Bullet in the Night (32 page)
Read Bullet in the Night Online
Authors: Judith Rolfs
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“Why did I do it?” he whispered to himself as his eyes moistened.
His facial tension relaxed as he allowed long forgotten and suppressed memories to dominate his thoughts. As happened every few years at unexpected moments, images of another life flooded his consciousness. “I miss them,” was all he said before tears burst forth unabated. “Why?” He dabbed his eyes with the paper napkin in the hand not grasping the mug’s handle. “They are only a dream.”
The cafe was packed with people, a couple of them lawyers taking similar breaks from his own firm. He glanced around the room. No one seemed to notice him. The hustle and bustle of the city somehow masked his mental breakdown from almost everyone there. They were too busy either chatting and talking about their own lives, or ordering and then waiting for their coffees before other patrons mistakenly scooped theirs up by mistake.
Someone touched his shoulder and said, “Are you okay?”
He looked up, wiping the tears from his face with the sleeve of his suit coat. “Yeah.”
A young woman with long brunette hair dropping to the middle of her back stood next to him. She was plain, yet very pretty, probably in her early twenties, but she wasn’t dressed like a professional, or even a secretary or office worker. She wore a modest dress that fell all the way to her ankles. It had a high neckline and medium-length sleeves that covered her arms just past the elbows, with a pretty and bright flower pattern.
Dainty strap sandals adorned her small feet and she topped off her cute and wholesome ensemble with a pink sun hat. She looked enough out of place to attract a few judgmental glances from some of the scantily-clad women in the cafe.
Her unique cuteness, almost girlish, also garnered a few stares from the men in the cafe. Ken bet they thought whoever got her was a lucky girl with her sweetness and innocent vibe.
Normally he would have said, “Bug off,” but he resisted the temptation. Actually, the temptation didn’t occur, which surprised him somewhat. “It’s just been a long morning.”
“Do you mind if I sit here?” She motioned to the seat facing his, glancing toward the cafe with all its occupied chairs.
He looked around, noting there was no other place for a lady to rest her tired feet. He said nothing, just nodded. She sat and gazed at him with gentle eyes.
“Who are you?” he asked. Part of him wanted to say, “Leave me alone. I don’t know you and don’t care to.” But he resisted. There was something about this girl that made him want to get to know her better.
“Just a stranger in a strange land who noticed another stranger in need of a caring ear and maybe a nice word or two.” Somehow, coming from this girl, the words didn’t sound like a pickup line.
Up until that moment, Ken had not smiled for what seemed like weeks. His tears were certainly a sign he was sad, but his facial muscles had forgotten how to express the range of emotions they were capable of exhibiting. Up until then, his face reflected emotional blandness or total depression, with little in between, a horizontal grimness etched from one ear to the other. But now he felt free to express something altogether different. He allowed a large smile to sweep over his face, all of it, not just the upturned corners of his lips.
“Much better,” the strange girl said in response. “You look more peaceful and relaxed when you smile.”
He nodded his head and chuckled a little. “Thanks. I haven’t felt happy in a long time.” He paused a moment, using the silence to pick up his ceramic coffee mug to take another sip of the now much cooler drink, more out of the need to fill the lull in their conversation than from thirst. He glanced out the window for a brief moment then looked back at the strange girl. “What’s your name?”
“Stacy.” She didn’t ask for his, just sat looking into his eyes, hands crossed in her lap. “So why the tears? What’s going on in there to make you cry?”
Setting the cup back down, he broke eye contact, choosing instead to stare at the cup. He wanted to tell someone what he was thinking, but he knew what he wanted to say was crazy. Was he going mad? He had read about Hindus and their belief in reincarnation, but the thoughts that periodically resurfaced in his dreams, as well as his daydreams, weren’t visions of an old life in another time. They were of the here and now, yet different somehow. But there was something about Stacy that Ken trusted. He believed that she, a total stranger, wouldn’t view his thoughts as those of a lunatic. He looked up, at first not saying anything at all. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, but was actually no more than a few seconds, he said, “You’ll think I’m nuts.”
“No, I won’t. I promise.”
He paused and considered. Looking up and around the cafe, he realized there might be a person or two who would love to tell his colleagues at the office a competing junior partner was bonkers. He looked back at his new acquaintance. “Not here. There’s a quiet restaurant around the corner with a booth deep in the rear, away from prying ears.”
Stacy nodded. Both stood up and left the cafe.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Judith Rolfs minored in English and creative writing at college but her major focus became psychology and ultimately marriage and family counseling. Her first article was published in Fresh Ink magazine while a student at Marquette University.
At her first writer’s conference her novel proposal won the Best New Novel Award. Mystery writing is her first love, although she has ten non-fiction books published on various family issues.
Twenty-five years listening to marriage and family clients further validated Rolfs’ awareness that words are the messengers of the heart. She learned to listen for the meaning behind words and tries to convey emotional depth in her characters.
Writing
Bullet in the Night
from the perspective of her own and her heroine’s counseling profession lets her share insights with readers who may never enter a professional counselor’s office. Rolfs says, “I value the opportunity to contribute a word or two of wisdom: life is hard, people can be evil, but God is amazing all the time.”
Judith shares life with her husband and best friend, Wayne, and their chocolate lab, Alex. They enjoy biking, golfing, and spending time with four adult children and seven grandchildren from home bases in Wisconsin and Florida.
Find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/judith.rolfs and twitter @judithrolfs. Judith loves to hear from readers. Email her at: [email protected]
Her website is
www.judithrolfs.com
. Read her blog Thoughts on Fun, Faith Family at
www.judithrolfs.blogspot.com
.
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Table of Contents
Judith Rolfs