“I met a man named Joe Black today. …I’m not sure I’m ready to meet him again.”
Carlos wondered if that statement begged a response. Maybe the man was just speaking out loud.
“Well… some people are just strange, I guess,” he said, barely sparing a glance to the other person. “Having a weird feeling might mean that things aren’t right.” Like right now. Carlos had a weird feeling that he’d seen this man somewhere before, but he couldn’t place it.
He had said it when the waitress had asked ‘what’s eatin’ ya, hon?’ She had shrugged it off but the man next to him at the counter had responded. Tony glanced sideways through his shades, not answering for a moment.
“Something definitely wasn’t right with him,” Tony finally replied. He wasn’t about to spill all of the tumultuous feelings that had come with speaking to that man. He didn’t want to acknowledge them to begin with.
Carlos hummed and nodded. He reached for some cream and sugar to treat his coffee – his first actual coffee in a while and he was going to milk it for all it was worth (heh, nice. Good joke, Carlos – internal self high-five.)
“Probably best to stay away from him, then,” Carlos suggested as he sweetened his coffee with more sugar than what any other person would deem necessary. “It’s my experience that one should listen to those feelings.” He wasn’t exaggerating.
Tony nodded at the idea of staying away from the man. He wasn’t going to disagree there. Somehow he felt like that man would be lurking, and in a way that wasn’t exactly stalking. No, it was something highly more sinister and yet much more natural than that. Something that couldn’t be held off with a restraining-order.
Carlos mixed his coffee with a straw and blew on it gently before taking a sip. He couldn’t help closing his eyes and giving a soft, happy sigh. So much better than instant coffee…
He opened his eyes and glanced at the other diner. Carlos frowned slightly – the guy looked like he was trying to keep it together, but Carlos had a feeling that he was very distressed by this… Joe Black person.
“Do you think you’re in danger?” he asked the man. “Like… unsafe, I mean?”
((Are they really?? That is… shocking, at the very least. I’m so sorry.
Maybe… just get some crackers and then go to bed then? You said it was pretty late, so that may be for the best. A bit of food will help quiet your stomach so you can go to sleep a little easier.
None of this is your fault, by the way. These things happen. I’m sorry I wasn’t much help…
It was named for the neckline made famous in the 1954 movie, “Sabrina”, starring Audrey Hepburn. While Edith Head won an Academy Award for the movie’s costume design in 1955, there has long been controversy over whether she or Hubert de Givenchy really designed the dress with what has also been called the H neckline.
pour one out for all the people who’s messages went unanswered because i told myself i’d answer them later but when later came around i decided it was Too Late
((I can’t tell you what your family thinks. But if they ask, you can just say “I needed it”. You shouldn’t have to elaborate on it. You don’t have to, but I strongly recommend it. Just letting hot water blanket you for a little while might help.
The Perfect Scientist 