Page 4 of The Finder

The woman smiled at her. “Sure, honey.” She disappeared for a moment and came back with a brown bag and a water bottle.

“Thank you,” Emma said. She took the bag and found a table to sit at. She would have rather eaten in her room, but the rules said no food in the rooms. She sat with her back to the rest of the room and opened the bag. Hunger pains hit her hard at the sight of the food. She pulled out a sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, and a wrapped cookie. Her hands shook as she opened the sandwich. She bit into it and nearly moaned out loud. It was so good. She tried to slow her bites, but she was too hungry. She quickly finished everything in the bag. She swallowed the last of her water and stood up. After throwing her trash away, she walked over to the women in the kitchen. “Thank you so much,” she called out. They smiled at her.

Emma made her way back to her room. After hearing how much traveling Emma had done over the last few days, Renee gave her permission to take a nap. Normally, the women were supposed to be out of the house during the day. Emma would be after today. She was so thankful that Renee, just like Helen, seemed to understand she had been through something traumatic and didn’t push her for more information than she was willing to give. Renee said it was fine for now, but if it was anything illegal or if she caused problems, she would be out in a moment’s notice. Emma hoped to be back on her feet before too long, long before Alec would be able to track her down. Emma made it back to her room and made the bed, looking longlily at it. She was ready to crash, but she knew she needed to shower first. She felt so grimy and disgusting from traveling.

Emma looked through the pile of things Renee had given her. She pulled out clean underwear, a t-shirt, and leggings. Next, she picked up the toiletries bag before leaving the room and heading to the showers. She entered the room and was grateful to see she was the only occupant for now. She snagged a towel from the shelf along one wall and moved to a shower.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Emma emerged feeling better than she had in three days. After getting dressed and brushing her teeth, she made her way back to her room. She opened the drawers Renee said she could use and carefully put away the few belongings she had been given.

She sat on her bed and began to brush her hair. She wondered absently what her roommate would be like. She hoped she was easy to get along with. She pulled her wet hair back into a braid so it wouldn’t be a mess when she woke up later. She used one of the few elastic bands that had been included in her toiletries bag. Again, she was so thankful for everything she had been given. She would have to find a way to give back to this place when she got back on her feet.

Finally feeling settled, Emma lay down on the bed and slipped under the blanket and sheet. She thought she would take a while to fall asleep in this new place, but she surprised herself by falling asleep instantly.

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Emma opened her eyes and looked around the dark room in panic. She sat up quickly, not recognizing where she was. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she remembered she was at Hope House. She could just make out the shape of someone sleeping in the other bed from the light entering the room from the street light outside. She glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand and saw the time. 4:30. Picking up the clock and looking at it closely, she realized it wasa.m. She panicked and shot out of bed. She couldn’t believe she had slept that long. It was only sheer luck that she had woken when she had.

She stumbled through the dark room, trying to find the dresser with her clothes. She finally found it and pulled out the only other outfit she had. She couldn’t wear the outfit she was wearing now; she had slept in it. She felt around the floor for her sneakers and found them. Pulling her belongings close to her chest, she quietly made her way to the door and into the hallway. After carefully closing the door behind her, she ran down the hallway to the showers.

Once again, she was the only one in the showers. She was thankful she had an early morning job. Hopefully, it would afford her some privacy. She didn’t have time for more than just washing her face and brushing her teeth. She quickly dressed in one of the shower areas. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. She didn’t have any makeup or hair products, so there wasn’t much she could do to herself. She undid her braid and fingered the waves; then pulled it up into a high knot on top of her head. She figured that would work for serving coffee. She glanced at the t-shirt and black leggings. The t-shirt was purple with two cats on it and said, “Life's better with cats.” Emma grimaced. It was pretty ugly, but it was all she had.

She gathered all her belongings and took them back to her room. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was four forty. She wasn’t sure how long it would take to get to the shop. She figured it would be about ten or fifteen minutes, but she wasn’t sure. She needed to get moving. She quickly made her way to the front door of Hope House.

Opening the door, she made her way out onto the sidewalk. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill. She headed in the direction of the coffee shop, thankful for street lights. She wasn’t exactly sure how safe this town was yet, so she wasn’t taking any chances. She stayed under the lights as much as possible and kept a careful watch around her. She made herself walk quickly. Finally, the coffee shop came into view. She sped towards it, hoping she was on time. She made a mental note to get a watch as soon as possible.

When she got to the shop, she saw lights on inside; but the door was locked. She knocked lightly on the door. A moment later, Helen opened the door to her. “Good morning,” she called out.

Emma smiled. “Good morning,” she returned. Stepping into the shop, she breathed out a sigh of relief. It was warm and smelled inviting and welcoming with the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans. A quick glance at the clock told her she had made it on time.

“All right. Go ahead and get washed up,” Helen said. Emma did as she said. “Clean aprons are in the back,” Helen said as she moved around, setting things up for the day.

Emma walked into the back room and returned wearing a black Sip and Drip apron. She spent the next thirty-five minutes following Helen around, watching carefully everything she did. After a quick lesson on the cash register and a couple of practices, Helen deemed Emma good enough to “give it a go.”

At exactly five thirty, Helen told Emma to flip the sign. Emma hurried to the door to do exactly that. With her stomach a mess of nerves, Emma made her way back behind the counter. Helen continued training her and explaining what each drink was and how to make it. None of them were super complicated, and thankfully the menu wasn’t that large. Since Emma had a good memory, she hoped she would find it easy.

It didn’t take long for the first customers to come in. The first few drinks, Emma simply watched and learned, categorizing every detail in her mind. After several customers, Helen had her try running the register. Emma was a little slow at first but seemed to be picking it up. Helen made Emma watch her make each and every drink. When it wasn’t busy, Helen would have Emma make the drinks.

The time went surprisingly fast. Soon it was ten thirty, and Helen told Emma to take a break. That surprised Emma. She hadn't planned on taking a break; she had forgotten about it. “Just be back in an hour,” Helen said, waving her off.

Emma walked to the back room and took her apron off before heading outside. She figured she would walk back to Hope House and snag a bagged lunch. If she walked quickly, she would have plenty of time to walk there, eat, and walk back. With that thought in mind, she began walking in the direction of Hope House. Her mind replayed the details of the drinks she had learned over and over. She wanted to be able to remember them going forward. The walk flew by as her mind was busy. She walked up to the home and pulled on the door handle. She was momentarily surprised to find it locked. “Ugh,” she said to herself in frustration. She had forgotten that it was closed during the day. The ladies were supposed to be out working or looking for work during the day. She totally forgot. That’s why it had been locked yesterday when she arrived. She was frustrated with herself for not remembering that. She was also frustrated because now she couldn’t eat until dinner. “So much for having a good memory,” she muttered to herself. With a sigh of frustration, she turned back towards the shop.

The walk took longer this time. By the time she got to the shop, she was frustrated with herself. She peeked into the window and noticed it was only eleven. She turned back around and faced the street. Her eyes landed on the library she had visited briefly yesterday, and she felt her frustration fade. With a lighter step, she walked that way.

Walking inside, she relished the warmth. She quickly found the fiction section of the library and searched for a good book. After finding a few promising ones, she found a table to sit at. She read the backs of each of them again before settling on the first one she had picked up. Keeping a close eye on the clock, Emma began reading. She quickly became engrossed in the story before she had to shelve the books to get back to work. She smiled as she made the walk back to the coffee shop. It was less than a five-minute walk. It would be perfect for her breaks in the future.

With a smile on her face, she reached out to open door to the shop, only to have it open for her. She stepped back as a man came out of the shop. He stopped when he noticed her and held the door open for her. Emma thanked him and stepped inside. “Is it really better with cats?” Emma turned back to look at the man still holding the door open.Is he talking to me?The man pointed to her shirt. “Is life really better with cats?”

Emma glanced down. “Oh, um, yeah, I guess,” she finished lamely. Emma looked back up at the man. It was at that moment she noticed how incredibly large the man was, and good-looking, she thought on a side note. He had bright blue eyes and blondish-brown hair. He was grinning at her, and she couldn’t help but smile back.

“Well, that was unconvincing. Guess I won’t be getting a cat anytime soon. Oh well.” He shrugged. “See you, Helen,” he called out. He smiled at Emma one more time and left.

Emma stared after him for just a moment. She quickly shook her head and went behind the counter to grab an apron and get back to work.

Chapter 5

The rest of her shift passed just as quickly as the morning had. Emma eagerly soaked in everything Helen taught her. Soon it was two, and Helen’s daughter arrived. “Emma,” Helen said. “This is my daughter Cynthia.”

Emma smiled. “Nice to meet you,” she said to the woman who was probably about ten years older than her.

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