For the Love of Coffee
By Tamicah Maree
Copyright 2014 Tamicah Maree
Chapter 1
Elizabeth Harvey splashed cold water on her face in a futile attempt to feel more awake. She squinted wearily as she looked in the mirror. “Great!” she muttered trying to flatten her unruly red hair with her wet hands. It was a lost cause. “Oh well,” she grumbled as she turned away from the bathroom sink. There was only one thing on her mind at the moment…coffee. “Sorry Lord,” she prayed as she dragged her feet to the kitchen. “I know You're supposed to be first, but I promise I'll read the Bible as soon as I get my caffeine fix.”
Elizabeth, who just went by Beth, filled the kettle and switched it on before turning to open the pantry. “Oh man,” she groaned when she noticed the empty spot on the shelf in front of her. She had returned home late last night from attending a week long work conference. She had run out of coffee the night before going away and hadn't had a chance to replace it yet. Well there was nothing else for it but to go buy some immediately. The only question was should she have a shower first or not. She decided not, she was too desperate for her morning cuppa. Besides she was only going to the small convenience store around the corner. Who was she likely to see at this time on a Saturday morning? Not any of her friends that's for sure. Saturday was their only day to sleep in and chill out in “daggy” clothes and they always took advantage of that. Grabbing a hair tie to pull back her thick curls, Beth briefly considered jogging but quickly dismissed the idea in favour of that liquid gold. She grabbed her car keys and was soon pulling out of the driveway in her little blue Festiva.
To her relief there were only two other cars in the parking lot and she didn't recognise either or them. Now to get in and out as quickly as possible so she could go home and resume her plans to do nothing for the day. At the entrance she had one of those dumb moments of trying to push the door when it clearly said pull. Expecting it to push open in front of her she walked into the door smacking her head on the glass and dropping her purse in the process. Thank goodness no one is around, she thought to herself as she rubbed the sore spot on her forehead. Then to her horror she heard a deep chuckle and out of the corner of her eye saw someone reaching for her purse. “Are you ok?” the person asked as they stood up with her purse in hand. Any hope of regaining her dignity disappeared as she looked up into the deep brown eyes of the stranger standing beside her. He was tall, with wavy dark hair and a dazzling smile that set her heart racing. She tried desperately to think of something intelligent to say but all came out was, “ummm..” “Here's your purse.” He said trying not to laugh. “Thanks,” she mumbled taking it from his hands. She wanted to die from embarrassment. “You're ok then?” the man asked again. “I'm fine.” Beth replied. “Hurt my pride more than anything.” The man reached around her and pulled the door open letting her walk in first. She thanked him again and then remembering her mission set off to find what she was looking for.
Ten minutes later Beth was returning to her car clutching her precious cargo which now included a packet of her favourite chocolate biscuits. As she was opening her car door she spotted her rescuer standing beside a nearby car obviously talking to someone in the driver seat. He handed something to his companion before glancing furtively around him as if to make sure no one was watching. She couldn't help but wonder what they were doing as it looked quite secretive. When the handsome stranger turned in her direction she decided to save face and just hop in the car. It really wasn't any of her business anyway.
Chapter 2
The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful just as she had planned. She started with coffee, biscuits and devotions. Then spent some time pottering around her herb garden before cooking herself a plate of chicken korma and rice and settling down to watch a movie. She went to bed early and spent some time reading before switching her lamp off for the night. She had church the following morning and she wanted to be refreshed and on time.
The next morning Beth woke to the sound of rain, and peering out the window saw that the sky was thick with dark clouds. For a brief moment she was tempted to skip church rather than go out in the miserable weather, but her heart won over her head and soon she was standing under the hot shower. She was torn between standing for an extra ten minutes and saving time for a quick cuppa before church but this time the coffee lost the battle. The dreary weather called for more shower time she decided. She would just have to take her coffee in a travel mug. Beth often liked to walk to church, but that clearly wasn't going to happen this morning. So with her mug in hand she made her way to the car thankful for her undercover carport.
Church was surprisingly full. Beth had expected fewer numbers with the rain. She slid into a seat just in time for the first song. The worship time was sweet and the message encouraging. The Pastor spoke on the Scripture in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” He went on to expound on what it means to really trust God and allow Him to guide every area of our lives.
After the service Beth decided to grab a cappuccino from the church café and catch up with a few friends. She was surprised to find herself in line behind the guy who had seen her run into the door at the store the day before. She briefly entertained the thought of making a run for it, but he spotted her. “Fancy running into you here,” he said with teasing glint in his eye. Beth felt her cheeks going red but quickly tried to cover her embarrassment with a bright smile and a cheery, “Hey, yeah this is a surprise. I haven’t seen you here before. I take it you must be new?” her companion responded in the affirmative adding, “I moved here 2 weeks ago. I was at church last Sunday but I don’t remember seeing you.” “I was away last week,” Beth confirmed. “I’m Max by the way,” the man said extending his hand to her. “Beth,” she replied shaking it.
She wanted to ask about the suspicious exchange she had seen the day before, but before she could think of a good way to approach the subject it was Max’s turn to be served. Beth was served by a different attendant and when she turned around he was gone.
“Beth!” exclaimed a familiar voice as she was leaving the counter. It was her best friend Liz. The two girls had met in college. They were as different as night and day with Liz being extremely bubbly and outgoing. The first thing that had drawn them together was sharing the same name, Elizabeth. They had soon found even more common ground however, in their shared love for their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus had begun what was likely to be a lifelong friendship.
“How was your week?” Liz asked with her customary enthusiasm as the girls headed for a table. “Long and busy,” Beth replied. “It’s good to be home.” Just then they were joined by Liz’s fiancé, Riley, and Beth couldn’t believe her eyes when she realised he was accompanied by Max. “So we meet again,” Max said with a warm chuckle. “Yeah, looks like it,” Beth agreed almost nervously. She caught the look in Liz’s eye and knew immediately what her best friend was thinking. She returned the look with a frown and slight shake of the head trying desperately to nip her best friends match making attempts in the bud.
“So who is this charming young man? And how did you guys meet?” Liz asked with obvious enthusiasm. “This is Max,” Beth replied trying her best to sound uninterested “and we met at the convenience store yesterday.” “You don’t need the details,” she mumbled after a pause. ‘Oh yes I do,” Liz shot back with a look that Beth knew too well. Liz would not let this go.
“I think maybe your friend needs her eyes checked,” Max said with a chuckle. He proceeded to tell the story doing his best not to make Beth look too silly. Everyone was laughing by the
end of it including Beth. She had to admit the four of them sitting together somehow felt complete. She quickly cut off the thought as she didn’t really know Max at all.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Riley turned to Max sitting beside him and asked “So tell us a bit about yourself Max?” Max laughed as if to brush the question off. “There’s not really much to tell” he answered “Moved to town a couple of weeks ago. Here to start a new job” “So what do you do?” Riley inquired. “Would you believe me if I said I can’t tell you right now?” Max asked feigning an air of exaggerated mystery. His companions chuckled almost nervously not quite sure how to respond to that. “OOOOOOK,” Riley ventured. “So can I ask why?” Before Max could answer the young adults leader, Tim, came over to introduce himself to the newcomer and invite him to their Tuesday night Bible study.
She couldn’t be sure but Beth thought she noticed a look of relief cross Max’s face at the interruption. It was clear to her he didn’t want to discuss whatever it was he did. She remembered the scene at the convenience store and found herself wondering exactly what he was hiding.
After Tim left the group, it didn’t seem appropriate to continue the previous conversation and soon the young people parted company to face whatever the week brought their way.
Chapter 3
Monday morning dawned bright and sunny and Beth woke early enough to take a short jog before getting ready for work. Her usual jogging route always took her past a park with beautiful recreational gardens. And she always took a minute to go in and take a drink from the water fountain and enjoy the scenery. This morning however she was surprised to find an unexpected addition to the view. As she was taking a drink she heard voices coming from behind a group of trees a short distance away. One voice sounded extremely familiar. Beth followed the path through the garden trying to stay out of sight. She was hoping to get a closer look at whoever was behind the trees. Sure enough, the familiar voice belonged to none other than Max. When she was close enough to hear what was being said, but confident she couldn’t be seen, she paused to listen for a moment. “So, I’ll meet you at your place 10:30 tonight?” Max asked “and you’ll have the goods with you?” “I’ll have ‘em!” the other voice verified roughly. “Just don’t be late and make sure you have the money.”
Realising they were about to part company Beth quickly fled the scene. She couldn’t get the disturbing incident out of her mind as she jogged home to prepare for work. Twice now she had seen Max engaged in secretive and suspicious conversation; she was sure he must be up to something illegal. Beth wondered if she should do anything about it, like call the police, but work was extremely busy that day and the next. She hardly had time to think about Max until she was getting ready for young adults Tuesday night.
Max was the first person Beth saw when she walked into the young adults meeting. She tried to convince herself it was because of her suspicions about him, but she couldn’t ignore the slight increase of her heart rate at the sight of him. She mentally chided herself for her foolishness and set her focus on greeting the leaders, Tim and Janine, and her fellow young adults. The discussion that night was centred on the sermon from Sunday, with Tim recapping on a few of the main points. He then asked questions and gave the young adults opportunity to discuss their thoughts and how they felt the sermon was applicable to their own lives. After an hour of study and discussion everyone was invited to fellowship over coffee and supper. Beth found herself talking to Max which she figured was inevitable after their conversation on Sunday.
“So would you care to join me for a drink?” Max asked hopefully. “We can just stop at maccas or somewhere like that.” Beth hesitated trying to think of a good excuse. Somehow she didn’t think "no sorry, I think you are a drug dealer” would be very well received. Just as she opened her mouth to attempt a reply she felt a hand on her shoulder. “That sounds like a great idea!” Liz interrupted. “Would you mind if we joined you?” Knowing full well what her girl friend was up to Beth silently vowed to get even with Liz at the first opportunity she got. Not wanting to hurt Max’s feeling however she tried to sound as positive as she could when she replied, “Sure, I suppose that could work.” Max shot Liz a grateful smile, “Great it's settled then.”
Half an hour later the four young adults were sitting around a table in the local McCafe drinking lattes and munching toasted banana bread.
“So, Max, any chance you can tell us what you do, now?” Riley asked casually as he leaned back in his chair. Beth instinctively held her breath waiting for him to answer. “Well,” Max said with a chuckle. “If you had asked me yesterday I would have said no, but I’m actually a detective.” Beth gasped and then covered her mouth in embarrassment. “What’s wrong with detectives?” Max asked pretending to be hurt. “Unless you are doing something illegal,” Riley joked. Beth shook her head and started to laugh. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a detective,” she promised. She went on to tell them the events that had taken place in her life in the past week and soon had all her friends laughing along with her as it became clear that Max’s secretive meetings had been an undercover operation to catch a drug dealer that had been operating in the area for the last several months. Knowing know that Max was not dangerous Beth was able to relax and really enjoy his company for the first time since meeting him. Liz, seeing her friend warm up to the young detective, decided they needed a few moments alone. So feigning tiredness she dragged riley to his feet insisting she needed to get home to bed. This time Beth was silently thanking her friend as she waved goodbye with promises to catch up again soon.
“So Detective Max,” Beth began awkwardly, suddenly aware of the sparks between them. “What happens now? If you are finished with this job are you staying here or moving on again?” I’ve been transferred locally.” Max assured her. Beth wasn’t sure she should feel quite as happy as she did, but it was a nice feeling anyway. Staring nervously into her glass, she suddenly remembered how her desperation for coffee had resulted in their first meeting. Now, here they were drinking coffee together on what some might consider a casual date. Would there be more to come? “So does that mean we may be able to do this again sometime soon?” she asked with a tentative smile, her heart pounding so hard she was sure he would hear it. “I dunno,” Max replied with a teasing grin, “I thought maybe we should make it dinner next time."
The End
**BONUS**
“Love Deferred”
(First chapter)
Prologue
The young woman moved restlessly in her seat, her gaze not shifting for even a second. Staring down at the baby in the cradle beside her created an explosion of emotions within her. Was she ready for this? She had no personal experience with babies, but she was well aware of the enormous changes they brought into a person’s life.
The baby started in her sleep causing her to wake up. Within seconds she was crying loudly, obviously wanting to be picked up. The woman bent down and lifted the baby up to her chest whispering softly as she cradled the tiny body close to her. "It's ok, little one. I'm here for you, and soon your daddy will be, too. He just needs some time to deal with everything. It's been hard for him."
A few minutes later she was sitting back in the rocking chair while the baby contentedly sucked on a warm bottle. "I'm sorry you don't have a name yet, little one." She whispered, gently stroking the tiny soft head. "But you are much loved."
The young woman felt tears gathering in her eyes as she studied the perfect little bundle that lay in her arms and suddenly her mind was a million miles away.
~ Chapter 1 ~
Three years earlier.
"Marissa! Wait up! I need to ask you something."
Marissa Gale stopped jogging and brushed her thick, dark fringe out of her eyes. She waited for her sister, Annabelle, to catch up.
"Sorry sis." Annabelle panted trying to catch her breath.
"No worries," Marissa replied. "But can you talk while we jog? I need to
be home in half an hour to get ready for work."
"Well, I'm not as fit as you." Annabelle grinned. "But I'll give it a go. I know you won't survive the day without your morning jog."
Marissa picked up her pace again and Annabelle fell into step beside her. "I was just wondering what you're planning to wear to the young adults’ thing tonight. As in, should we go casual or dress up a bit?"
"I think it'll be fairly casual." Marissa responded. "It's just a games and fellowship night."
The church the girls attended had just started a young adults ministry, and this would be there first get together. Both girls were looking forward to the night.
Annabelle flicked her long wavy blonde hair back off her shoulder, "I should have tied this back before coming out here." She complained.
"Why didn't you just wait at home for me?" Marissa asked.
"I got called into the bookshop." Annabelle replied. "Jenny will be here to pick me up in 15 minutes and I won't be home before going out tonight. I need to know what to take with me."
"Jeans and a shirt will be fine." Marissa assured her. "And you'd better hurry back if you need to leave in 15 minutes." Annabelle thanked her sister as she turned back for home.
* * *
Annabelle was nervous as she followed her sister through the doors of the church that night. She always felt this way when doing something new. She glanced around her and self consciously straightened her shirt as she stood behind Marissa. She was only a year younger than her sister, but somehow she always felt like the gap was much bigger. Marissa was bold, confident, smart and beautiful; the perfect big sister. She, on the other hand, felt quite plain and boring in comparison. Not that she minded; Marissa was her best friend and she loved her with all her heart. She didn't mind coming second to her sister. She was quite happy to stand in the shadows and let Marissa lead the way.