WHO: Emilia Wolfe and Rafael Valdez WHEN: June 23rd, 2018 WHERE: Common Grounds. SUMMARY: Two friends just chatting about life and work. WARNINGS: None!
It had been a restless night. After closing up at Last Shot, Raf had made the trek home, let the dog out, filled the water and food bowls, and then left again. Lying in bed would mean tossing and turning. And if he did fall asleep, he’d probably dream of her again. He was exhausted, but more, he was ready to move on from the feelings of hurt and betrayal that had clung to him for over a decade.
Fall City was nice in the the early morning hours were lonely. It was rare to find someone out. He walked his way from home to the shop, disabling the alarm, turning on the lights one by one until the shadows had been chased away. He stood for a while in the middle of the store, just looking, staring around at the furniture, the walls, the doors, the windows—wondering if somewhere in the mess of everything he could have changed things. If he had looked harder. Waited longer.
Thinking was the opposite of what he wanted to do, so he rounded behind the counter, starting several of the coffee machines, restocking jars and pitchers with the required elements. He stacked the cups. He cleaned out the pastry case. It would only be a few more hours until Wynnie showed up with the drop off of goods.
In the meantime, it was just Raf sitting in an empty cafe waiting to move on.
Emilia should have gone home like a normal person when her eyes got tired. But instead, she spent the night going over reports from each of her detectives and officers. Trying to find the puzzle pieces that fit together from a big picture view, rather than being focused on individual interviews she’d had. Meanwhile, trying to desensitize herself to the way her heart would pick up every time Elliot was mentioned.
After momentarily falling asleep over the paperwork, she decided she was going to need more than the cold leftovers in the coffeemaker. She needed the good stuff though she wasn’t sure Cool-no Common Grounds would be open this early. Still, she figured it would be good to take a walk and try to be a normal human being until everyone else woke up and began reporting in for their shift in a couple hours.
She grabbed her to go mug, thankful that she’d thought to clean it yesterday, and headed towards the coffee shop. She was again, thankful, when she arrived to find it open, though empty save for herself and Raf.
“Morning,” She said softly, her voice clearly tired.
“Hey there,” he answered, perking up from his daze as he wiped the counter down for what felt like the hundredth time. “You’re up early, sheriff. I can’t offer any donuts,” he teased, “but I have coffee at the ready.”
She forced a smile at the joke, which was surprisingly harder in this state. She thought it ought to be muscle memory with that joke by now. Usually, it was. “Early bird gets the worm and all of that, right?”
Emilia yawned before raising her mug. “Was just dropping in for coffee anyhow. So that suits me perfectly well.”
“Well, you’re my earliest bird,” he explained. “And Wynnie hasn’t dropped off the day’s pastries yet. The shop doesn’t technically open for another two hours.”
He held out his hand for her mug. “The usual?”
“Sorry that I’m here so early. But, yea, the usual would be great.” She handed the mug over. Emilia glanced around the shop, before watching Rafael put her drink together. “How has the name change been treating this place?”
Raf set to work filling her mug with the appropriate drink, ensuring the mug top was tightly fastened before handing it back over. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re doing a lot of hard work, Emilia. Coffee’s the least I can do.”
At her question, he offered a candid shrug. “Business seems to be doing well. I get at least one local that seems to loudly call it by the previous name. But everything takes time.” He leaned against the counter now, watching her for a moment. “How’re you holding up? This isn’t an easy thing to have to deal with.”
Emilia motioned to herself. “I appear to still be in one piece. So I guess I’m holding up, at least.” She tilted her head to the side. “Although, it’s much more useful when people voluntarily come to us for their interview.”
“Well, if there’s ever anything that I can do for you, don’t hesitate to let me know, Emilia. I know only a fraction of how hard you work for this town and I can’t imagine the stress you must be under right now.” He made a mental note to take coffee and pastries down to the station later. It was possible he might be able to convince Wynnie to bake something extra for him. If not, there was always La Vie.
Now he looked up at her, canting his head to the side a touch. “I had my interview with Mal,” he explained, but as he pulled out of his lean against the counter, his mouth twisted up in apology. “I just got caught up with work and then—” He swallowed and shook his head. “Next time you need anything voluntarily, I’ll be there with bells on.”
Emilia gave a small smile. “That phrase.” She shook her head back and forth. “It’s not really one that’s ever made any sense to me. I get what it means, of course, but it seems silly. Who do you know that ever wears bells?”
“Mom made me wear bells for a Christmas party not that long ago,” he said, shrugging. “But we’re a bit eccentric around the holidays, as you know.”
Emilia nodded her head. “Yes, I do know that very well. But that’s very much an exception.”
“Do you want me to wear bells down to the station the next time you need me to do something?” he asked teasingly. “You know I’d do anything to brighten your day a bit. I still have the shirt. And the socks. The pants were a bit much.”
“Hopefully, we won’t need you for another interview.” She shrugged her shoulders. “At least we have the photographic evidence of you in those pants.”
“Hopefully not,” he agreed with a nod. “But I’ll be delivering to the station on the regular until things quiet down. I’ll be here early for the next few weeks—in case you go wandering for coffee again.”
Emilia took her mug, taking the first sip of the hot liquid. It was, as usual, just how she liked it. “That’s very kind of you, Raf. And I appreciate the early openings, though I hope I’m not the only one you’re opening for.”
Raf smiled sadly and shook his head. “I’m just glad I can do something to help. Give a shout if you need anything else.”