Chapter 14
Lucinda arrives especially early to pack up the seasonal de- corations and tuck their box into the closet to await another December. I hope I’m gone by then. Spending Christmas on the shelf doesn’t do much for my self-worth.
Around 2 p.m., a young woman arrives who looks different than the others I’ve seen in here. A white and blue striped scarf is tied at her neck. Small silver loop earrings poke out from under the layers of dark hair that perfectly frame her face and her hazel eyes.
After getting her coffee, she sits at the table directly in front of me. She sets down a small espresso cup. It’s a change from the troughs of hot drinks that are usually consumed here. She takes one cube of sugar, dips it into the coffee, then drops it into the undersized white cup. She inserts
