A Break in the Banal
Beatrice Brown, a perfectly normal young lady. She lives in a small apartment in Brooklyn, working as a librarian. She likes things neat, she likes plants, and she likes soft colors. On the weekends she helps out at the shelter, taking care of the animals and helping them find homes. For some reason she seems to know exactly what they want, it’s like she can just hear what they want in her mind. Of course, she chalks this up to maternal instinct which she believes to be rather strong within her self after the way she was brought up so lovingly by her adoptive mothers. It wasn’t like the animals talked to her specifically or anything, she could just sort of tell different things they might like. If a new puppy came in, for example, and she spent time with it, she would hear things in her mind like “kids” or “running” and if they sounded happy she knew it was something they wanted and vice versa. It was helpful in getting the animals adopted that was for sure, especially since she could update the website with exactly the type of home the animals would flourish in.
This weekend was one where Beatrice wouldn’t be working however, as it was the one time a year she took a three day weekend. It was a special weekend for her as it was when she celebrated her “Gotcha Day”, or the anniversary of when she was adopted. For Beatrice, this day also functioned as her birthday. Was she adopted on her birthday? No, but due to the fact that there wasn’t an exact date on her birth certificate it was the date that her mothers had always used as her birthday as well. And it wasn’t a specific date, instead it was just the second weekend of March. Beatrice didn’t mind however since she got to take a three day weekend, which was especially fun while she was in school. Now that she was twenty-two it still hadn’t lost its charm, as three day weekends were still fun.
Beatrice looked at herself in the mirror, smoothing down her gentle, copper-red curls. She grabbed a cap from its hook on the wall, gently sliding it onto her head. Her makeup was kept simple; a bit of rouge and highlighter on her freckled cheeks, and layers of mascara to make her emerald eyes pop. She was dressed in a comfortable, green-check dress and white converse, and she was ready to go. For the long weekend she would be going up to her childhood home in Scarsdale. The home had been left to her when her mothers moved to Florida, and though it was the same home it was quite different due to the updates and remodeling that had been done while she was in college. It was like a hotel, and while she loved it, it was about the size of one too. So Beatrice rented it out. All year it was available for parties, weddings, and as a vacation home. The income helped Beatrice live beyond the means of a librarian, and concentrate on charitable work since she didn’t have to do much with the house besides send emails. This weekend each year, well for the past three, was the only one the house was off the market for which allowed Beatrice to do as she pleased.
The drive took a few hours, but Beatrice loved the drive. There were so many trees once you got out of the city and she loved it. Her vintage VW Beetle was a great ride, and she always missed driving when she had been in Brooklyn for a long period of time.
Beatrice pulled into the drive way and grabbed a white cardigan from the passenger seat. A walk into town was what she wanted most and she decided that unpacking could wait. It was a good twenty minute walk into town (closer to 30 if you weren’t Beatrice who couldn’t help but walk fast), and the air was a bit cool. After securing her cardigan on with her favorite thing in the word, her vintage sweater clips, and slipping her brown leather bag over her shoulder, she was off.
The coffee shop was brightly lit and smelled of fresh grounds with a hint of... chocolate? Definitely chocolate, and now Beatrice wanted some. She wandered up to the end of the line and peered into the clear glass case at all of the pastries. She hummed quietly as she browsed and before she knew it she was at the front of the line.
“I’ll have two of the double chocolate cookies please, and a medium mint tea... hot, thank you.” She smiled as she ordered, grabbing out her wallet and waiting for the barista to grab the cookies.
“That’s a nice set of clips...” It was quiet but Beatrice definitely heard it and it was definitely from the man standing behind her in line.
“Thank you!” She said, flashing the tall, glasses clad man behind her a smile as she took her change from the barista. What she didn’t see was the look of shock on the mans face when she walked away to wait for her drink, and what she also missed was the fact that the man hadn’t spoken at all. He had thought it, but not a word had left his mouth.
After receiving her drink, Beatrice took her drink outside to a little bench. She was happy, truly and simply happy. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a normally happy person, or that she didn’t like her life, but it was so nice to be relaxed and really have nothing to worry about. She had no plans until tonight around 8:00pm when her sister was arriving, so she really didn’t have to do much thinking of her own.
How apt it would be then, that someone else’s thoughts would filter into her mind.
“How did she know I liked her pin...? What is she, Charles? Ugh, Charles, I should call Charles. Wait- she’s right there. What is she can hear this too? Shit... if you can hear this... can you? If you can just.. respond?”
Beatrice could have sworn that the man from the line was standing right next to her with how clear his voice was but when she looked around he was nowhere to be found.
“I’m behind you...” His voice grumbled in her head. She spun around rather quickly only to find he was sitting on the other side of the glass. There was no way she should have been able to hear him so clearly.
“Hello.” He said softly, his mouth not moving but his voice clear as day.
She let out a little gasp before it all went black. Beatrice had fainted and now lay on the ground in a little bit of a crumble, tea and coffee all around.