Chapter 2 #2
She expects Riley to name some teeth shattering sugary drink, but is instead met with: “Just a double espresso, please.”
She doesn’t know why that pisses her off too, but at least she hides it well as she walks up to the counter and orders Riley’s espresso and a black coffee for herself.
It has nothing to do with Riley’s unexpected sense of delicacy that she can’t quite match with her personality, and probably everything with Riley being a pretentious snob to impress her.
When she eventually watches Riley sip her drink and swipe her bottom lip with her tongue, it calms her to imagine Riley secretly hates it and is currently suffering.
Now she just has to find an undetected moment to drop a sugar cube into her own coffee.
“So, let’s brainstorm,” Riley says, leaning back in her chair. “Did you pick a date for Gabrielle’s party?”
Charlotte shakes her head. “You?”
Riley hums in thought, unlocks her laptop screen with her fingerprint and pulls up her calendar.
“So the wedding is in May, and I wanted to plan Lou’s as close to the wedding as possible, but I can’t do that because I have a work thing I need to leave the country for.
And I’m sure everyone needs to save up for the trip a little, so I was thinking… mid February?”
Charlotte takes her in with crossed arms and forgets to respond. Riley’s lifted eyebrow promptly startles her into action and she shifts in her seat, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, sounds good.”
“And maybe you can do Gabi’s before that? Sometime after the holidays?”
“Sure,” she agrees, slurping her coffee. Despite herself, she finds it comforting Riley is taking initiative, steering the conversation.
“I just— I have no idea how these things work, Riley,” she admits. “I don’t have a fucking clue what to do.”
“Well, that’s why we’re here, right?” Riley gives her a quick wink, and the calm she was beginning to feel dissipates immediately.
“Do you have a plan?” she fires back, like a shield before the wink can reach her.
“Actually, I do. I have this really fun idea for a workshop in mind—”
“A workshop?” Charlotte cackles. “What, like cooking? Or painting?”
A mischievous flicker appears in Riley’s eyes. “Yeah… Something like that.” She raises her eyebrows innocently and takes another sip of her espresso.
“Whatever, it’s your party. Literally.” Charlotte dismisses it with a wave of her hand. She stares out the window for a few seconds before realizing that, if she’s here for Riley’s help, she could maybe do with a little bit more friendliness.
“I’m sure it’ll be fun.” She looks back at Riley, trying hard to sound genuine. “Any ideas for Gabi?”
“You already mentioned a stripper, why not do that?”
Charlotte scoffs. “That sounds so… tacky.”
“Not if you do it right,” Riley leans in and lowers her voice. “There’s a very fancy place downtown. It’s on the upper floor of one of the skyscrapers there. They don’t do any advertising. It’s the kind of place with a whole ass employed person inside the elevator, pushing the buttons for you.”
Charlotte purses her lips and looks down when she sighs: “Well, I certainly don’t need to pay someone to push my buttons. You seem perfectly happy executing that job for free.”
Riley doesn’t respond, and Charlotte lifts her eyes to steal a look from under her lashes. They stare at each other for a few awkward seconds before they both lose their composure, full on belly laughing at the same time.
Something thaws in Charlotte’s chest. It feels like someone has put her on oxygen after having been in a tight space for a long time.
The tension in her stomach loosens, and she feels herself relax for the first time since walking into the coffee shop.
Catching Riley off guard definitely helps too; watching her wall of coolness break to make space for genuine laughter.
“You know what, fair point, I guess,” Riley shrugs, a smile still on her face. “But I’m serious, this place—it’s classy. The girls are so talented, they’re treated well, and they have an excellent bar.”
“Sure,” Charlotte muses. “You go there because you like the bar.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Riley replies, a faint blush creeping up from the collar of her jacket all the way to her cheeks. “Just trust me, it’s a good option. Even if the both of them are there, going to a strip club as a couple usually really sparks up the—”
“What do you mean? Gabi and Lou are going to be there for each other’s bachelorette party? So why are we planning two?!”
“Well, yeah, I mean... have you met them? Of course they each want their own day.”
“Hm. Now you make a fair point.”
They sit in silence for a moment, but it’s a comfortable one this time.
“So what’s your work thing?” Charlotte asks, curiosity getting the better of her. When Riley gives her a confused look, she adds: “You said you have a work thing, before the wedding. What do you do for work?”
“I’m... a psychologist,” Riley replies, uncharacteristically shy.
“And you have a lot of clients in the spring?”
A dry chuckle. “I’m a psychologist, Charlotte. Not a therapist. A therapist works with clients and I... I just do a lot of research. I’m going on a business trip to Switzerland in March.”
“Ah. A scientist." Charlotte nods at the tweed jacket.
“Of the brain, yes.”
“So what are you currently working on?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”
Riley straightens her back. “It’s not a…
cheerful topic, to be honest.” When Charlotte keeps looking at her, she continues.
“I’m working on a scientific paper about euthanasia, researching the effects on both the patient and their relatives.
I’m trying to defend the morality of it, hoping it’ll become legal everywhere.
There’s a lot of people who don’t find it ethical, saying we shouldn’t be playing God or whatever.
I think preventing the option of assisted suicide is playing God, and they are the immoral ones. ”
Something dark has cast over Riley’s face, but there’s definitely a sense of passion in her words. Charlotte is taken aback by this piece of information. There’s no way she would’ve thought that happy, playful Riley, holds such a heavy job.
It doesn’t happen often, but: “Riley, I don’t know what to say. I mean—I agree, completely, but… wow.”
Riley chuckles, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “What about you? What do you do?”
“I, uhm...” Charlotte nervously starts rolling up her sleeves, “I’m a life coach.
I have my own practice,” she says, like it’s something she should apologize for.
It feels silly, compared to Riley’s project.
When she looks up there’s a curious glimmer in Riley’s eyes, and something…
a hint of something she can’t quite place.
“Poetic, isn’t it?” Riley remarks. Charlotte gives her a confused look, so she continues. “You guide people through life. I guide them through death.”
Charlotte laughs breathlessly. It does sound poetic, but something about it makes her feel uneasy.
She keeps imagining Riley, who is so full of life, navigating such dark territories.
She imagines her alone, behind a desk, in a lab, or talking to terminally ill people, people who mentally struggle, trying to give them a humane way out. It tugs on her heart.
“Hey,” Riley says, stretching her arm out on the table, some kind of invitation. “Where did you go?”
Charlotte shakes her head, physically trying to get rid of the images in her head. “Nowhere. You— you do incredible work.”
Riley gives her a lopsided smile and nods. I understand, let’s move on.
“I’ll text you the address of that place. Just think about it. And if you happen to go for it and everybody ends up loving it: it was all your idea, 'kay?”
Charlotte nods, absentmindedly tracing a finger over the rim of her cup. Riley closes her laptop and stands up to slip on her trenchcoat. She buttons it up, says: “Thank you for the coffee,” and leans forward, reaching out to briefly touch the collar of Charlotte’s shirt.
“This is a really nice color on you, by the way,” she adds softly before turning back to put her laptop in her bag. Charlotte’s inner fire lights up, not sure if she’s flattered, angry, or about to commit a crime, but probably all three.
“Let me know what you decide, yeah?” Riley says.
“I’ll think about it,” Charlotte replies.
When she gets home, Charlotte does, in fact, think about it. For a whole three seconds she contemplates coming up with a different plan, but she knows Riley’s plan is perfect for her friend.