fresh coffee at sunrise, warm my lips against the cup

[light_of_the_world]

The deal was all but done. The unimpressive little shop with crystals and pointless little herbal concoctions had gone into something called bankruptcy. The man selling the shop -- a real estate broker -- had explained that meant the business had no money and so, to pay off some of the people owed, the shop had to be sold.

For cheap. Cheaper, at least, than any other shopfronts on the market, which were few.

Hild had thought handing over money would be enough. She had already gone to the bank and learned what a loan was, had applied, had done the math and been sure she could make the payments, provided the business did well.

But then there were things called escrow and deeds and taxes. There were rules for how to run a business, rules set by the city for what she could sell and how the building must be kept and how she must pay and treat her employees. They all came together in a vague pattern that Hild thought she could understand, but it was a painfully slow process to stop and look up the meaning of every phrase or concept she did not understand.

She could have gone to Luke. She had already asked questions of him, learned from watching and doing. But she hadn't realized the sheer number of laws that dictated his actions. All of his actions simply made sense.

She could have gone to Luke. She could have gone to Derek. But she wanted to go to Spencer. They saw each other often; at the very least, Hild could expect to see him whenever she had a shift at the bookstore. But they had not sat down and had a proper talk, with coffee, just by themselves, in some time.

So she placed her folder full of papers, two coffees (Spencer's favorite blend, made as he liked it), and a plate filled with pastry on the table of the coffee shop, and waited for Spencer to arrive.

Comments

[youfeelluckypunk]

Reid's a little early to the coffee shop but then, he's often a little early. There'd been a particular skip in his step today, though, because he hasn't had much of a chance to spend quality time with Hild as of late so getting to sit down with her is something he's been looking forward to all morning. Between work and wedding planning, the world sometimes seems to be spinning around him, in the best possible way; but this will be nice, too, just enjoying a cup of coffee and a chat with a dear friend.

When he walks into the shop, he sees he's not the only one who'd arrived earlier than their agreed time. Hild's even been here long enough to already have coffees and pastries ready, and Reid grins as he lowers himself onto the chair across from her.

"You look so prepared," he teases, reaching for his coffee and taking a sip, not bothering to ask what it is because Hild knows what he likes. It's a small detail but an important one, a detail that means a great deal to him. "I know there were some specific things you wanted to talk about, I hope I'll be of some help."