This place needs a little fiction to spruce it up. I’ve written a lot of technobabble, more than one essay, and done my share of navel-gazing. I have the beginnings of an idea for a novel, or at least a story of some length, but I haven’t actually written anything for it. Today the weather was really nice, and work was really lousy, so I stepped outside for a few minutes and the words just came streaming out. I’m not participating in National Novel Writing Month this year — got another project taking up my time — but I’d like to give it a go next year.

Until then, here’s a taste.

Four o’clock already. You could always tell the time by the church bells. If you were paying close enough attention to count them, that is. Anna could just catch sight of the steeple, shimmering reflected in the glass facade of the office building across the street, if she leaned over the counter to her right. In the mornings, the sun glared off the glass and into the cafe, flooding the waiting customers with light and making the cashiers squint rudely at the register. Two had taken to wearing sunglasses. In the afternoon, though, the sun moved on and left only a mellow glow behind.

The October air brought just enough snap to lure people in for afternoon coffee or tea, but today it was pleasant enough to leave the door propped open. Two of the sidewalk tables were occupied — three office dwellers seeking refuge from the Tuesday blues. Anna knew them by name; she also knew their favorite drinks and their least favorite co-workers.

(continued here)

Related posts:
  1. Cafe Scene, Continued (continued from [here](http://starkravingcalm.com/archives/cafe-scene)) The day was crawling past. Anna's shift...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.