2019-12-13 - Random Coffee Shop Meetings

It seems to be late in the evening and the coffee shop is abuzz, at least for what a coffee shop should be, right? Some people get their cup of joe and leave while a few remain and loiter. Stefhan is one of them and he keeps a cup in front of him. The dark look and the rich aroma may be evidence that he plans to stay up for a bit longer. Beside the cup is a laptop that he studies with growing interest but, what's even a bit more unique, is the magazine near the state of the art computer. He may have a desire to read the written word in a more traditional format. Whatever the case may be he sits alone, not seeming to be in a mood to snub anyone, but not really being eager in causing a nuisance either. As the coffee waves into the air above the cup, he reaches over to take a sip. No need to have the warm drink get too cold, right?

The door opens and Zoiya walks in, her phone held in front of her. She glances up to make sure she's not about to plow into someone on her way to the counter. She glances up at the menu, as if she hadn't been here before, and orders something sugary, iced, with lots of whipped cream on the top. When it's delivered, she grabs it up, pays and walks over to an empty table to settle down. She sets down her purse and her bag, sits and crosses her legs. She pulls out two books and a notebook from her bag and gives Stefhan a brief look and a smile hello as she opens the book on top. "Evening." She greets, wiggling her fingers briefly toward the man. Since her drink is cold, she is just going to start sipping and attempt not to give herself a cold headache.

Stefhan hears her voice and looks over in her direction. The tattoos do attract his attention for a bit, but strange enough he shifts his gaze to look at her hair for a while. "Hello in return." he says, "This seems to be a well known coffee shop. In the morning I have noticed that people have a tendency to be a little less, hospitable." He does catch her pulling out the notebook and comments, "Try not to study too hard."

Zoiya glances up, making brief eye contact with Stefhan before she flashes him a smile. "Really? I rarely come here in the morning, honestly. I'm up late and I don't usually wake up until after noon." She leans on her elbow, resting her chin on her palm. "So people have been rude?" She seems amused at this, but she doesn't comment further on that. She holds up the book she's opened, rolling her eyes. "I'm studying for my G.E.D." She murmurs, wrinkling her nose before she takes up her frosty drink to sip from her straw. "New in town? Or have I just not noticed you yet?"

Stefhan looks away from his computer again and looks back over at her, "Oh yes." he replies, "Quite new I'm afraid. Trying to setup a business here but it's a project that is taking time. We shall see how it works out. A G.E.D. is an excellent goal. I wish you luck with that." He does seem to be the polite sort, when he says he wishes her luck, he sincerely seems to mean that.

Now she's interested, she gives it a moment of thought, maybe two before she tilts her head. "Mind some company?" Zoiya asks, waiting to get a response before she gathers up her books and drink. She smiles briefly as the G.E.D. is mentioned, nodding her agreement. She takes another sip from her cup and watches the man, knowing that she's probably interrupting whatever he's working on.

Stefhan looks over at her and offers a smile, "Not at all." he stresses, "Not at all. Please, there is an empty space here." And of course, there certainly is. "Can I offer you something else to drink here? Or anything else on the menu Miss....?"

Zoiya gets to her feet, gathering her books and her drink in one hand, her purse and bag in the other. She steps over to Stefhan's table and takes a seat. She sets her books down and sets her bags down next to her chair. "Oh no, if I drink more than this frozen thing I'll be up all night and I'm off tonight." She sets down her frozen drink and smiles as she offers the man her hand. "Mae Molinari. Pleasure to meet you.." She trails off, waiting for him to provide a name back. "You said you're opening a business? What kind?"

Stefhan offers his hand to the woman and says, "Stefhan Rosenberg. It is a pleasure to meet you as well Ms. Molinari. As far as my business it's a computer repair place offering networking services, Intranet setups, VPN, ISP services, those kind of things. Many consider all that boring, I find it fascinating." He pauses then asks, "What do you do?"

Mae listens, giving Stefhan a brief and warm handshake. "Computer repairs, that sounds pretty amazing. Also sounds difficult. I haven't ever had a computer myself." She shifts in her seat, taking a deep draw from her straw as she gazes over at the man across from her. "I'm a stripper at the Cabaret outside of town." She grins and sets down her drink. "So I bet you do most of your work with big businesses? Or do small businesses do things like that?"

Stefhan hears her state what her professional is and he looks like he does a bit of a doubletake. Then he just stares at her for a while until he realizes, yeah, that's rude and no, he doesn't want to be rude himself. "Interesting." He says after he gathers his thoughts together, "And I'm sure you're quite the sight to see when you are performing. As far as my work I'm still in the process of getting established really. Smaller businesses would be a good target though."

Mae simply smiles at the double take, sipping again from her drink as she waits to see what his reaction is. "I have a lot of fun when I'm performing, you should come out to the Cabaret sometime. It's a nice way to decompress.. or get into trouble, depends on what you want to do." She winks and then nods as he explains what he's doing with his business. "There are a lot of those around here, small businesses that is, so I think you'll find a lot of people who need your services. It all sounds very interesting." She sets down her drink and smiles. "Where did you end up settling?"

Stefhan resists the urge to either whimper or growl at that idea though it's hard for him to keep a straight face. "I may have to check out this establishment." though, he asks, "Are the ladies respected as they should be? That's often a concern I would have. As far as where I ended up settling, I'm working on the business location now."

"Antonio keeps us girls safe, we have some decent bouncers who keep things from getting out of hand." Mae shrugs a shoulder, grinning across the table at Stefhan. "I highly encourage you to come out and see us sometime." She taps her fingertip on the table's surface, her lips pursed as she considers his words. "Well wherever you settle, I hope things work out for you. Maybe if I do end up ever getting a computer I'll stop by your shop. You say you'll service them, will you be selling them?"

Stefhan hears the words service and finds himself thinking of something else. But, he doesn't verbalize such thoughts and he puts forth his best effort to remain a gentleman, "I am glad to hear that and if it's encouraged, well, I have no reason not to come by. Thank you for your kind words. If things don't work out, I can go back to my family. Fortunately I do have that option but, it's an option I do not want honestly."

Mae leans in, grinning at Stefhan's words, one of her hands wrapping around her drink so she can lift it up to sip at it. "I'll look forward to seeing you there. So where is your family located at, if you don't mind me asking? Where did you come from?" She swings her crossed legs back and forth, sipping as she waits for his answers. "I think that even if you can't get a business established, you've got a skillset that people might need. I don't know many people who know how to do what you've described, but then again.. not terribly familiar with those skills either."

Stefhan watches the beautifully exotic woman with interest and after a few glances he begins to answer her questions, "Ask anything you wish. My family is both out of Chicago and Seattle. We're, a rather rich brood I'm afraid. Getting my degree in computer science wasn't that complicated and I do have a passion for it." he hands over a business card with his information, "If you know of someone who is having computer issues, or if you even just want to tell me when your show is, give me a call. Unfortunately I didn't realize just how late it was." He rises and leaves a good sized tip on the counter. Then, he packs things up and gets ready to leave. "Be safe Ms. Molinari." Again, trying to be formal and polite.

Mae watches Stefhan as he walks out, gazing down at the card left behind. She picks it up and slips the card into her purse, opening the book in front of her. She sips from her frozen drink as her eyes scan the pages of her book, her crossed legs swinging out as she continues to read. She pulls out her notebook, uncaps her pen and starts to make some notes. She stifles a yawn, resisting the urge to pull out her phone and play a game on it instead of studying.

The front door to Espresso yourself dings as another customer steps in. Beth stops at the door to turn her neck and look downwards at the back of her leg. There is a run in her pantyhose. "Shit." She murmurs to herself, and she smooths a hand over her austere and somber colored skirt suit before she starts towards the counter to order a drink, her pumps clicking against the floor. She runs her hand over her face as she waits her turn before tucking some stray hairs that have frayed from her braid behind her ear. A glance, curious as it is tired, is given to Zoiya. She steps forward to order a latte with an extra shot of espresso before finding a chair to sit down in with a sigh.

Mae glances up from her book, watching Beth as she approaches the counter. She lets her look linger, doing anything she needs to do to stop studying. The epithet makes her grin, and when she glances over, Mae makes no attempt to look away, clearly not embarrassed to be caught staring. In fact, she waves, giving a wiggle of her fingers in Beth's direction. "Bad night?" She asks when the woman settles down, picking up her frozen, sugary drink to sip from it. "I mean, you're welcome to come sit over here, so I don't have to study. Honestly, I don't want to study." She pulls the book and notebook from the middle of the table, in case Beth takes her up on her offer.

As Stefhan is leaving, Blake is coming in. He waits to let the other man pass, his thumbs hooked into the straps of his black backpack. He wears his leather jacket, black hoodie, some random tshirt, and charcoal colored jeans. There's a little scruff at his chin and light stains of mud against his boots, but clearly from long ago since he doesn't track any in when he slips inside before the door closes. He pulls his hood down as he steps up to the counter to put in an order for, "Coffee."

Blake's eyes drop and rise to the person serving him rapidly once or twice as if ordering were disrupting some other sequence. "Yes, just coffee," he cuts off any possible verbal reaction and pulls out a card to pay. He looks over his shoulder to scope out a spot to sit when he sees Zoiya and a small grin forms. Grabbing his receipt and coffee, he moves toward the familiar face. He pauses near Zoiya, glancing toward Beth and back to Zoiya again. "Hey." He grins again.

Beth looks back at Zoiya since the other woman is looking at her so closely. "Just long." She admits, and she barely manages a cheery smile. "And I just started working out and my legs and ass are killing me." She stands up as her name is called for her drink, and instead of returning to her previous table she takes the few extra steps to Zoiya's, and sits down. She leans over slightly to look at the cover of what the other woman is studying before she looks back up at her. "Well, wish granted." She takes a sip of her latte before she puts it down and holds out a hand. "Beth Lawson." She glances to Blake when he pauses near Zoiya and gives him a polite nod of her head.

Mae tilts her book up. "Studying to get my G.E.D." She murmurs, shifting to put the books in the bag next to her chair. "Thanks for helping me out, because I'm not in the mindset to study, probably because I'm hyped up on sugar." She puts a hand out when Beth introduces herself and she smiles. "Mae Molinari." She greets, before she smiles up at Blake. "Hey Boyfriend, you're welcome to sit with us as well." She uses her foot to push out the third chair, tilting her head toward it. "How have you been?" She asks him before she winks at Beth. "Where are you working out at?"

Blake catches a lot of what Mae says to Beth, but keeps his expression the same until asked to join. He returns the nod to Beth with a faint grin. "Blake Cooper," he offers up into the air as he takes a seat across from Mae after shedding his leather jacket. The grin leaves his eyes at Mae's question. He pulls his coffee close, huddling his hands around it. "I'm okay." He's a horrible liar and it comes out flat.

"Now I feel bad that I am helping you not study." Beth murmurs back. "But I don't want to go back to work so we'll help each other procrastinate." She shakes Zoiya's hand, releases, and reaches for her cup of coffee. "Beth." She tells Blake when he comes over. She watches the exchange between Zoiya and Blake with the interest of someone who has just turned on a show they've never seen before. She can tell Blake isn't fine, but she also doesn't understand the context, and most certainly isn't going to butt in.

Mae narrows her eyes at Blake, watching him for a few beats before she turns to grin at Beth. "Oh I'll get some studying in, trust me. I need to study hard." She chuckles softly and tilts her head. "What do you do for work?" She asks, and this is when she slurps down the rest of her drink, giving it a blink. Didn't she just buy that? She doesn't want to drag out Blake's business in front of a stranger so instead of asking what's going on, she just gives him her most sunny smile. "Well what have you been up to then, Blake?"

Mae's instincts seem to be the right move. Blake shrugs, his mien recovering somewhat. "Well. Work. Clearing out my small ongoing projects to take on some real stuff...and I started volunteering at the animal shelter....G.E.D.?" He glances back to Beth and then just over her shoulder.

"You'll get it." Beth says certainly and with an easy smile. As for what she does she continues to smile as she says, "Oh, I'm the funeral director for Lawson's Funeral Home on Spruce. How about you?" She reaches down a hand to smooth over her skirt to keep it pushed down while she sips from her coffee cup. She glances at Blake when he glances at her, and when he looks over her shoulder she turns just a little to see what he's looking at.

Mae nods at Blake, grinning a little smugly at his question. "I'm going to get my G.E.D and then take some night classes in business management." She turns to nod at Beth. "Oh yeah? You do like, coffins and stuff?" She tilts her head slightly, trying to hold back from asking questions that might be off color for a coffee shops, her lips even press together briefly. Then Beth asks what she does. "Oh, I'm a stripper, I work out at the Platinum Cabaret." She jerks her thumb in a vague direction, her shoulders coming up briefly as she shrugs. "Ever been? If not, you should stop by." She turns to gaze at Blake, eyebrow quirked. "Right Boyfriend? It's a nice place. Fun, if nothing else."

Either Blake doesn't think Beth's question is directed at him, or he's too taken back when she looks over her shoulder to see nothing of note there, but he doesn't offer what he does. Mae's words draw his attention back. "That's awesome," he says quite genuinely before he starts to kind of tune out a little, gaze drifting back to that same spot above Beth's shoulder. "Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Good bartender." It's hard to tell if he's actually a huge fan of the place beyond the bartender. "Plenty of people." That's true too.

"Well, we order caskets from a company that makes them. But no. I help families arrange funerals, and I embalm the departed and prepare them for their visitation if it is required. So cleaning them, using mortuary fillers if that's needed, shaving them if they need it, doing their hair and makeup, dressing them." Beth smiles reassuringly, "It's okay to ask whatever you want to ask. People should know about all of this, but they don't because death scares them and they avoid it." She gives Zoiya an intrigued look. "So you do like pole dancing? How do you learn that?" She shakes her head. "I've certainly heard of it. It seems like...you know." She looks back at Blake a moment, her eyes widening ever so slightly in concern, before she sort of just looks away from him back to Zoiya to ignore it.

Mae isn't going to pester Blake, she's just happy that he came to sit with her. She turns her attention to Beth, and when she is given the green light to ask questions she's going to take advantage of it. "Okay, I thought maybe you did the cutting into people and draining them of their blood and stuff too.. do you do that?" She's curious, she can't help it. She's seen some really dark and probably misleading documentaries. When she's asked about her work, she grins and shrugs. "Pole dancing, dancing without a pole, taking off my clothes.. the whole lot." Her eyes light up and she takes a deep breath. "I learned most of it on the fly, been doing it for a while now so I've improved a bit." She glances at Blake and then back to Beth. "It can be a little bit insane sometimes, but most nights we just get regular guys in. It's only really crazy on the weekends. He's right about the bartender though. Her name is Love Liven, and she's got quite an arsenal. If you ever want a wild drink you wouldn't think to try, she's the one to make it."

"Does your home handle cremation as well?" Blake asks, his eyes suddenly coming back into focus on Beth as if he'd been listening all along. He leans down to pull his backpack closer to his chair and glances beyond them to the drizzle streaked windows and the sidewalk as Mae talks. Then he takes a sip of his coffee, drawing his gaze back in to the table and immediate occupants. "Are there any events coming up or special nights?"

"I do, sometimes." Beth says with a nod of her head. "It depends on what the family wants or what the person specified in their funeral plan if they made one before they died. Some corpses are embalmed." She explains patiently, "That's probably what you're thinking of in regards to blood draining. I make an incision here-" She touches her own clavicle, "Into the artery. Then I pump embalming fluid into the veins to preserve the body. It replaces the blood which is drained out. But if I don't embalm the body I don't do that." She has another sip of her coffee. "Do you...make a lot of money?" She wonders aloud curiously. "What does it feel like?" She looks to Luke at his question before she shakes her head. "No. We send decedents out to a crematorium."

Mae leans forward, hand cradling her chin as she watches Beth describe the process. She looks intrigued, but then when Blake speaks, she turns a smile on him and thinks for a moment. "We'll likely do something for Christmas. I just hope we don't have people sitting in laps telling Santa what they want, because I can see that going downhill quickly." Or it might be amazing fun. Either or, right? She glances at Beth and a slow smile spreads across her lips as she nods. "I make a good deal of money, mostly on the weekends. People will throw around money when they want attention." She pulls her straw from her empty cup, folding it into a pretzel. "It feels like turning someone on, because if you can make someone want you, they'll continue to pay for your attention. Sounds cruel, but honestly, they came in wanting attention. Why shouldn't I give it to them?" Her lashes drift down to her cheeks as she huffs out a soft laugh. "We have an amateur night, you should come by for it. Show off your ass shaking skills." She glances at Blake, grinning. "Shouldn't she, Boyfriend?"

"I think you'd get a lot of men volunteering to have helpers," Blake says in his somewhat muted way. "Is there a reason it's that artery?" he asks of Beth, clearly interested in his own way, but it doesn't seem to alter his positioning. It just makes him squint. Mae's question sort of takes him by surprise and he looks over to Mae first, just a moment, before looking back to Beth. "It's pretty much a girl's night. It's a lot of fun." It's an astute observation.

Beth lets out a little amused sound. "No, I don't think it's cruel. You're providing a service, and probably saving some poor unsuspecting woman from getting an unsolicited dick pic or lied to. Good for you." She laughs before she shakes her head a little as she lies and says, "I'll think about it." She glances to Blake before she shakes her head. "Any major artery can do. The artery in your inner thigh is also often used. It's just there's a lot more fatty tissue to cut through there."

"Hey, someone has to take advantage of men with too much money and not enough sense." Mae gets to her feet, picking up her empty cup. Her bag and purse are taken up next, slung over her shoulder. "It's been fun you two, but I got an early morning tomorrow and I still have to hoof it home. Beth, it was nice to meet you, I hope you come out to the Club, but if you don't, I'm gonna chase you down for another cup of coffee." She leans in and gives Blake a quick peck on the cheek. "Boyfriend, you need to text more, I'm gonna get a complex." She stands still, giving both a lingering look before she laughs. "Okay, yes. I have to go." She shakes her head and turns toward the door. "You two have a good night." She calls out, blowing them both a kiss before she is out the door, walking toward Elm.

"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense," Blake says when Beth explains why not the inner thigh. He doesn't seem bothered by the talk of bodies, arteries, and embalming. He simply sips his coffee. He grins slightly at Mae's comment of taking advantage of men and nods as she announces her need to leave. He looks over to Beth and nearly smirks as he says, "She will. It might be inconvenient." Then his grins widens at the peck on his cheek. "Oh. Okay. I'll figure out some words." He lifts his hand to the departing dancer and then lowers it as he considers Beth. "Was I intruding?" he asks abruptly.

"Nice to meet you, too." Beth says to Zoiya as she departs. She looks back at Blake, who she is now sharing a table alone with, before she shakes her head softly. "No. We had literally never met before today. I hope I wasn't intruding." She takes a sip from her coffee, her head tilting back a bit to drain the rest from the cup.

"I know. I just..." Blake grins, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes, a shot of awkwardness. "Never mind. So it's a family business? You always want to get into doing what you do? Do you enjoy it?" he asks without hesitation. If he's meant to take a hint from Beth draining her cup, he doesn't acknowledge it.

"No, when I was little I wanted to be a Spice Girl." Beth says with a mirthful quirk of her lips. "But alas I can't sing, and they already had Posh who can't sing, and she's probably a little hotter than I am so I never got to join the group. Thankfully the family business was awaiting for me with open arms." She presses her lips together thoughtfully, "I enjoy it. People come to me one of the worst moments of their lives and I make it...well, not better. I make it hurt a little less, sometimes. Help them say goodbye. I am known for my reconstructive work a ew counties over so I can give people one last look even if the death was traumatic. There is something gratifying in that." She looks at him after she finishes speaking, "What do you do?"

Blake outright grins at Beth's admission. "The music business is unjust, clearly." He listens thoughtfully as she talks about her job, how she's able to help people. "That sounds rewarding in lots of respects. I don't think I'd be very good at that. Maybe the body work..stuff," he can't find a better word. He presses his lips together with some slight awkwardness. "Oh. I'm an engineer. Mostly stuff in security so like, penetration testing, including hacking, securing, stuff like that. But I got injured a few months ago and have been doing security setups for people to get by. And took on some other coding projects for locals." He shrugs.

"Penetration testing probably makes for a lot of good jokes." Beth says with a cheeky smile. Her face smooths into something more serious as she listens, "But basically people probably ask you for a lot of free repairs that are as simple as running malware screeners or if you can, like, hack into the pentagon." She gets that cheeky smile again. "So can you hack into the Pentagon?"

"People ask me for a lot of weird stuff. A website, free repairs like that, security stuff. Some woman wants me to work on her creepy animatronics in her shop's basement." Blake nods. At Beth's question, he kind of goes silent. "I haven't tried," he says, conveniently. "As for skills. I need to plead the fifth," he says as he clutches the nearly empty mug. "I bet puns are an art in your business." He doesn't bore her with any, perhaps deeming it unnecessary. He smiles a bit, unwittingly.

"So you will not confirm or deny. I see." Beth says, and at the mention of puns she just laughs. "I've probably heard heard them all." She begins standing up from the table. "Well, it was nice meeting you Blake. Unfortunately for me I have an appointment." She tosses her cup into the trash. "Have a good night."

"Saves me from having to think of them," Blake says even after Beth stands up. He nods. "It was nice meeting you too." He dips his chin at that. "Good night." He isn't too far behind her, at least out the door. He hits the open air and breathes deeply before setting off for his walk home.