As always, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you liked it! I certainly had fun writing it.
We're jumping back into the always enigmatic and entertaining Dr. Spencer Reid's mind for this one. The inspiration for it comes from the season 5 episode "Risky Business" and the end scene on the jet with the star puzzle. It was suggested to me by tannerose5 many, many, many months ago. Apologies it took so long!
Happy reading =)
"Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning." – Maya Angelou
"What can I get you, gorgeous?"
The corners of my mouth turn up into a small smile, and I feel the familiar warmth spread in my cheeks at Danielle's words. In all the years I've been coming to this park, I can't recall a single instance where her coffee cart wasn't set up. I've bought coffee from her in 2 feet of snow, rain storms, gale-force winds, and even freezing rain.
"Two medium coffees, please," I say, digging in my bag for my wallet.
"Where's your lady friend?" she asks, pouring out two large coffees. She never listens to the size I order. Or maybe she just chooses not to.
"She's meeting me here," I explain, handing over a $10 bill.
"What's on the agenda for today? Chess?" she asks, pouring my usual amount of sugar into my coffee.
"Actually I'm teaching her how to play Go." It briefly crosses my mind that given the cases we see on a regular basis, it may not be so wise for me to be so forthcoming with my schedule and day's plans. But I reason that if she'd wanted to pull anything like that, she's had opportunities abound and hasn't done so.
"Go?" she asks in confusion.
"It's an ancient Chinese board game originating over 2500 years ago famed for its intense strategizing and difficulty."
"How is that different from chess?"
"While the two share some common elements, most notably their underlying need for strategy, Go is a completely different game than chess. Both utilize opposing game pieces of black and white colour, but Chess pieces are fashioned in specified shapes which correspond to specific movement patterns allowed for each piece, while Go pieces are uniformly round stones and are placed on the board, not moved around. The ultimate goal of each game differs as well. In chess the object of the game is to put your opponent's king in an inescapable threat of capture – termed 'checkmate' – while the object of Go is to capture more stones than your opponent by occupying all orthogonally-adjacent points around opponents' pieces. Moreover, if you look at origins of the games, Go originated in ancient China, while chess is believed to have originated in Eastern India in the sixth century," I ramble off quickly.
"I- I will never get used to that," she stammers, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping in surprise, but the corners tugging into a smile.
I smile sheepishly and shrug. "Sorry."
"No, no, it's fine. Just, like I said, I'll never get used to that," she says quickly, handing over the two coffees.
"Thanks, Danielle."
"Gorgeous, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Dani," she says with a giggle. "You sure you don't want one of these cookies?"
"Um... Sure, why not. I'll take one," I say.
"Just the one? You're going to show up and have nothing for your lady, gorgeous?"
"But I'm bringing her coffee!" I say quickly.
She arches an eyebrow in response, fixing me with a very unimpressed glare.
"Okay. One cookie and a chocolate croissant," I amend, remembering Emily's fondness of them.
"Now you're talking," she says with a wink.
"How much do I owe you?" I ask, putting down the coffees on the cart.
"$2.70 for the snacks, but the advice is free," she quips.
I shake my head and hand over a five. "Keep the change," I say.
She smiles gratefully. "Have fun. And say hi to your lady friend for me."
"I will, Dani. Thanks."
"No problem, gorgeous."
"Have a good day," I say with a quick smile as I stuff the snacks into my bag and grab the coffees before heading toward the tables and chairs just up the path.
"Hey," she says, shrugging off her coat and hanging it on the back of the chair.
"Hi," I say with a smile and push the coffee I'd bought for her forward.
"Thanks, Reid," she says with a warm smile, hanging her purse on top of her coat on the chair.
"No problem," I reply quickly. "Oh! I almost forgot. I got you this as well," I say and pull out the chocolate croissant.
"Ohhh, you spoil me Dr. Reid. Thank you," she says, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek before sliding into the chair opposite me.
I feel my face flush, and smile bashfully. "Dani says hello."
Her eyes widen and twinkle with happiness at the mention of our mutual coffee friend. "I haven't seen her in ages! I'll have to drop by on my way home."
"I'm sure she'd love that," I say honestly.
"You know," she begins, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I'm not sure I've ever properly introduced myself to her. The poor girl probably doesn't even know my name."
I shrug. "She doesn't know my name either. Just calls me gorgeous."
"Oooohhhh," she says while wagging her eyebrows at me. "Dr. Reid, have you been cheating on me with another woman?"
"Wh-what? No, I-" I stammer.
"Relax, Reid. I was kidding," she says.
"Right," I say, feeling the familiar flush that accompanies feelings of embarrassment.
"So," she says after tearing off a piece of the croissant. "What're we playing today?"
"Go."
"The Chinese strategy game?" she asks, opening her coffee and inhaling its scent deeply.
"You've played before?" I say, trying to hide my disappointment. I had hoped to introduce her to something new.
She shakes her head. "I've heard of it, but I've never played. Is it difficult?"
I smile and hold back a laugh.
"Right, stupid question. Any game can be simple if you don't fully understand it. Are the rules complex?"
I shake my head. "No, they're actually very simple. It's the strategy that makes it a tricky."
"Ah, okay. So how does it work?" she asks as I grab the board and pieces from my bag and set it up on the table.
"You know what I think?" she says, finishing off the last of her coffee.
"About what?" I ask absently, my mind still focused on the board and potential moves.
"I think you just wanted a fighting chance to beat me at something," she says with a grin and a laugh, choosing to ignore my response.
I grab a stone and place it on the board, capturing some of her pieces. She frowns slightly at this and begins scanning the board. She grabs a stone and places it down gently in a fairly conservative move.
"In fact, I think you're still holding a grudge that I beat you at backgammon last month."
"I don't hold grudges," I say, snapping a stone down onto the board forcefully.
"Right. I forgot you were such a gracious loser," she quips, biting her lip to hold back her laughter.
"That was a lucky win," I grouse, motioning for her to hurry up and make a move.
"Now, now, Dr. Reid. If I remember correctly, etiquette dictates rushing an opponent is frowned upon greatly."
I glare pointedly at her words. She's right, which makes it all the more painful to admit. "My apologies. Please, by all means take your time. I don't have anywhere to be," I say in a slightly snarky tone.
"Why is that?" she asks after a moment of silent contemplation, clearly ignoring my tone.
"Why what?" I ask.
"Why don't you have anywhere to be?" she clarifies, her eyes focused intently on me, the game momentarily forgotten.
I shift in my seat, uncomfortable with the scrutiny. I debate how to answer, finally settling on vague and evasive. "Just didn't make any plans. You know how it is with our schedule."
Her eyes narrow slightly before she drops her gaze back to the board, apparently choosing to accept my answer. She makes a move, capturing a few of my pieces in the process. For a first-time player she is doing remarkably well.
"Where did you find that star puzzle?" I ask, wanting to change the subject.
"I actually got it as a gift when I was a kid. My family's driver gave it to-"
"Your family had a driver?" I interrupt, surprised by that piece of information. Emily doesn't give away information about herself easily, so to hear such a detail is a rare treat that I can't help but delve into the details of.
"Yeah. My mother needed someone to drive her to and from her meetings, not to mention someone to cart me around while she was busy."
"Oh," I say, not really sure how to respond and turning my attention back to the board briefly before placing another stone.
"Shane and I spent a lot of time together, and he always made sure I had something to occupy me while I had to wait for my mother to finish up her schedule for the day. If I was lucky he'd be able to stay with me and would tell me the most captivating stories."
"Is that where you heard that story you told me on the jet?" I ask.
"Yeah. Shortly before my eighth birthday he gave me the puzzle and told me the story, promising that one day I'd find my own prince who could put together the star and prove his love for me. I must have fiddled with that thing for months before I finally gave up and asked him to put it together for me. He refused, saying that he wasn't my prince, and that I'd have to be patient."
"Were you?"
"I gave up looking for my prince a long time ago," she says with a shrug. "My turn?" she asks.
I nod in response. I watch as her eyes scan the board carefully, looking for her best option. My mind drifts to her response to my question. Emily Prentiss is a woman who could, at least in my own opinion, have any man she wanted. She's beautiful, smart, funny, compassionate, loyal; a comprehensive list of her positive characteristics would certainly take a fair bit of time to compile. And yet, she's single, with no real romantic relationships to her name – at least that I know of. This job was probably a significant contributing factor to that, but there are plenty of men within law enforcement that would understand and be more than happy to go out with her. Then again, the more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of her dating just any man. She deserved someone special. That was for sure.
"Reid? You still with me?"
"Huh?"
"Your move, handsome," she says with a smile.
I glance down to the board and place a stone quickly.
"Where'd you disappear to?"
"I was just thinking about the story you told on the jet," I say.
"Oh? What about it?"
"How well you told it," I say simply.
"Oh..." she says, clearly unsure how to respond.
"It reminded me of the stories my mom used to read to me."
"It did?"
I nod. "Yeah, something about your voice and cadence. It was...calming. I mean, even as a child I could remember the stories by heart, word for word. But they were never quite the same when I read them. My mother's voice always seemed to put something into them."
"Well thank you," she says, her voice sincere. "Are you telling me I should look into a different career path?" she jokes as she scrunches her face in a smile.
"No! I like having you on the team," I say quickly, only realizing after I'd said it that she had been joking.
Her eyes widen in surprise and she's quick to reassure me. "I was just kidding Reid. I've got no plans to change careers anytime soon. Although if you keep bringing me croissants, I'll never pass my recertification, and I'll have to change careers," she says with a smile.
I grin sheepishly. "Your move."
She nods and stares at the board for a minute before deciding to pass. My eyes scan the board once more and determine any move I make would result in her capturing several of my pieces.
"Pass," I say.
"That's the end of the game, right?" she asks. "Now we score it?"
I nod. She leans back in her chair, rubbing her eyes.
"Aren't you going to count yours?" I ask.
"I figured I'd let you do that, since your mind moves a heck of a lot faster than mine..."
"You just want me to do all the work," I grumble.
"Your words, not mine," she says with a wide grin.
It takes me just a minute to calculate the final outcome, but I take another minute to confirm it before muttering, "Unbelievable."
"What was that?" she asks, her smile widening in realization.
"This was really your first time playing?" I ask, hoping she'd duped me.
"Yep," she says with an enthusiastic nod. "Did I win?"
"Beginner's luck," I groan.
She laughs.
"That's it. We're playing poker next time. I know I can beat you at that," I say, but wondering if there was any game she wouldn't win.
"If you say so," she teases, sticking her tongue out at me.
I exhale in frustration. I will find a game I can beat her at. I have to.
I had to do a bit of internet research for this one - I had no idea how Go was played, or what the history of chess was. Now I have a basic understanding of both. Ah, what writing can bring to one's life...
If you've got the time, I'd certainly love to hear your thoughts on this one. Feedback is always wonderful to read and definitely motivates me to keep writing.
As a bit of a side note to those of you who nominated me for this year's Profiler Choice Awards for Best New Author: thank you. It sounds a bit cheesy, but it really is an honour. To know people enjoy and believe my work is worthy of recognition really just warms my heart. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: you all are the best bunch of readers. Ever.
And of course, suggestions are always welcomed for future conversations!