AN: Thank you so much for the reviews; I wasn't expecting any!
Chapter 7
.On an impulse, remembering how much she enjoyed their first argument at the AWARE meeting, Kay punched in Nicholas's number into her cell phone.
"Hello?" Nicholas put down the papers he was reading over. He couldn't imagine who would be calling this late.
"Hello, may I speak to Nicholas, please?" Kay immediately regrets her call, but her self-righteousness kicked in and she couldn't hang up.
"May I ask who's calling please?" Nicholas, realizing that the person calling didn't recognize his voice from his greeting, decided to do a little self-screening.
"Ummm, this is a student in one of his classes?" Kay hated it when her voice made everything a question. She steadied herself, and continued. "This is Kay Bennett from his anthro course. Is Nicholas there?"
All of a sudden, both of them heard the sound of a button being pressed loudly in their ears. Nicholas's cheek had pressed a button on his phone's keypad. a result of the massive smile that he cracked when he heard her name. "Ooops!" he yelped into the phone. Oh man, Nick, let's settle down he thought to himself. He took a breath and said, "Well, hello, Ms. Bennett, to what do I owe the pleasure of this late night call? Surely someone as intelligent as yourself wouldn't be needing last minute help on the midterm study questions?"
YES! Kay thought, as she realized that all her procrastinating was paying off. She didn't really need help, but she could fake it sense she didn't technically have anything done yet. "Well, Mr. Crane, I realize how late it is, but if you're anywhere near campus, I was wondering if I could buy you a cup of coffee and pick your brain about post-structuralism." Wow, that was bold, Kay. Maybe you should give him an out? "I mean," she continued quickly, "If it's not too late or anything. I could call again tomorrow." Great, now you sound really PRESSED to see him. "I mean, if you have time, we could do it anytime before the take home is due." Dodo! It IS due tomorrow! "I mean, it is due tomorrow, so umm." So maybe you should stop talking, like five minutes ago.
Nicholas laughed. "Kay, it's not too late, I live a few blocks off campus, I can pick you up and we can go to a place I know that stays open late. I never turn down free coffee."
Kay was greatly relieved that he didn't seem too aware of her obvious state of being flustered. "Oh! That sounds great!" she practically squealed. Oh man, don't be that squealin' type of chick. "I mean, that's cool, do you want to just swing by the library in twenty minutes?"
That's Waaay too far away, Nicholas thought. "How about in ten? Aren't you there now?"
Looks like this Miguel-prepping won't be totally wasted, she thought. "Perfect. See you in a bit." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
Nicholas parked in a lot seemingly in the middle of nowhere and led Kay around to the front of what appeared to be an abandoned building with a small sign over a door that she would have missed had he not stopped right in front of it. "Haven," it read. She was surprised when Nicholas pulled open the door without it falling off its hinges. They went down a half flight of stairs and stepped into medium-lit room. After her eyes adjusted to the light, Kay saw a room with amber-colored sofas spaced regularly, but not too in too much of a set pattern, around the space. The sofas were interspersed with low, plain wood coffee tables and different styles of soft beige chairs, decorated with dark orange and brown pillows. Kay thought the place must be a seating nightmare for the staff, since it was apparent that customers felt free to rearrange their surroundings at will. A deep gold-colored wooden bar lined one side of the room and, on a small stage in a back corner of the room, a Jill Scott melody was being played live on a saxophone and resonated softly throughout the area. It was hard to get a sense of how large the space was because of the seating and ambience, but Kay thought it could probably hold a crowd of 150 easily enough. She mentally made a note of the place for a future get together site of AWARE.
A beautiful woman with locked hair approached them, wearing a flowing, transparent red top with gold flowers stitched along the sleeves over a plain red tank with blue jeans and well-worn brown boots. Kay felt a strange twinge of something when she saw the smile with which Nicholas greeted the woman, as if her subconscious only wanted that smile to be for her.
"Hey babes," Nicholas said to the woman, "How's it goin'?"
"It's going fine, babes," the woman replied. "Only, how about you not address me with such familiarity when you've come up in my spot with such a beautiful woman by your side?" The woman turns her 100-watt smile on Kay. "Hey, chica, what's goin' on? My name's Simone." The woman held out her hand and looked at Kay expectantly.
Women with such confidence and flair often made Kay a bit reserved and stand-offish, but something about Simone caused the opposite reaction and she immediately felt at home. "Hey, how are you? I'm Kay Bennett. How do you know Nicholas?"
"Inquisitive, isn't she?" Simone winked at Nicholas. "This guy is forever hangin' out here, buying a cup of coffee and takin' up space for hours."
Kay, feeling the weird need to connect with this woman, enthusiastically picked up the "joke on Nicholas" line. "Oh, what a drag, he must ruin tips for the night." Encouraged, rather than feeling slighted by the familiarity that the two seemed to share, Kay playfully punched Nicholas on the arm for emphasis.
Nicholas snorted. "I don't think Simone minds the loss of tips, seeing as how she owns the joint." He and Simone shared a special look again that made Kay wonder why else Simone wouldn't mind Nicholas hanging around so much. She again shrugged off the feeling, sensing somehow that Simone wasn't a threat to her in anyway. She instead focused on Nicholas's comment.
"Oh wow, excuse me for saying so, but you look really young to be an owner of. well, of anything!" she commented to Simone.
Simone grinned broadly, and her cheerful smile made her look even younger. "We're probably the same age! I'm a student at the University. This joint was actually a first-year business experiment that went awry. in that it totally worked and started making money!"
Kay grinned. Simone's cheerfulness was catching. "That's great! Congrats on your obvious success, I really like the feel of this place!"
"Enough!" Nicholas interrupted. "Before you two start thinking of new ways to tease me, how about you play a real hostess and show us to a sofa, Simone?" Nicholas winked to indicate that he was teasing.
Simone winked back and replied, "Excuse me! Right this way, sir."
Kay was surprised at how comfortable it was to sit beside someone, rather than across from them. Something about Haven's design made her feel like she had indeed stepped into a safe space and should feel nothing but comfort.
"So what did you want to know about post-structuralism?" Nicholas asked after they had gotten settled in.
Unprepared with a question pertaining to the supposed reason for their coffee break, and becoming more aware of the awkward situation she had impulsively thrown herself into, Kay stalled. "Hey, what's with the business first? Let's at least order. Look, here's the waiter."
Nicholas gave her a funny look, but placed his order. Instead of trying to press her to ask a question after their orders were taken care of, he simply looked at her expectantly.
Oh shit. Kay thought. What now? Well, at the very least, stop talking to yourself and talk to him! "So uh. yeah, post-structuralism. I guess I was wondering how to accurately describe a theory that purposefully defies description."
Nicholas smiled a strange smile at the question, pleased with her insight, and yet slightly puzzled. "Kay, that's a great question. only. you uh, asked the same question in class two weeks ago."
The same thought hit Kay again... Oh shit. Better turn the tables before he figures out exactly how full of it I was when I came up with that phony excuse to get together. "Well, Mr. Crane, it seems as though you pay more attention to what I say than I do. What's up with that?" Kay knew there was nothing to her statement, but at least now the answering was up to him.
Nicholas blushed. He had, in fact, internalized every single comment and question Kay asked in class. It was clear that her leadership of AWARE was not unfounded, she was quite easily one of the brightest students in the class, always interrogating the material, rather than simply memorizing the lecture. Of course, he wasn't quite ready to let Kay know how well versed he was in her class participation.
"It's only that it was a striking question. But what I remember most is the answer. The Prof told you that you had a good point and that the closest you could come to describing post-structuralism was to talk in terms of trends rather than absolutes." Nicholas was puzzled again as he continued to remember that day. "But you seemed fine with that answer in class, why would you need emergency help with that now." Something else struck Nicholas then. As he peered at her closely, he noticed that Kay didn't look like her usual, confident, self. He knew that she was insecure about certain things, her size most notably as he recalled their first awkward meeting, but that she was always confident in, and even cocky about, her analytical skills. He also noticed something else different. Since that first day in class when they showed up late together, he'd rarely seen Kay without Miguel. Something was definitely up.
Kay saw the realization hit Nicholas, read in his eyes when he realized that she was totally full of it when she'd made up that bogus excuse about needing help to see him. And so she was surprised when his demeanor changed to one of casualness, rather than the brief flicker of intensity she'd seen.
"Well, I suppose my charm has its obvious appeal, thus explaining you calling me for 'help'" Nicholas wiggled his eye brows and made quote signs with his fingers as he said "help." "So, why don't we cut through this charade and talk about what's really important here." Kay had a brief moment of panic, until he continued with a comical smirk, "Me. I'm what's really important. Go ahead, ask me anything. As long as it's to do with me."
Kay couldn't help it, she started laughing. "Why Mr. Crane, I had no idea you were so modest," she said. "Let's see. why don't you tell me where you're from?"
"Here and there," Nicholas replied with a wink.
Kay immediately sense a challenge. "Oh really? Where were you born?"
Nicholas smiled, "It's a sad, sad story really. Quite unfortunate," he said melodramatically as he sighed in obvious angst over the story of his birth. "I was born in Paris while my mother was visiting my aunt."
Kay was confused, but persistent. "Nicholas, what in the world? What's so 'unfortunate' about that?"
Nicholas grinned even more, knowing she was gonna love this punch line. "You see, dear Kay, the location of one's birth doesn't eliminate them from having any occupation on earth. with the exception of one." He paused, waiting for her to realize what he was talking about. "It's one that I have long felt that I was destined for, one suitable to my own greatness. And alas, because I was born in Paris, I will never be able to share this greatness with the world."
Kay's immediate burst of laughter was enough to make everyone around her grin, even though they had no clue what she was laughing about. "You're such a SCHNERD, Nicholas!"
He laughed with her. "You scoff at my dream of being President of the United States?" he said with pretended offense.
"No, I scoff at your presumption that the world is missing out on 'your greatness' just because you'll never be President!" Kay managed through her laughter.
"Well, see if I share anything else with you. Although, I suppose I must. It's bad enough that I can't share this with the world in the proper capacity, I suppose I can continue to share me with you."
Kay willingly jumped back to the questions. "Okay, so you were born in Paris. Must be pretty well-off. And where did you head after that fate- filled entrance into the world?"
Nicholas shrugged. "Back to the sleepy little town where my parents have always lived. You wouldn't know it."
It was Kay's turn to grin. "I know how that goes; I grew up in a small town myself that no one's ever heard of. I always have to say I'm from 'near Boston'."
Nicholas gave her a funny smile. "Hey, that's my 'near' city too! Looks like we were meant to meet and bond over our small-town ness."
Kay's grin faltered. Something was beginning to click. Something that didn't bode well for the rest of the evening. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "So, what's the name of your lil' town?" she asked casually. "Since we both use Boston as our 'near' city, maybe I've heard of it."
Nicholas noticed a slight change in her attitude, and also her quick covering of that change. He was at once struck by how attune to her reactions he was, and vice versa. At the same time that he too had a feeling that things were about to make a turn that neither of them really wanted to happen. "What does it matter?" he asked back, imitating her casual tone. His eyes turned serious, and Kay felt drawn into them. "What matters is that we're having a good time together, right now, right?"
And realizing that he was just as anxious and nervous about the entire situation as she was, Kay suddenly realized that the fun they were having was all that mattered. True to her own style, Kay decided to confront the issue head on. "So how'd you manage to avoid the insanity that seems to be a part of being one of The Harmony Cranes?"
Nicholas was pleased that she'd made the connection and was still sitting across from him. He also felt something decidedly warm inside as he realized that she had managed to separate him out from the rest of his ridiculously corrupt and psychotic family. Which he immediately attributed to the warm feeling induced by sitting in Haven, with all its warm colors and lighting. "Something about being shipped off to boarding school at a young age makes a body feel a disconnect with his family," he replied casually.
Kay sensed hurt behind his words, but decided not to probe. "I bet," she responded vaguely. And in that vagueness, and with the simple knowledge she seemed to have about his needs at the moment, the warmth Nicholas felt towards her blossomed to something more, something that he couldn't dismiss as a result of the ambiance of Haven. In fact, a small part of his mind noticed that the ambience seemed to cool a fraction, and take on a purplish- blue haze. The rest of his mind, however, was concentrating on the beautiful woman sitting next to him and how much he wanted to express his appreciation for her understanding.
Kay too, felt the internal warmth. She slid closer to Nicholas on the sofa.
"Hey, Simone!" another patron across the room yelled loudly. "What's up with your lights? Forgot to pay the bill?"
The small fraction of Kay's line of sight that wasn't intensely focused on Nicholas noticed a cooling of the room as well. The sofa seemed to fade from amber to a soft lavender. Still focused on Nicholas, though, she only murmured, "I hope Simone doesn't lose customers because of the lighting problems." She slid closer to Nicholas.
For his part, he too was wrapped up in Kay, but something about what Kay had just said crept into his awareness. His eyes lost their focus and shifted to the rest of the coffee house. "I better go check and see if Simone needs help," he said and he began to stand up, and move away from Kay.
Almost immediately, however, the lighting switched back, and the ambers and golds regained their heat. Nicholas shrugged and returned his attention back to Kay, who had never lost her focus on Nicholas. As he reached for her hand, the lighting in Haven again went cold, and the furniture and fixtures again took on a blue tinge. This time, they both snapped out of the spell they were casting on each other and looked around. As they shifted apart, the lighting once again returned to normal, as Simone ran over to the stage to get the microphone.
"I am so sorry about the lighting problems tonight, everyone," she began. Kay knew how well-liked Simone was, however, because all around she heard cheerful phrases of encouragement and easy forgiveness. Simone continued, "To make up for the problem, you can pay whatever you feel is reasonable for your coffee and service tonight, even if it's nothing at all!" Simone smiled and stepped off stage to cheers.
Nicholas turned to Kay and said, "What a business woman. Instead of saying everything was free and losing an awful lot of money tonight, everyone is going to pay full price, and maybe more because they like her so much."
Kay smiled in admiration of Simone's savvy. "That's so true!" she said. Something about the lighting problem was nagging her, but she couldn't place her hand on it, so she decided to call it a night. She was suddenly exhausted from the turmoil of the evening/night's events.
"Well, Nicholas, it was a great evening, thanks for introducing me to this place, but maybe we should head home."
He saw her fatigue and agreed. "Sure thing. Let's settle our tab and go."
Kay paid at the bar as promised and left a little extra to show Simone how much she loved hanging out at Haven. She promised to tell folks about it, at the same time that she had the sudden thought that she would never bring Miguel to this place, even if they ever recovered from the situation they were in. It would be her "haven" from him and all the insecurity he produced in her.
Nicholas casually draped his arm around Kay's shoulder as they walked to his car behind the building. Kay unconsciously snaked her arm around his back. It felt good to be close to someone without all the tension that she felt around Miguel sometimes. Nicholas seemed like he was going to be a great friend and she was glad her impulsiveness hadn't led her astray.
As Nicholas pulled up to campus fifteen minutes later, he looked over at Kay. Suddenly, he didn't want the evening to be over.
Kay turned to him from her thoughts of Miguel and their confrontation and was about to thank him for hanging out when she caught the intensity in his gaze. Confused, she started to say, "Is there."
Nicholas interrupted her without thinking. "Kay, this can't be the end of the evening. You didn't call me to talk about post-structuralism. You didn't call me to listen to my life story, either." He paused, thinking about how to approach the topic. Then, he remembered Kay's own straightforwardness and decided to use the same strategy. "Kay, something is wrong and I want you to tell me what it is, or else, I wouldn't feel comfortable just dropping you off and going home."
Kay felt a reflex protest forming on her lips. She stopped as she saw real concern in his eyes. She met his directness with some of her own. "Okay. I'll tell you. But not here in the car.and I live in a dorm."
Nicholas understood immediately. He started up the car and shot a quick grin her way. "I guess you'll have to come and see the pad.. It's four in the morning, and even Simone has to sleep sometime."
Chapter 7
.On an impulse, remembering how much she enjoyed their first argument at the AWARE meeting, Kay punched in Nicholas's number into her cell phone.
"Hello?" Nicholas put down the papers he was reading over. He couldn't imagine who would be calling this late.
"Hello, may I speak to Nicholas, please?" Kay immediately regrets her call, but her self-righteousness kicked in and she couldn't hang up.
"May I ask who's calling please?" Nicholas, realizing that the person calling didn't recognize his voice from his greeting, decided to do a little self-screening.
"Ummm, this is a student in one of his classes?" Kay hated it when her voice made everything a question. She steadied herself, and continued. "This is Kay Bennett from his anthro course. Is Nicholas there?"
All of a sudden, both of them heard the sound of a button being pressed loudly in their ears. Nicholas's cheek had pressed a button on his phone's keypad. a result of the massive smile that he cracked when he heard her name. "Ooops!" he yelped into the phone. Oh man, Nick, let's settle down he thought to himself. He took a breath and said, "Well, hello, Ms. Bennett, to what do I owe the pleasure of this late night call? Surely someone as intelligent as yourself wouldn't be needing last minute help on the midterm study questions?"
YES! Kay thought, as she realized that all her procrastinating was paying off. She didn't really need help, but she could fake it sense she didn't technically have anything done yet. "Well, Mr. Crane, I realize how late it is, but if you're anywhere near campus, I was wondering if I could buy you a cup of coffee and pick your brain about post-structuralism." Wow, that was bold, Kay. Maybe you should give him an out? "I mean," she continued quickly, "If it's not too late or anything. I could call again tomorrow." Great, now you sound really PRESSED to see him. "I mean, if you have time, we could do it anytime before the take home is due." Dodo! It IS due tomorrow! "I mean, it is due tomorrow, so umm." So maybe you should stop talking, like five minutes ago.
Nicholas laughed. "Kay, it's not too late, I live a few blocks off campus, I can pick you up and we can go to a place I know that stays open late. I never turn down free coffee."
Kay was greatly relieved that he didn't seem too aware of her obvious state of being flustered. "Oh! That sounds great!" she practically squealed. Oh man, don't be that squealin' type of chick. "I mean, that's cool, do you want to just swing by the library in twenty minutes?"
That's Waaay too far away, Nicholas thought. "How about in ten? Aren't you there now?"
Looks like this Miguel-prepping won't be totally wasted, she thought. "Perfect. See you in a bit." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
Nicholas parked in a lot seemingly in the middle of nowhere and led Kay around to the front of what appeared to be an abandoned building with a small sign over a door that she would have missed had he not stopped right in front of it. "Haven," it read. She was surprised when Nicholas pulled open the door without it falling off its hinges. They went down a half flight of stairs and stepped into medium-lit room. After her eyes adjusted to the light, Kay saw a room with amber-colored sofas spaced regularly, but not too in too much of a set pattern, around the space. The sofas were interspersed with low, plain wood coffee tables and different styles of soft beige chairs, decorated with dark orange and brown pillows. Kay thought the place must be a seating nightmare for the staff, since it was apparent that customers felt free to rearrange their surroundings at will. A deep gold-colored wooden bar lined one side of the room and, on a small stage in a back corner of the room, a Jill Scott melody was being played live on a saxophone and resonated softly throughout the area. It was hard to get a sense of how large the space was because of the seating and ambience, but Kay thought it could probably hold a crowd of 150 easily enough. She mentally made a note of the place for a future get together site of AWARE.
A beautiful woman with locked hair approached them, wearing a flowing, transparent red top with gold flowers stitched along the sleeves over a plain red tank with blue jeans and well-worn brown boots. Kay felt a strange twinge of something when she saw the smile with which Nicholas greeted the woman, as if her subconscious only wanted that smile to be for her.
"Hey babes," Nicholas said to the woman, "How's it goin'?"
"It's going fine, babes," the woman replied. "Only, how about you not address me with such familiarity when you've come up in my spot with such a beautiful woman by your side?" The woman turns her 100-watt smile on Kay. "Hey, chica, what's goin' on? My name's Simone." The woman held out her hand and looked at Kay expectantly.
Women with such confidence and flair often made Kay a bit reserved and stand-offish, but something about Simone caused the opposite reaction and she immediately felt at home. "Hey, how are you? I'm Kay Bennett. How do you know Nicholas?"
"Inquisitive, isn't she?" Simone winked at Nicholas. "This guy is forever hangin' out here, buying a cup of coffee and takin' up space for hours."
Kay, feeling the weird need to connect with this woman, enthusiastically picked up the "joke on Nicholas" line. "Oh, what a drag, he must ruin tips for the night." Encouraged, rather than feeling slighted by the familiarity that the two seemed to share, Kay playfully punched Nicholas on the arm for emphasis.
Nicholas snorted. "I don't think Simone minds the loss of tips, seeing as how she owns the joint." He and Simone shared a special look again that made Kay wonder why else Simone wouldn't mind Nicholas hanging around so much. She again shrugged off the feeling, sensing somehow that Simone wasn't a threat to her in anyway. She instead focused on Nicholas's comment.
"Oh wow, excuse me for saying so, but you look really young to be an owner of. well, of anything!" she commented to Simone.
Simone grinned broadly, and her cheerful smile made her look even younger. "We're probably the same age! I'm a student at the University. This joint was actually a first-year business experiment that went awry. in that it totally worked and started making money!"
Kay grinned. Simone's cheerfulness was catching. "That's great! Congrats on your obvious success, I really like the feel of this place!"
"Enough!" Nicholas interrupted. "Before you two start thinking of new ways to tease me, how about you play a real hostess and show us to a sofa, Simone?" Nicholas winked to indicate that he was teasing.
Simone winked back and replied, "Excuse me! Right this way, sir."
Kay was surprised at how comfortable it was to sit beside someone, rather than across from them. Something about Haven's design made her feel like she had indeed stepped into a safe space and should feel nothing but comfort.
"So what did you want to know about post-structuralism?" Nicholas asked after they had gotten settled in.
Unprepared with a question pertaining to the supposed reason for their coffee break, and becoming more aware of the awkward situation she had impulsively thrown herself into, Kay stalled. "Hey, what's with the business first? Let's at least order. Look, here's the waiter."
Nicholas gave her a funny look, but placed his order. Instead of trying to press her to ask a question after their orders were taken care of, he simply looked at her expectantly.
Oh shit. Kay thought. What now? Well, at the very least, stop talking to yourself and talk to him! "So uh. yeah, post-structuralism. I guess I was wondering how to accurately describe a theory that purposefully defies description."
Nicholas smiled a strange smile at the question, pleased with her insight, and yet slightly puzzled. "Kay, that's a great question. only. you uh, asked the same question in class two weeks ago."
The same thought hit Kay again... Oh shit. Better turn the tables before he figures out exactly how full of it I was when I came up with that phony excuse to get together. "Well, Mr. Crane, it seems as though you pay more attention to what I say than I do. What's up with that?" Kay knew there was nothing to her statement, but at least now the answering was up to him.
Nicholas blushed. He had, in fact, internalized every single comment and question Kay asked in class. It was clear that her leadership of AWARE was not unfounded, she was quite easily one of the brightest students in the class, always interrogating the material, rather than simply memorizing the lecture. Of course, he wasn't quite ready to let Kay know how well versed he was in her class participation.
"It's only that it was a striking question. But what I remember most is the answer. The Prof told you that you had a good point and that the closest you could come to describing post-structuralism was to talk in terms of trends rather than absolutes." Nicholas was puzzled again as he continued to remember that day. "But you seemed fine with that answer in class, why would you need emergency help with that now." Something else struck Nicholas then. As he peered at her closely, he noticed that Kay didn't look like her usual, confident, self. He knew that she was insecure about certain things, her size most notably as he recalled their first awkward meeting, but that she was always confident in, and even cocky about, her analytical skills. He also noticed something else different. Since that first day in class when they showed up late together, he'd rarely seen Kay without Miguel. Something was definitely up.
Kay saw the realization hit Nicholas, read in his eyes when he realized that she was totally full of it when she'd made up that bogus excuse about needing help to see him. And so she was surprised when his demeanor changed to one of casualness, rather than the brief flicker of intensity she'd seen.
"Well, I suppose my charm has its obvious appeal, thus explaining you calling me for 'help'" Nicholas wiggled his eye brows and made quote signs with his fingers as he said "help." "So, why don't we cut through this charade and talk about what's really important here." Kay had a brief moment of panic, until he continued with a comical smirk, "Me. I'm what's really important. Go ahead, ask me anything. As long as it's to do with me."
Kay couldn't help it, she started laughing. "Why Mr. Crane, I had no idea you were so modest," she said. "Let's see. why don't you tell me where you're from?"
"Here and there," Nicholas replied with a wink.
Kay immediately sense a challenge. "Oh really? Where were you born?"
Nicholas smiled, "It's a sad, sad story really. Quite unfortunate," he said melodramatically as he sighed in obvious angst over the story of his birth. "I was born in Paris while my mother was visiting my aunt."
Kay was confused, but persistent. "Nicholas, what in the world? What's so 'unfortunate' about that?"
Nicholas grinned even more, knowing she was gonna love this punch line. "You see, dear Kay, the location of one's birth doesn't eliminate them from having any occupation on earth. with the exception of one." He paused, waiting for her to realize what he was talking about. "It's one that I have long felt that I was destined for, one suitable to my own greatness. And alas, because I was born in Paris, I will never be able to share this greatness with the world."
Kay's immediate burst of laughter was enough to make everyone around her grin, even though they had no clue what she was laughing about. "You're such a SCHNERD, Nicholas!"
He laughed with her. "You scoff at my dream of being President of the United States?" he said with pretended offense.
"No, I scoff at your presumption that the world is missing out on 'your greatness' just because you'll never be President!" Kay managed through her laughter.
"Well, see if I share anything else with you. Although, I suppose I must. It's bad enough that I can't share this with the world in the proper capacity, I suppose I can continue to share me with you."
Kay willingly jumped back to the questions. "Okay, so you were born in Paris. Must be pretty well-off. And where did you head after that fate- filled entrance into the world?"
Nicholas shrugged. "Back to the sleepy little town where my parents have always lived. You wouldn't know it."
It was Kay's turn to grin. "I know how that goes; I grew up in a small town myself that no one's ever heard of. I always have to say I'm from 'near Boston'."
Nicholas gave her a funny smile. "Hey, that's my 'near' city too! Looks like we were meant to meet and bond over our small-town ness."
Kay's grin faltered. Something was beginning to click. Something that didn't bode well for the rest of the evening. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "So, what's the name of your lil' town?" she asked casually. "Since we both use Boston as our 'near' city, maybe I've heard of it."
Nicholas noticed a slight change in her attitude, and also her quick covering of that change. He was at once struck by how attune to her reactions he was, and vice versa. At the same time that he too had a feeling that things were about to make a turn that neither of them really wanted to happen. "What does it matter?" he asked back, imitating her casual tone. His eyes turned serious, and Kay felt drawn into them. "What matters is that we're having a good time together, right now, right?"
And realizing that he was just as anxious and nervous about the entire situation as she was, Kay suddenly realized that the fun they were having was all that mattered. True to her own style, Kay decided to confront the issue head on. "So how'd you manage to avoid the insanity that seems to be a part of being one of The Harmony Cranes?"
Nicholas was pleased that she'd made the connection and was still sitting across from him. He also felt something decidedly warm inside as he realized that she had managed to separate him out from the rest of his ridiculously corrupt and psychotic family. Which he immediately attributed to the warm feeling induced by sitting in Haven, with all its warm colors and lighting. "Something about being shipped off to boarding school at a young age makes a body feel a disconnect with his family," he replied casually.
Kay sensed hurt behind his words, but decided not to probe. "I bet," she responded vaguely. And in that vagueness, and with the simple knowledge she seemed to have about his needs at the moment, the warmth Nicholas felt towards her blossomed to something more, something that he couldn't dismiss as a result of the ambiance of Haven. In fact, a small part of his mind noticed that the ambience seemed to cool a fraction, and take on a purplish- blue haze. The rest of his mind, however, was concentrating on the beautiful woman sitting next to him and how much he wanted to express his appreciation for her understanding.
Kay too, felt the internal warmth. She slid closer to Nicholas on the sofa.
"Hey, Simone!" another patron across the room yelled loudly. "What's up with your lights? Forgot to pay the bill?"
The small fraction of Kay's line of sight that wasn't intensely focused on Nicholas noticed a cooling of the room as well. The sofa seemed to fade from amber to a soft lavender. Still focused on Nicholas, though, she only murmured, "I hope Simone doesn't lose customers because of the lighting problems." She slid closer to Nicholas.
For his part, he too was wrapped up in Kay, but something about what Kay had just said crept into his awareness. His eyes lost their focus and shifted to the rest of the coffee house. "I better go check and see if Simone needs help," he said and he began to stand up, and move away from Kay.
Almost immediately, however, the lighting switched back, and the ambers and golds regained their heat. Nicholas shrugged and returned his attention back to Kay, who had never lost her focus on Nicholas. As he reached for her hand, the lighting in Haven again went cold, and the furniture and fixtures again took on a blue tinge. This time, they both snapped out of the spell they were casting on each other and looked around. As they shifted apart, the lighting once again returned to normal, as Simone ran over to the stage to get the microphone.
"I am so sorry about the lighting problems tonight, everyone," she began. Kay knew how well-liked Simone was, however, because all around she heard cheerful phrases of encouragement and easy forgiveness. Simone continued, "To make up for the problem, you can pay whatever you feel is reasonable for your coffee and service tonight, even if it's nothing at all!" Simone smiled and stepped off stage to cheers.
Nicholas turned to Kay and said, "What a business woman. Instead of saying everything was free and losing an awful lot of money tonight, everyone is going to pay full price, and maybe more because they like her so much."
Kay smiled in admiration of Simone's savvy. "That's so true!" she said. Something about the lighting problem was nagging her, but she couldn't place her hand on it, so she decided to call it a night. She was suddenly exhausted from the turmoil of the evening/night's events.
"Well, Nicholas, it was a great evening, thanks for introducing me to this place, but maybe we should head home."
He saw her fatigue and agreed. "Sure thing. Let's settle our tab and go."
Kay paid at the bar as promised and left a little extra to show Simone how much she loved hanging out at Haven. She promised to tell folks about it, at the same time that she had the sudden thought that she would never bring Miguel to this place, even if they ever recovered from the situation they were in. It would be her "haven" from him and all the insecurity he produced in her.
Nicholas casually draped his arm around Kay's shoulder as they walked to his car behind the building. Kay unconsciously snaked her arm around his back. It felt good to be close to someone without all the tension that she felt around Miguel sometimes. Nicholas seemed like he was going to be a great friend and she was glad her impulsiveness hadn't led her astray.
As Nicholas pulled up to campus fifteen minutes later, he looked over at Kay. Suddenly, he didn't want the evening to be over.
Kay turned to him from her thoughts of Miguel and their confrontation and was about to thank him for hanging out when she caught the intensity in his gaze. Confused, she started to say, "Is there."
Nicholas interrupted her without thinking. "Kay, this can't be the end of the evening. You didn't call me to talk about post-structuralism. You didn't call me to listen to my life story, either." He paused, thinking about how to approach the topic. Then, he remembered Kay's own straightforwardness and decided to use the same strategy. "Kay, something is wrong and I want you to tell me what it is, or else, I wouldn't feel comfortable just dropping you off and going home."
Kay felt a reflex protest forming on her lips. She stopped as she saw real concern in his eyes. She met his directness with some of her own. "Okay. I'll tell you. But not here in the car.and I live in a dorm."
Nicholas understood immediately. He started up the car and shot a quick grin her way. "I guess you'll have to come and see the pad.. It's four in the morning, and even Simone has to sleep sometime."
