Coffee, Doodles, and Lightning Bolts.

“I have no idea what to design for Mrs. Keaton,” Cassidy sighed as she took another slow sip of her caramel macchiato. She pulled down her sunglasses to look at a fluffy, black-and-white doodle walking down the sidewalk. “Huh, that doodle kind of looks like a cow,” Cassidy mumbled to herself.

“What do you have against cows?”

Cassidy pushed her sunglasses back up and turned around to see who was speaking to her. Although she didn’t know what to expect, she was still surprised to see a young-looking boy staring at her. 

She paused before responding. “Nothing against cows. Are you eavesdropping?”

“It’s hard to ignore someone who is talking to herself at a coffee shop,” the boy teased.

“How old are you? Like 12?” Cassidy asked. 

“I’m 15.”

“And you actually like coffee?” 

“I do. It reminds me of my sister.” He replied.

Cassidy packed up the iPad and notebook into her bag and pushed her chair back. “That’s sweet,” she replied and left the shaded area of the patio.

The boy didn’t say anything as he watched her walk away. Images of his sister appeared in his head. She always used to tell him: “Every time you order coffee, make sure you always ask for an extra shot of espresso. No matter what.”  

His heart felt warm and full when these quirks about his sister came up. He looked at his watch: 2:47 PM. “Time to go,” he thought to himself. As he walked into the bustling crowd in downtown Boston, the crisp air made his cheeks sting. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Crisp air makes me feel alive,” his sister had said to him last year.

*****

Cassidy looked up at the glass buildings on her way to work. The Prudential Center was the best place in the city. Not only was her office on the top floor, but the best food in the city — basically an Italian food court —  was on the first floor. She entered the lobby and flashed her badge at the guard. 

“Morning, Miss Cassidy,” the security guard nodded at her.

She gave a slight smile and kept walking. Cassidy didn’t have time for small talk. She was to design a bracelet for her boss to wear at a holiday party, and that was the only thing on her mind. 

The elevator dinged as her foot was getting tired of tap-tap-tapping. She pushed the buttons for the 52nd floor, but an arm shoved its way between the doors before they could close. 

“Crap,” Cassidy thought, her face draining of all color. 

“Cassidy! Just the person I wanted to see. Do you have the design ready?” 

“Mrs. Keaton! I’m working on it. Almost done,” she replied, her palms becoming clammy. 

Mrs. Keaton raised her eyebrows, and made a barely perceptible “hmph” as the elevator continued to climb.  Cassidy’s cheeks felt strained from the fake-smiles. 

The elevator reached the floor and opened to a sprawling office with plush, beige carpets and irregularly-shaped couches. 

Cassidy hurriedly walked to her office and shut the door. She gazed upwards and took a deep sigh. Her shoulders felt heavy at the thought of this assignment. She inhaled deeply and walked to her desk. As she was unpacking her laptop and notebook, she looked out her window at the people below. There was a small cemetery in the courtyard next to her building. The gravestones looked like tiny toothpicks from this high up.

*****

The boy made his way to the cemetery on Boylston Street. He always passed by on his way home. He liked to be at the grave right at 3:00 — his sister’s favorite time of day. “Not too late. Not too early,”  she’d always say to him.  He grabbed a small pebble and tossed it up, looking at the buildings high above. 

“Ok, NOW.” Kenzie said, from high above the clouds. Zeus grasped his lightning bolt and pointed it at the little pebble the boy had tossed. The pebble glowed for a split second and sent one bond to the boy and one to Cassidy. They both felt a small sliver of electricity climb through their spines.  Kenzie looked over at Zeus who had agreed to grant her one wish. She wished her brother would have a confidante.. a mentor.. a life teacher, now that she was unable to be there for him. 

After the bond from the lightning hit Cassidy high up in her office, she gave a slight shiver, not knowing what had just happened. The boy looked around him in the graveyard, confused. He smelled something sweet in the air, like funnel cake. “Kenzie?” He whispered.

*****

Cassidy worked nonstop to come up with a design for the bracelet her boss would wear.  Her creativity had been ignited by the jolt of electricity. She came up with a design that made her glow. It was a golden lightning bolt with diamonds around the band. She held out her sketch and grinned.

High up in the clouds, Kenzie wanted one more favor from Zeus. “Can you get Cassidy to end up at Eataly around 5:00 tonight?” She asked him. 

Zeus looked over at Kenzie, wondering why he was doing all these favors for a commoner. He did love her, though, and so he agreed. “Yes, I will do that for you. Why, though?’

“My family’s tradition was to go to Eataly every Friday to enjoy the beginning of our weekend. They knew how much I loved olives on my pizza,” Kenzie looked away, her stomach grumbling.  “They continued the tradition — I think it helped them feel like I was still there.” 

As Cassidy packed up to leave for the evening, her colleague asked if she wanted to grab dinner at Eataly. The girls packed up their things and walked to the first floor for delicious Italian food.

The boy was in line at the pizza station with his parents, trying to decide what to order. His parents had just finished lecturing him about getting back “out there” and making friends. He rolled his eyes while his heart ached. His sister would usually step in at times like this and stand up for him. Just as he was about to respond, he saw a familiar face from the coffee shop that morning. He walked over to her, staring to make sure it was the right person. 

“Cow lady?” He asked.

Cassidy’s conversation with her friend was interrupted, and she turned around to see who was talking. 

“Coffee boy?”

The boy chuckled. It had been a while since he’d had a real smile. 

“Do you want to eat with us?”

The boy paused and nodded. He waved over to his parents and mouthed, “I’m going to eat with them.”

His parents gave thumbs up and put their arms around each other as they turned back to order their food.

“Thanks, Kenzie,” the boy smiled to himself. “I’ll order extra olives tonight, just for you”