walking off behind the counter
He stood up, this cathcing his attention as he found her washing her hands, and there sitting in the small shelf under the mirror, was a gold band with a small white dimaond on it. He stepped closer grabbing the ring, while she dried her hands.
"Its not polite to wear jewlery while you mess with making peoples food," she said looking at him threw the mirror
He just nodded, before grabbing her left hand and slipping her ring on, it slid on just as smoothly as it did the first time.
-/-
BanetteGirl: RNR