James was still in the process exiting his black Ford Focus when I met him. Seeing me, he smiled warmly. "Glad to see I got the right apartment."

"You said you knew where it was."

"I did, but I went home and realized there was more than one apartment by that name."

"I feel real safe now," I remarked sarcastically, but with a friendly smile.

"If it helps, I have my license to drive, so at least we won't crash."

"Good job…Well, on to coffee then?" I asked.

"On to coffee," he echoed, and we both got into the car.

The car was extremely comfortable, but pre-pulse anyway you looked at it. Leather seats equipped with heat and adjustment features along with a sweet climate control system made me wonder how badly off James really was.

"Nice car," I remarked as we drove through the streets of Seattle, with the light mist of rain beginning.

James laughed, "I know, but unfortunately, she's not mine, it's a rental. My other one's back in Wisconsin."

"She?" I echoed. "Why do men always call machines 'she'? It's kinda sexist."

"How so?"

"You're making females look like we don't have a mind to think for ourselves…that we're some kind of…of…thing that you can just control."

"I can see your point," James replied, glancing over at me before returning his eyes to the road.

"So how's the world of architecture?" I asked him, trying to keep the conversation flowing.

"Funny that you should ask. This morning, when I got into work, some of our ceiling was collapsing inward. Technically, it had sunk it overnight." He laughed again. "You should've seen the look on my boss' face!"

"You'd think that being in the field of architecture would actually make the building hold up."

"You'd think wrong. Just because we can design buildings, doesn't mean we're the ones who create it. Blame that on the construction crew."

Just as he finished talking, we turned the corner, and James pulled into an angular parking spot. "Here we are," he announced.

I peered out my rain covered window to see the coffee shop that James had brought us to. It was most likely post-pulse, but I couldn't be sure. The people inside looked warm and comfortable, at least happier being in there than in the rain.

"Let's go," I told him and opened my door. James met me on the other side with the rain pouring down on us. "Hurry!" I cried as fat raindrops splattered onto my clothing, soaking me. Being the gentlemen he was, James allowed me to enter the shop first and he followed, only after I had gotten inside.

We were both drenched from the pouring rain. My hair, the hair that I had worked so hard on, was now flat and starting to frizz outward. The clothes I wore were so wet that my skin had goosebumps on it. Fortunately, I still had my coat, and I wrapped that tighter around myself.

James, on the other hand, had water running into his eyes from his flattened hair. He looked absolutely ridiculous. His hair, being wavy, was starting to poof out like he had stuck his finger into an electrical socket.

Wiping the water of out his eyes, he turned to me and said, "Let's go get a table."

"I'm right behind you."

We found a table closest to the window where the pale afternoon light fell softly inside as the rain drummed against it, creating a pacific melody. The chairs were chocolate brown with high legs and short backs, but the tabletops were made of frosted glass. An advertisement for an upcoming party or something of that sort sat innocently in the middle of the table.

James removed his coat and offered to help me with mine, if I wanted help, that is. "No thanks," I told him with a smile. "I'm ok."

"I'll go get us something. What do you want?"

"Uh…what is there?" I asked, trying to see the menu around the heads of people.

"Typical deli food. Subs, sandwiches, salads-"

"Anymore foods that begin with an 's'?" I asked jokingly.

"Sizzled salamanders, slippery skunk…Would you just like to come with me? Nobody's going to steal our coats."

"Sure, let's go."

We got in line to order, and I still was unable to see the menu. I know, you'd think being six feet tall and having vision nearly better than Superman would allow me to see the menu. But, of course, let's be difficult to the poor genetically engineered human.