Espresso and Dreams at the Cafe

A girl is inside a coffee shop. She orders from the counter, and sits down at a table by the window. Through the window, she looks upon a steady stream of people. As she rests her chin on her hand, a woman walks past.  Suddenly, she is that woman; she goes to unlock her car. As she pulls out the keys, she is struck from behind. She staggers, and falls to the ground. The world turns black. 

“Beep Beep Beep!” The girl blinked and sat up in bed. 

It was a dream, Olivia. She reminded herself, You’re not actually knocked out by some creepy shadow guy. Her roommate Elizabeth knocked on the door. 

“Come in!” Olivia tried to sound cheerful. 

“Hey,” Elizabeth slipped into the room. 

“You don’t look so good.” She walked over to Olivia.

“Did you have that dream again?”

Olivia nodded. “I can’t seem to get rid of it.” She sighed. “What if it comes true? This has to be a sign or something.” 

Elizabeth shook her head. “You’ve been watching too many old mystery movies. That’s all.”

Olivia hoped that was true. She just needed a distraction. After they ate breakfast, she went out onto their balcony. She breathed in and out. It’s going to be okay. She thought. Just have a nice day with Liz. She stepped back inside and closed the porch door. 

Elizabeth looked up from her book. 

“Ready to go?” She asked,

“Yeah.” 

Elizabeth grabbed her keys on the way out. They took the elevator down to the parking lot, where Elizabeth’s old silver Toyota sat in their parking space. She unlocked the car, and the flashing headlights pierced the darkness of the mostly unlit parking lot. Lights didnt turn on until three pm. 

Olivia grinned and yelled “Shotgun!” 

“Olly, you’re the only other person riding.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. 

“Really?” She gasped. “I would have never known.”

“Get in or I’m leaving you here.” 

“Yes ma’am.”

With music blasting on the speakers, they drove onto the 101. It was a warm day, and Good 4 Uthe Califionia sun shining in the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight.  With Elizabeth focusing on the road, Olivia was left to her own devices. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts, she hardly noticed when Elizabeth was talking to her; making noncommittal noises every time she was expected to respond. 

After Elizabeth found a spot in the mall parking lot, she turned to poke her best friend in the shoulder, and found her already outside. 

“C’mon!” Olivia called. “We’re gonna miss the movie.” 

They made it just as the commercials ended. Squeezing through the people already seated, they found their seats and plopped down. As the movie played, Olivia realized that she had been so worried about her dreams for so long, she barely had fun anymore. 

Liz is a good friend. She thought. She puts up with it all, and never complained when I woke up in the middle of the night sobbing. She was always there. Glancing over, she looked at Elizabeth, who caught her eye and smiled. They lingered a bit at the end of the movie, since the exits were crowded. 

Olivia tilted her head at Elizabeth. 

“Where to next?” She asked,

“I’m thinking…. Shopping?”

Elizabeth dragged Olivia to her favorite store.  She grabbed about a hundred things off the shelf and slipped into the changing room. Olivia wandered around the store.  She didn’t really need any new clothes, but it was always nice to look. Feeling her phone vibrate, she took it out of her pocket. It was Liz. She had texted her ten pictures of her in the clothes. 

I like the fifth. She texted back. The daisies are nice with your hair. Elizabeth had long, bright blonde hair and streaks of pink. The dress was a long yellow one with puffed sleeves and a floral pattern. She was so engrossed with texting, she tripped and crashed into someone. She fell onto the floor, and cracked her phone. Shoot. She thought.

“Ah! Oh, I’m so sorry.” Olivia said.  “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“It’s okay.” Said the woman. She had wavy light brown hair,  a light pink crop top and light jean shorts.

 “I wasn’t looking where I was going either.” She offered her hand, and pulled Olivia up. Looking at her phone, she widened her eyes. 

“Gotta go!” She ran off. 

Raising her hand, Olivia waved.

“Bye.” She muttered. 

Glancing at her phone, she winced. It had a huge crack through the center. She stowed it in her pocket again and walked toward the changing room. Elizabeth was waiting outside, with a considerably smaller pile of clothes. 

“Found what you want?” Olivia asked.

“Yep!” She replied.

Aside from the dress, she was holding two pairs of jeans, a tee shirt and a jacket. 

“You really love to shop.” Olivia sighed.  

Elizabeth laughed. “You know me.” 

After Elizabeth got her stuff scanned at the checkout, they headed to the food court. 

“I’m starving.” Olivia said. “I’ll get the food. You get the table?” 

Elizabeth nodded. She looked across the room. There were about two vacant tables. One was pretty far, and the other one was parked in front of a trash can. Seemed like an easy choice. 

She pointed to a sandwich shop. “Get me the usual.”

Olivia made her way to the pizza shop, and got a pepperoni slice. She ordered a falafel sandwich for Elizabeth at the sandwich shop and carried them over to the table Elizabeth had managed to grab. 

“One falafel sandwich.” She told her.

“Thank youuuuu” Elizabeth coursed. 

Sitting down in her seat, Olivia took a bite of the pizza. It was still warm, and the melted cheese looked delicious.

“Should we go back to the apartment after this?” She asked Elizabeth. “I’m beat.” 

“Okay.” 

“Also, can I borrow the car?” 

“When?” 

“In two hours or so? I need to pick up groceries.”

“Sure.”

After they finished eating, the two girls walked back to the parking lot.

As they drove home, Elizabeth decided to take a different way back.

“Liz?” Olivia asked,

“M?”

“I… don’t think this is the way back.”

“Why don’t we have a bit of an adventure?”

“.....” Olivia sighed. “I guess that would be fun.” 

As the car turned left onto a busy street, Olivia spied a cafe. It had gold letters that spelled Sweet Dreams Cafe. A flickering open sign hung in the window, along with some potted plants. A few people sat inside, sipping drinks and looking at their phones. The interior looked the same as the one from her dream. A part of her frantically screamed Don’t go in there! The other part of her wanted to go inside. She had never even been to this part of San Francisco. How was this possible? 

Turning to her friend, Olivia asked “Liz, can you stop here for a sec?”

Luckily, there was a parking spot right in front of the cafe. As Elizabeth parked in the space, she spoke. “Good idea. I need some caffeine.” Olivia stepped out of the car. She swung the door open, and walked up to the counter. 

“Hello.” She said, “Can I have a iced espresso?”  

The girl behind the cashier nodded. “Anything else?”

“No.”

“Ok, can I have a name?”

“Olivia.” 

Olivia walked over to the only table available, the one by the window. She looked through it, hoping that her dream wouldn’t become true. After all, that’s the stuff out of movies. Was going here a mistake? She wondered. Should I not have even come in here? 

Elizabeth sat down next to her. 

“Hey.” She greeted me. 

“Hi. Have you ordered yet?” 

“Not ye- Oh shoot!” Elizabeth jumped up. “I forgot my wallet in the car. One sec.”

“I can pay.” Olivia protested. “It’s fine.”

Elizabeth shook her head. Before Olivia could say anything, she was already out the door. Suddenly, she remembered her dream. 

“Elizabeth-” She screamed. 

But it was too late. She had been knocked unconscious by someone in a black hoodie. They wore a grey mask over their face, and ran down the street with Elizabeth’s wallet in hand. Everyone was too surprised to do anything. Rushing over to her friend, Elizabeth was lying on the concrete. A bruise on her left eye was already forming, Olivia thought numbly to herself, It wasn't me. It never was me.