The Coffee Shop Ch.06

Good news! TCS 6 is finito!
I'm editing it as of now and hope to have it posted to the Lit site by tomorrow sometime. I know I put on my Lit homepage I would have posted it...er...yesterday, but I lied. I'm allowed to do that. =)
Anyway, as to give all you folks waiting for #6 so patiently, here's an extra long (unedited!!) portion of the chapter for y'all to enjoy! Xo, Lily.

The Coffee Shop-Chapter Six Teaser

“I’m ready.”

Peyton turned at the kitchen sink in surprise, her expression reflected in the face of her mother who was no longer dutifully preparing breakfast at the kitchen counter.

Caleb was at his usual and unofficial seat at the end of the kitchen table, both hands bunched into fists and resting in front of him. His breakfast, untouched, was still steaming beneath his chin, the espresso Peyton had made him suspiciously absent of whip cream.

“Ready for…what, Caleb?” Peyton’s father, Daniel, asked him as he folded up the Sunday newspaper and tucked it under the lip of his plate, giving Caleb his undivided attention.

“I’m ready to go to the police about what happened,” he replied evenly, his ice green eyes flickering over each of their faces. He didn’t say a word more, which was usual for him, Peyton had come to realize. He said what he needed to then spoke no more on the subject. It was refreshing in this family, for Peyton’s mother never knew when to keep her trap shut and Daniel spoke in a low baritone that always made Peyton feel on edge.

“What brought this on, hon?” Her mother asked curiously, keeping her tone gentle. Lola Grey knew better than to push Caleb’s buttons, as Peyton had to admit to her mother that while Caleb appeared as calm and cool as an iceberg, he had a tendency to lose his temper without warning.

Caleb inhaled deeply, fortifying himself for what he had to say. “It’s been eighteen years that I’ve kept this to myself. Seeing…seeing how the three of you interact with one another, how much you love each other…it’s hard to see that. It’s difficult for me to understand it, even. But, it’s what I want.” He swallowed hard and locked eyes with Peyton. “I just want to get this over with. I’m ready to move on. I have reasons to now.”

Caleb then turned his gaze to Daniel, who Caleb had come to look up to since the moment her father had stepped in through the front door of the Barn fresh off a seven hour plane ride from Puerto Rico. “I just want to be part of a family again. A real family.”

Daniel, ever the teddy bear, pushed aside his plate and leaned forward on sinewy forearms covered with puffs of ginger hair that had long since been absent from his head. Whereas he was a stocky Irishman, all freckles and blue eyes, Lola was the tall, curvy Puerto Rican from whom Peyton’s looks derived from. Her parents were complete opposites in both temperament and appearance, but they both shared the same ‘hearts of gold’ mentality that Peyton had inherited. Daniel was now exhibiting the tell-tale ‘you had me at hello’ gesture that Peyton knew well in response to Caleb’s pleas.

“Firebug,” Daniel began, using his nickname for Caleb, “you’ve been a part of this family the moment my daughter let you into this house. Lola, Peyton, and I are behind you on this every step of the way. Finish your breakfast and we’ll take you to the station.”

Caleb balked, just like Peyton knew he would. Her parents didn’t know the signs of Caleb’s obstinacy, not nearly as well as she did. For over a month now she had come to recognize every face, sigh, and physical tick that Caleb had, categorizing them for moments like this so she knew how to play it. And right now, Caleb was digging his heels in, his guards swinging right back up into place.

“I’ll take him,” she said quietly, interrupting whatever Lola had been prepared to say. All three of them looked at her, but it was only Caleb’s eyes that she was after. The gratitude in his face was brief, but she saw it, and knew she had been reading his expression right earlier. She looked at her parents and smiled softly. “Why don’t the two of you get in touch with Janssen? He can put this on file for us.”

Oskar Janssen was not only one of the best state attorneys in Maine, but also a close friend of Lola and Daniel’s, having gone to university with Daniel. If they could trust anyone with something as important as Caleb’s testimony, it was him.

Daniel understood the implication of Peyton’s words first, quickly cutting off Lola before she could raise hell about being not included in something this important.

“That’s fine. We’ll be here when you get back, alright?” he told Caleb, who merely nodded and relaxed his bunched fists.

Peyton warred with her pride and nervousness as she poured the rest of her espresso down the sink. “Let me change clothes and we’ll go,” Peyton told Caleb, kissing his cheek as she passed by him, unthinking.

Her breath caught as she realized what she had done, her face and neck flushing a deep pink in embarrassment. Quickly she ascended the stairs, her heart pounding hard in her throat.

Since the kiss in the guest bedroom – Caleb’s bedroom now – Peyton hadn’t allowed herself to get that close to him and had been doing a pretty decent job of it too. The kiss, five weeks ago today, had, naturally, been on her mind ever since. With the arrival of her parents, distancing herself had been rather easy, as from the time Caleb woke to the time they went to bed Lola and Daniel were by his side, peeling off layer by layer Caleb’s icy shell. Seeing the results of their work had put Peyton’s soul and sanity at sincere risk.

It was finally time that she admitted to herself she was in love with him, but Peyton never knew where she stood with Caleb. The first week he had been at the Barn, he had fluctuated between avoiding her like a plague and challenging her over things as simple as clothes washing. Even now, his room remained closed when he was at work or left the Barn. The second week had been a bit better – he actually made conversation and snapped less often. By the third week, Caleb seemed a bit more comfortable with her, but it was obvious that the two of them were on thin ice about everything. Caleb seemed to be waiting for any excuse to leave, any at all.

She had managed to convince her parents to finish up their South American/Mexican cruise so Caleb could have more time to acclimate to life at the Barn. Her parents had agreed, rather reluctantly, to stay the few remaining weeks, even detouring to Puerto Rico to visit her mother’s side of the family in San Juan. In those few precious weeks, Caleb had finally begun to relax. But it was nothing compared to the openness he exhibited after Daniel and Lola arrived fresh from the airport only two weeks ago.

The Caleb she had met at the coffee shop was almost a completely different person than the man she knew now. He had grown up, he had opened up, and more importantly, he seemed to ready to live the life he knew he could have. It had been such a beautiful process to watch, even with the speed bumps along the way.

As beautiful as it was however, it frightened Peyton enough that she lost sleep at night. What if, during this miraculous change that Caleb was going through, he began to realize he didn’t need Peyton anymore? What if those telling glances he shot in her direction when her parents weren’t looking began to occur less and less? What if Caleb’s eyes wandered to another girl, someone younger, and someone who he had more in common with? Would Peyton be willing to let him go?

The abrupt sound of knocking jerked Peyton back to reality. “Hey, Peyton, are you decent?” called her mother through the bedroom door. Peyton shook her head to mentally clear her thoughts before turning around and opening the door.

Lola smiled warmly and handed Peyton her infamous “dip stick” waffles, or waffles on a stick. “You were in such a hurry to scramble out of the way you missed breakfast.” Peyton sighed and took the plate of chocolate dipped confectionary. Only her mother would consider carnival food as breakfast.

“Mind if I come in?” Lola asked as Peyton got distracted.

“Sure,” she said around a mouthful of waffle, moving aside so her mother could enter. Lola came in and shut the door behind her.

Instantly Peyton knew what was coming and swallowed her mouthful of chocolate-coated Belgian waffle. “What is it?” she asked as soon as Lola folded her tanned legs and sat at the edge of Peyton’s bed.

“You know,” Lola began in an unusually lucid tone, “when I met your father, I knew he was the only man I’d ever marry. I knew that I’d never leave him.”

“Well, that’s because you’re Catholic,” Peyton blurted, catching herself off guard. Lola laughed brightly and shook her head.

“True,” she agreed, still laughing. “That’s part of it, yes. But it wasn’t my beliefs that bound me to your father. You know what it was?”

Peyton shrugged, feeling decidedly uncomfortable with this situation. Firstly, her mother was being normal and motherly, not flighty. Secondly, she was discussing Daniel. Those two things in combination meant only one thing: she wanted to know the deets on her feelings for Caleb.

Lola’s deep golden eyes, the ones that Peyton had inherited, sparkled. “It was his eyes.”

Peyton snorted. So much for the buildup. “You married dad because of his baby blues?” she teased, laughing a little as she leaned back against the door. “Sorry if I find that hard to believe.”

Lola laughed again, shaking her head. “No, I married him for more than his eyes, hija, and you’re missing my point.”

“Which is…”

“It was the way he looked at me, Peyton. And both your papi and I notice Caleb watches you the same way. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you ogling him when he isn’t looking,” she tagged on, sounding like her usual fun-fun-fun-all-the-time self. “I know you, and you aren’t very good at subtly, my dear.”

Peyton blushed crimson and took a bite of waffle, needing a moment and out of reach of a Twix. This only caused her mother to laugh harder.

“So what are you telling me, mom?” Peyton asked a little defensively. When it came to her feelings and private life, Peyton always felt the need to guard herself, particularly after Efraim. She still found the entire topic a tender place to navigate, a place that her mother had no qualms with exploring.

“I’m telling you nothing you don’t already know,” Lola said with a mysterious smile as she stood up and adjusted her skirt. That was one of the few things Peyton’s mother had never grown out from her Catholic upbringing: skirts, not jeans, not slacks, not shorts…skirts. Peyton rarely could remember a time she had seen her mother out of them.

Peyton then registered what her mother was saying. “You think I love him?” she asked incredulously.

Lola tucked back a strand of Peyton’s hair, that strange smile still on her face. “You know that your father and I are so proud of the woman you’ve become. You’ve met every challenge and obstacle, overcoming all of them. You’ve been loved and heartbroken, and you’ve healed and are ready to love again.” She gently squeezed Peyton’s nose, like she used to do when Peyton was a child, winking suddenly. “Don’t disappoint me.”

Lola was out the door and down the stairs before Peyton could even formulate a response.

With a sigh Peyton finished her waffle and quickly hurried into a new outfit, inspecting her reflection in the mirror. The clothes were nice, but her face needed a bit of work. She eyed the clock on the bedside table and hurried to the bathroom. Five minutes later, she was down the stairs and out of the Barn, keys in hand.

Caleb and Daniel were looking at the engine of his Audi as she approached, talking mechanics from the sounds of things, and Peyton couldn’t help but smile at how easily Daniel made Caleb laugh. It took her forever to put a smile on Caleb’s face. Surprise flitted through her when Caleb and Daniel suddenly shook hands, grinning at one another.

“Did I miss something?” she asked them as she tugged on her jacket. Caleb unexpectedly grinned at her.

“Yea, I’m driving,” he told her without preamble, plucking the keys from her fingers as he walked around her to the driver side door. Peyton blinked and eyed her father for clarification, surprise filling her when he just winked and smiled.

“Take care of my baby. My daughter too,” Daniel told Caleb as he shut the hood. Peyton smacked her dad gently in the arm as she walked past him to the passenger side, throwing him a mock dirty look.

“Love you, we’ll be back soon,” she told him.

Peyton sat in the passenger seat, temporarily thrown off by the placement. She couldn’t remember the last time she had rode passenger anywhere, apart from a few taxi rides in L.A. that she vowed to never try again. And never had a man escorted her someplace – Efraim had always made her drive when they went out, or they walked.

Caleb easily maneuvered the Audi out of the garage and followed the road into town at a leisurely pace, even when he hit the paved road.

“You nervous?” Peyton had to ask as Caleb braked at a red light.

Caleb suddenly smirked. “Not as much as I thought I’d be.”

Peyton nodded and was surprised at how quickly they arrived at the police station. They parked and went inside, and Peyton had to admit to herself that while Caleb wasn’t nervous – she was. Caleb took her hand as they entered the small brick building, squeezing gently as they followed the signs to the lobby and front desk where three young looking men in uniform were working.

Caleb didn’t let her hand go as he got their attention. “I’m here to report about an assault,” he stated, his voice never wavering. Out of nowhere a surge of protectiveness swept through Peyton and she drew herself closer to Caleb, holding his arm in a way that screamed MINE!

Instantly all three men reacted, their eyes darting between the two of them. “Who is making the report?” asked the middle officer, his pale blue eyes locked onto Peyton.

Caleb’s other hand bunched into a fist, the first sign of his unease so far. “I am,” he said quietly.

“Officer Clinton is in charge of our domestic violence team,” said the officer on the left, his shiny name badge identifying him as R. TULLY. “I’ll take you to his office.”

Peyton and Caleb nodded and watched as the dark-skinned man stood to his full, imposing height before coming around the desk and escorting them through the rather busy maze of desks and officers towards the back of the building. Here there was an entire row of large offices with golden plaques marking names and divisions, every single grey door open and occupied.

Officer Clinton had his own office at the end of the row, and at the sight of Tully, he abandoned the paperwork in front of him and stood. He looked to be in his mid to late forties, with salt-and-pepper hair and slate blue eyes that gave nothing away. He stood at a pretty impressive height, maybe just an inch shorter than Tully’s six foot three and filled out his uniform with hard muscle. Peyton couldn’t help but notice he didn’t wear a wedding ring and his office was void of any photos.

“Officer Clinton knows what he’s doing,” Tully told Caleb. “Trust him.” He gave a nod to me and left, shutting the door behind him.

Clinton shook hands with us and beckoned us to sit. His gaze went back and forth between us for a few seconds before he spoke.

“It isn’t often I see young men reporting to me in this office,” he said in a quiet tone that was bizarrely similar to Caleb’s. “Assuming that you are actually here to report something,” Clinton directed at Caleb.

“I am,” Caleb replied tersely, his body tensing up automatically.

Clearly for someone who knew what they were doing, he didn’t mind pressing Caleb’s buttons. Or maybe, Peyton wondered, that was the point.

++++++++++++++++++++

Point out anything you see amiss! Grammar, punctuation, any discrepancies...I'm all about getting it right! =)