There were a fair number of emotions tumbling through Alex's head as he approached the diner. Talking with Annie, hearing her voice and seeing her baby and what she looked like now and just...everything. He was happy - elated, even - but also still with that seed of worry in his chest, that she'd still be traveling the wrong path before everything was said and done, and now that she had a kid to worry about, that meant Alex would have to worry about little Wes, too, because it could all too easily jump to the next generation of the White family as well - that malaise that had so infested his own childhood.
But no, they were leaving Rose. Maybe that was it. Maybe. He could hope.
And the garnish on that emotional soup was the way his mother had talked to him. He knew he'd fucked up but she was more than angry; it was like she legitimately hated him for what he did. And no, they'd never been close, but it really did hurt. She was his mother, she was supposed to like, love him no matter what. Didn't mean she couldn't be mad, but family wasn't supposed to hate. Even for everything his parents had done, or let happen to him, Alex didn't hate them.
So that was all threading through his mind and he decided he didn't want shitty instant coffee tonight, he wanted, well, shitty diner coffee, since this was a closer walk than going into town proper. He saw the lady outside, smoking a cigarette, saw her speaking and pulled off his headphones - the cheap, foam covered earpieces that belonged with cassette Walkman pushed into the front pouch of his hoodie, playing Madonna's Like a Prayer until he pushed the stop button in time to hear "going in?"
"In a minute," he said, thinking he'd might as well join her, because in that addicted way he saw her smoking and needed one too. "'m just here for coffee," he said, leaning against the wall and lighting up.