Chapter One: Rory
Looking back, I'm kind of amazed that the first thing to come to my mind when I think about that day was the sound of the crash. No, not that crash. The crash of the coffeepot that Luke dropped. It was noisy in the café, there were a lot of customers and Luke was really busy, but I noticed that he kept looking out the windows, like he was watching for someone or something, maybe. Miss Patty had asked him what he was looking for but he just ignored her and went back to business, filling coffee mugs and taking orders.
I was sitting at the counter, filling Dean in on everything he'd missed while he and his mom were away visiting family. They'd been gone a whole week, it was a record. We were sharing a bowl of fries and each of us had a huge mug of coffee. Luke had came over to refill our mugs and take a few minutes to get away from the rest of the crowd. That was when I heard the crash. I was looking at my mug, getting ready to reach out and take a sip of the freshly poured black brew when I heard the sound of glass hitting countertop. It made sort of a splintering sound. Like someone had taken a hammer to an iced over lake and it cracked all over the place before the ice fell into the water, leaving you a really big hole.
After the splintering sound there was this tinkling sound, like soft rain hitting a glass window. It was pretty actually, when I think about it. It sounded like something you'd hear on one of those nature CD's where they play nature sounds and then softly the music begins to play. I have the dolphin one, it's really pretty, and relaxing too.
But that's the first thing I think of when I think about that day. The sound of the coffeepot shattering. I still can't look at a coffeepot and not think about it; still hear it in my head. They say that's what happens to you when something that's bad happens. You keep the oddest memory of it in your head, replaying for as long as you live, like a CD that skips at the same party, over and over and over.
Sometimes I wish I could throw the CD out.
Looking back, I'm kind of amazed that the first thing to come to my mind when I think about that day was the sound of the crash. No, not that crash. The crash of the coffeepot that Luke dropped. It was noisy in the café, there were a lot of customers and Luke was really busy, but I noticed that he kept looking out the windows, like he was watching for someone or something, maybe. Miss Patty had asked him what he was looking for but he just ignored her and went back to business, filling coffee mugs and taking orders.
I was sitting at the counter, filling Dean in on everything he'd missed while he and his mom were away visiting family. They'd been gone a whole week, it was a record. We were sharing a bowl of fries and each of us had a huge mug of coffee. Luke had came over to refill our mugs and take a few minutes to get away from the rest of the crowd. That was when I heard the crash. I was looking at my mug, getting ready to reach out and take a sip of the freshly poured black brew when I heard the sound of glass hitting countertop. It made sort of a splintering sound. Like someone had taken a hammer to an iced over lake and it cracked all over the place before the ice fell into the water, leaving you a really big hole.
After the splintering sound there was this tinkling sound, like soft rain hitting a glass window. It was pretty actually, when I think about it. It sounded like something you'd hear on one of those nature CD's where they play nature sounds and then softly the music begins to play. I have the dolphin one, it's really pretty, and relaxing too.
But that's the first thing I think of when I think about that day. The sound of the coffeepot shattering. I still can't look at a coffeepot and not think about it; still hear it in my head. They say that's what happens to you when something that's bad happens. You keep the oddest memory of it in your head, replaying for as long as you live, like a CD that skips at the same party, over and over and over.
Sometimes I wish I could throw the CD out.
