The sound of a tuning guitar brought back memories. College.
Ashley was still college aged actually. She had attended for only a year before dropping out. It had been a mess. A waste of twenty grand.
Afterwards she was too embarrassed to move back home. She worked at a cafe near campus:
Espresso Royale
. And that's where she met
Imogen Howe
.
Imogen had been real observant. Asked question took notes. Turned out she was about to start owning a cafe in a small town not far but not close to Espresso Royale. Apparently she'd been running it for years now and only because of some financial situation the owner had to give the place up. Ashley thought that was neat story. Had even told Imogen, "I hope you do something amazing with that place."
Imogen hadn't said it back, but Ashley could imagine her saying, "I will."
A month or so later Imogen returned. Asked if Ashley remembered her.
"You wouldn't want to come work at my cafe would you?"
And that's how Ashely ended up moving out into the boonies. A chance to make something real rather than being a cog in some glorified local franchise.
It had been nice living in the boonies. She found a circle of friends there. Didn't mind how quiet it was. Enjoyed it a bit even. But then this trip to
Chicago
had struck a new chord in her. Like she had been a guitar that had just been tuned.