As the juice of the Kika Fruit streaked its way down my chin and on to my chest I felt Harlock’s stare burning a hole in me and it had nothing to do with where the juice had landed. “What?!” I screeched at him.
“Do you have any more of the Kika?” he purred.
A spark of hope flickered in my soul. How bad did four eyes want the Kika? Did he want this Kika bad enough to trade for parts to get the “ole girl” running again? Just as I thought I had hatched the best ploy for setting up my trade with Harlock we both were startled by the crack of a not so distant explosion. My best guess was that it was about half a mile west of our location.
In one swift motion I grabbed my bag, kicked enough dirt with the side of my boot to strangle the fire and yanked our studious Harlock by the note ridden arm and drug him to the cover of thick brush to the East of the clearing we had occupied just seconds ago. With my Kika sticky hand planted firmly on his mouth I hissed, “Don’t make a sound, that was military ordinance and all the power crazed Marines of this quadrant know how to do is kill and I assure you they never bother asking questions!”
His fear drowned eyes let me know he understood. We lay quietly waiting to see the number of testosterone driven lunk heads we had to manage in order to return to our friendly fireside chat. My gun was drawn and ready when a lone Marine stumbled into our make shift camp. He appeared dazed. I immediately doubted his announcing explosion was on purpose. Upon closer inspection you could see several free bleeding wounds on his head, torso and right leg. His stumble escalated to tripping and finally falling face first onto the ground. The whooshing impact sent Harlock’s abandoned scraps of paper into temporary flight only to settle around the fallen soldiers head like a halo; huh, irony.
Before I could speak, Harlock had regained his footing and was headed towards our wounded visitor. Normally my instinct to avoid all things military would have driven me to tackle Harlock and drag him back while I made sure the Marine was truly down for the count. The copious amounts of blood and arrested respiration were assurance enough that we were safe for now. Before I could reach the Marine, Harlock had already gone through all his pockets and shoved a few unseen treasures away from my view. I was annoyed, not because Harlock was revealed to be self serving but because he had done it before I could. Bitter. I resisted the urge to literally “kick” the Marine while he was down. So now I have a half dead Marine at my feet and a shifty science guy gathering papers and still mumbling. Great.
Without ceremony Harlock shifted gears and immediately returned to our previous conversation as if the last 10 minutes had never occurred.
“So how much Kika do you have?” Harlock queried.
Without missing a beat I responded, “Not sure, think this might be one of the last, I will have to check my stores, so what do you have for trade if there are any left?”
Harlock’s face seemed to change, the distant look that had greeted me earlier was gone and he was definitely now a man with a goal, “Got lots of trinkets, what might you need?” he asked.
“I don’t really need much of anything in a paradise such as this, plenty of food, water and shelter it’s like a holiday, sometimes you just need some time to relax and smell the burning Damo Vines.” I answered with no urgency.
There was a faint moan heard from the Marine on the ground between us. It was clear he was trying to roll over without much success.
“Maybe I could look around your transport to see if you have anything I might be interested in trading for, I am sure I could scare up 3 or 4 of the Kika for something useful in trade,” I said, hoping to move our little trade along so I could be as far away as possible when and if our camo friend awoke from his beauty rest.
At the mention of 3 or 4 Kika, Harlock began to tremble with excitement; he could not hide his eagerness to obtain my smelly treasure. I was puzzled; he couldn’t be one of the fancy pants that use Kika for facials as he didn’t travel in the opulent manner that those folks were known to do. Whatever his reason, I was about to score the parts that I needed to blow this floating island and get back to Sir Harrow’s Tavern before iguana steak Tuesday came to a close. It unfortunately dawned on me too late that the giddiness of a profitable deal had slowed my reflexes and dulled my sense of self preservation as the cold hard barrel of a Marine issue K-Tag G rested on my temple and I heard the dreaded words, “Your dirty Pirate deal in Stagunium cost me my post and my Sister’s trade license, it seems a shame to die for some stinkin’ fruit, but then there’s no accounting for a Pirate’s taste, any last words?”
I now deeply regretted not kicking him when I had the chance.
~*~
Romance
~*~
Courage in a Coffee Cup
By
H. C. Heartland
Recently, while on a business trip Linus Nettle noticed something peculiar in his general appearance and stature. It is of note, that Linus had suffered with this particular human insufficiency his entire life but it wasn’t until one day in May, that he came to the revelation of its existence. You see, Linus Nettle had never had the courage to kiss a girl or ask her out on a date.
“May I take your order Sir?” the girl behind the counter asked while looking completely bored and complacent.
Linus searched the menu list over the girls head, wondering if she might notice that he had forgotten to shave. Why a check out girl would care that he had not shaven, is beyond the average readers care, but for Linus, such nervous thoughts were always lingering in his mind like the rustling of fall leaves in ones backyard; trapped in between the fences of reasonable thought, these single worries caused him to lose focus altogether on what was important in life.
“Sir, may I please take your order, there are other people in line, if you can’t decide then feel free to step aside and rejoin the line when you know.”
The girl was now watching Linus as he scrapped his chin. She began to wonder if he had some sort of rash and unconsciously stepping back while crinkling her nose at the thought of catching something.
“I will have one black, medium coffee, thank you.”
Linus didn’t realize how incredibly boring his order was and smiled satisfied with having made what he felt was a good decision. The counter girl rolled her eyes, and punched in the order not wasting a moment before asking the person behind him what they wanted.
Linus’ life revelation didn’t come at this point but rather at the point when he walked over to the counter where all the customers went to pick up their order. A different counter girl with long black hair, thick eye make-up and a silver nose ring gently put his coffee down on the counter and looked Linus straight in the eyes.
With a sultry voice that Linus had only heard on infomercials for late evening callers she said, “May I compliment you on making the wisest of choices in your coffee selection.”
Little did Linus know the girl was lacing her words with sarcasm.
Linus not only was not used to receiving such compliments, or any compliments for that matter, he was not used to strange looking women, or women of any genre talking to him. This unexpected interaction caused him to gulp his coffee hard, thus scalding his throat. He choked and coffee spilt out of his mouth and onto his blue striped tie.
The girl took her tea towel off of her belt and handed it to Linus. He took it gratefully and began patting off the coffee while still smiling meekly at her as she began filling her next order. Several customers later, Linus was still patting, and the girl was still pouring only now Linus was feeling a bit awkward.
Trying to decide whether or not to walk away with the towel, interrupt her work, or set it back on the counter, he kept patting.
“I think you got it.”
The girl was now looking at Linus again with her hand extended. With his extended hand wrapped around the damp towel, he smiled and said, “I really can’t thank you for all that you’ve done.”
The girl grabbed the towel and slapped him rapidly in the chest with it two times, c
ausing her thickly cut black bangs to swing back and forth.
“You are a trip! If you are that thankful for me handing you a towel to clean up your mess, I can’t imagine how thankful you’d be if I did something really worthwhile. Where are you from anyways?”
“I’m from Wichita, Kansas. But I’m here on business.”
“Really? What’s your business, Mr...?”
“My name is Linus Nettle, pleased to meet you.”
They shook hands firmly causing the girl to laugh again at his formalities. Linus looked to be in his late 20’s as was she, but his dress and manner of speaking was that of a 50 year old man from a film set sometime in 1940. He was tall, wore a tightly fitting gray suit, and wore a hat with a navy blue ribbon that matched his tie.
“I am a window salesman. There is an expo being held here this weekend and I have come to set up a booth.”
Linus suddenly began to think about all that was left to do before the expo began. If he didn’t hurry he would be late for the sign up desk.
“Wow! Sounds like a pretty wild time Linus Nettle. So is that how you always spend your weekends.”
“Well, yes.”
Linus cleared his throat and struck up the nerve to ask, “And may I ask what your name is?”
“My name is Starling. And I get off in an hour.”
Starling winked and shut the cash register drawer causing Linus to jump.
Linus picked up his drink and took two steps back and bumped into someone behind him who mumbled the word idiot as he walked over to the seats that were empty against the wall.
He had not expected such a stirring change of events. Here before him stood one of the most delightful creatures he had ever set eyes on. From what he could tell, she gave him a perfect window of opportunity to ask her out on a date. She got off in an hour. Linus now had one hour to work up the courage to do what he had never yet done; ask a girl out.
Sitting nearby two tables away from Linus was an old woman sipping on a cup of Earl Gray tea. Linus could see that it was Earl Gray because her tea bag was still in the cup and the label was big and purple. Linus felt a bit distracted from thought as the old woman kept staring at him and sipping on her tea.
Linus had intended to go to his hotel but all he could think of to do was watch Miss Starling finish making her coffee orders for the rest of the hour.
Linus marveled at the way this counter girl interacted with people. Some people were very business-like, not really taking time to make much chit chat. Starling was the type that liked the talkers. Although she didn’t flirt with anyone the way she had flirted with Linus. He had never had the gift of gab, but now he was increasingly aware of the fact that he did not know how to talk with a girl, or rather a woman. Linus was 26 years old and had spent the better part of his young manhood learning the ins and outs of the window selling business. Even in high school, he never had been inclined to ask a girl out. His parents, who were older and lived on a farm, never were concerned over his lack of a social life. They were proud of their son who always took his responsibilities seriously and got good grades.
He had travelled several national bus systems as far east as Boston and as far West as California. The pride he took in such a stereotypically boring job was unprecedented. His work compensated him for his loyalty by giving him good pay, and good insurance. These were the things a good life was made of so he had been told since the time he had been small. But as of late, his loneliness began setting in stronger than it had in the past. But what did he have to offer a girl like Starling. She obviously had the world at her fingertips. She worked that counter like it was amusing to her and not like it was the job she desperately needed. Her hair was raven black and she had the tiniest beauty mark just below her left eye. Her wrists were arrayed with a variety of strange costume jewelry. To Linus Miss Starling had all the courage to do and wear things he would never dream of. How he wondered what it must be like to live in a world where you weren’t afraid to be someone different.
“So are you going to get the nerve up to ask her out?”
Startled by this abrupt interruption of his daydreaming, Linus turned to see the old woman was no longer sitting two tables away but right up next to him even though there was no room at his single person table for her. She scooted as close as possible and tried to get up close to his ear even though he was much taller than her. Looking somewhat elf like, the woman caused Linus to shutter and reply, “I hadn’t really thought about it.”
The old woman was tiny with huge round blue eyes. She had obviously had her hair curled that very day and they were practically standing on end with a barrette clipped to the top of her head. It was very easy for Linus to picture what she must have looked like as a little girl. Now with aged lines around her mouth and eyes, she stared up at Linus with all the courage of a woman in her 80’s that clearly had nothing to lose.
“Well, that’s obviously not true” she remarked still looking up at him with several blinks of her eye lids making her look somewhat like a butterfly.
“You’ve spent the last 20 minutes staring at her, practically drooling over the sight of the girl. I think she likes you too.”
The old woman nudged him with her elbow.
Linus rubbing his arm and looking down said, “What makes you say that?”
“No need to be afraid my boy, you like her after all, that should be an encouragement. I have ordered one cup of hot water to soak my tea bag in every Monday for the last 3 months in this coffee shop and I have never heard her tell anyone the time she gets off work.
Linus, having calmed down a bit from this attack on his personal space, looked at the old woman and then looked at Starling. He looked down at his cup of coffee, which had one cold sip left in it and then looked back up at the counter again. This latest piece of information gave him a dose of courage which he sorely needed. He didn’t know exactly what he had the courage to do, but he suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline running through his veins.
“You’re out of coffee. Why don’t you go back to the counter and order another one. I see people do that sort of thing all the time. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about that.”
The old woman then gave him another nudge with her elbow, decidedly harder than before.
Wanting to get away from the old woman, Linus stood up and exited the dining area, heading straight for the cashier’s counter.
The small coffee shop suddenly felt very big. It took forever for him to walk up to the counter where a new person who hadn’t taken the previous order was. Starling was watching him out of the corner of her eye but Linus didn’t notice.
Normally, after making their order, everyone walks over to the little station near where Starling pours, but so as to not look like the stalker that he felt like, Linus decided to wait in front of the cash register. The young man working the register tapped Linus on the shoulder and asked him to please move over to the waiting area. Linus could feel the beads of sweat forming on his head. He approached the counter but said nothing for several seconds which felt like hours. Music was playing over the speaker system to a rather funky beat causing Linus to tap his foot and attempt to gain some impetus to conversation.
“Great tunes!” Linus said in a loud voice hoping his voice could travel over the sound of the frothing machine. Starling stopped the frothing machine and said just as loudly as Linus had projected, “What was that?”
Linus now felt self-conscious that others including that nosey old woman who was probably watching his every move, might be listening. He leaned closely and said, “I said, there are some great tunes playing over the speakers. Do you have a hand in picking out some of the song choices?”
Linus gave a gentle smile feeling very pleased at how smoothly his first few words came out.
Starling turned her frothing machine back on and yelled, “No, they are all on pre-recorded CD’s. We have certain ones for certain days and they always play. I am sick of listening to them to tell you the truth, but we
only get new ones quarterly so we’re stuck listening to it over and over again.”
As she said this she was swirling caramel on top of someone’s frothy latte.
“Yes, I could see how this would be tiresome.”
Linus now felt the need to take his handkerchief and wipe his sweaty forehead with it. He looked back towards where the old woman had been sitting to see if she approved of how it was going so far but she was nowhere to be seen. Feeling better now that he didn’t have the old lady watching him, he began to open his mouth to speak again but was interrupted by the man standing behind him.
“Excuse me pal, but my coffee is getting cold.”
The man pushed him to the side and grabbed the frothy drink from off the counter, throwing some change in the jar sitting there for tips.
Starling was now finished with Linus’ drink. It was the same black coffee he had ordered before.
“Here ya go. Another exciting order of black coffee. You need to get out more, did you know we have 24 different ways to make coffee here. And they are all twice as expensive as the local diner down the street. But you come here just to drink an everyday cup of Joe? Doesn’t that strike you as strange?”
Feeling a bit defensive Linus barked, “Well, don’t you think it a bit strange that out of 24 varieties of coffee, and several varieties of music, you still have no satisfaction with your work. Whereas I have found the thing which brings me contentment and it literally can be found anywhere I travel.”
Starling looked at him and retorted, “Coffee contentment is important, but there are other things in life which make one happy you know. Variety is the spice of life. Don’t you ever long to do something spontaneously that you’ve never done before?”
Linus had not often felt the need to be spontaneous. In those rare moments where it would have been appropriate, his lack of spontaneity always stopped him from embarrassing himself past the very thought of doing something. He looked down at his coffee cup and noticed it was only filled ¾ of the way full. This happened to be one of his pet peeves. Distracted by the annoyance of what he considered a disregard for competence, he pushed the cup back towards Starling with his fingers and said, “Sorry Miss Starling, I’m a to the rim kind of guy, could you please fill it up to the top.”