My laugh came from my chest.
How long has it been since I’d laughed?
“If I wanted to threaten you, I wouldn’t do it in a shop lit up like midday. I’d wait until we were alone in the parking lot.”
The woman’s forehead furrowed. “You’ve given this some thought.”
“I hadn’t. Now I am.”
She lifted a small cellular phone from her open purse. “I could call the police.”
“You could. Is it illegal to have conversation with a beautiful woman?”
She laid the phone on the table near her book.
“What are you reading?” I asked.
She lifted a dog-eared paperback. “The Canterbury Tales.”
“Geoffrey Chaucer.”
“I’m impressed.”
My smile grew. “So am I.”
“Have you read?”
“I read.” I took a sip of my coffee. “Yeah, it was required.”
She nodded. “That’s why I’m reading it too. It’s the old English that’s taken me time to get used to.”
“It’s poetic in a way.”
“As an art major, I’d rather paint than read.”
I nodded. “Think of Chaucer’s verse as art using a different medium, that of words.” I gave the collection more thought. “I found the depiction of different social classes fascinating. I liked how he used the pilgrimage to bring together various people from different walks of life. That separation of classes still exists.”
A cloud seemed to pass over her expression. “Yeah, I know.”
It was the cloud even more than her smile that intrigued me.
Why is this woman sad in a coffee shop at this hour?
She took a deep breath. “I’m Madison, Madison Montgomery.”
“Hello, Madison Montgomery. My name is Donovan. Friends call me Van.”
“I’m not really a friend.”
“Not yet.”