Free Drops of Blue by Alice Bright

Chapter One
     
    “More coffee?” Emily asked the man in the corner booth. He nodded, and she tried to keep her hands from shaking as she poured the stale black liquid into his cup. Before he could thank her - which he wouldn’t, anyway – Emily continued on to the next table, and then the next.
     
    The work was dull and routine, but it gave her something to do while Dillon was at school. Now that he was in the 3 rd grade, he needed her more than ever to help him in the afternoons with his homework.
     
    And now that her mom was dead, Emily needed something, more than ever, to keep her mind from dwelling too much on the past.
     
    Work gave her something to do to keep her mind off of things.
     
    It kept her normal, at least on some level.
     
    She knew that things would never be completely okay again, but whose life was ever okay? Everyone had something that bothered them, that kept them awake at night.
     
    At least, that’s what Emily told herself.
     
    Sometimes she almost believed it.
     
    Emily slipped back behind the counter to start brewing a fresh pot of coffee.
     
    “Welcome to the Blue Moose Diner,” she called out as the bell on the front door jingled and sang. Wiping her hands on her stained apron, she turned around to see who had entered the tiny restaurant.
     
    The man who stood in the doorway was tall and athletic, with jet black hair and eyes that could burn a hole in her heart.
     
    “Can I just take a seat anywhere?” He asked her with a smile.
     
    Emily nodded. “I’ll be right with you,” she told him.
     
    He chose a barstool directly in front of her.
     
    She turned around, trying not to worry about getting the order right, the staleness of the coffee, or what she looked like after working double shifts this week. She was exhausted and the dark circles beneath her eyes gave it away. All she could think about was making it through the day. Just a few more hours and she could go home and collapse until her son came home.
     
    “You can do this,” she whispered to herself.
     
    Just a few more hours.
     
    “Can I start you off with a cup of coffee?” Emily asked the man with the deep eyes.
     
    “Yes, thank you.” He smiled at her. “Long day?”
     
    She nodded, surprised that he had actually spoken to her. Most of the diners at this time of day weren’t very talkative. It was after lunch, so all the local businessmen were gone, but it was too soon for the retirees to be in for their late afternoon coffee. Nearly everyone who came in during the early afternoon hours were truckers or travelers too tired to talk.
     
    And Emily didn’t really mind.
     
    “Yes,” she told the man. “How are you doing today?”
     
    “Better now that I’m here, Emily,” he squinted briefly at her tiny name tag. “I’m Henry.”
     
    “Nice to meet you, Henry. I’m glad you stopped in. I’ll go get that coffee now.” She turned to grab a fresh pot from behind the counter and started brewing the coffee.
     
    She could do this.
     
    Just a few more hours.

 
    Chapter Two
     
    “What kind of work do you do?” Emily asked the stranger as she poured him another cup of steaming hot coffee. She handed him a few packets of cream and sugar, which he promptly tossed into his mug.
     
    “I’m in marketing,” he told her. “Don’t worry,” he added quickly, “no one ever knows what that means.” When she smiled, he laughed. “I help companies create ads. It’s nothing spectacular, but it pays the bills.”
     
    “Sounds like a fun job to me,” Emily told him.
     
    “It is, sometimes,” he conceded. “Sometimes it would be nice just to get away, though. My wife passed away a few years ago and ever since then, I’ve just been lost. I pour myself into work because it keeps my mind off of things, but sometimes I think about just quitting and running away.”
     
    Emily’s face must have given away her surprise at her customer’s overshare, because Henry quickly added, “I’m really