You could give a lot of coffees on the house at  Bloomingfoods . They made  coffee in those large self serve serve containers that customers poured using a spigot. The office tracked how many containers were made and how many cups were purchased. but because employees go to drink coffee...

At the coffee shop he hoped Mari would be there. Knew she wouldn't. She probably lived someplace further out. Probably didn't make as much as Jackie. Maybe Mari lived out in Queens or Long Island. The people in this coffee shop looked hip and rich. A world Joey didn't belong...

New York city... where the girls are pretty.

Joey said this to himself for the dozenth time. He took another swig. The coffee was lukewarm now. Barely lukewarm. Could even be classified as cold. What was lukewarm even? Who was Luke?

Maybe Luke wasn't a name. Had a meaning perhaps. He might...

When he awoke Jackie was gone. She left for work at a reasonable hour. It was Joey's sleep schedule that was fucked due to working night shifts at the cafe. In the beginning the night shifts were shared between him and Tony. But after a few weeks, somehow, Tony convinced...

They say, there's still a land where kings bow to monks.

New York was not that.

Joey arrived to a flurry of sounds. Loud metal banging on metal. Jackhammers. Sirens. Motors. Horns.

He made his way to Jackie's. Took a few wrong turns. But finally arrived just in time before pissing his pants....

He walked around at the terminal for about an hour. He still had thirty minutes until boarding. He wasn't going to buy anything. But he finally caved. Coffee. He needed that. Well not really. But it would make this situation feel more fun. He hadn't told Jackie he was visiting...

There must've been something in the air, Joey thought. Not only was his coworker Tony acting weird. But he noticed his girlfriend Jane being weird too. She rustled her fingers through his hair. "You're so creative."

"What?" he asked. Trying to laugh it off.

"You're like one of those artist types."

"Jane. What...

Two months later there was snow. It was  Christmas Eve . Marc Love was still in  Bloomington, IN . Now with a job.  Bloomingfoods . The west location near downtown. Right by City Hall.

He had become friends with Kevin the deli guy. And Brock working the drinks.

On Thanksgiving he had...

The breeze of the evening rustled the branches. The shadows danced across the concrete sidewalk and the grass. Love walked with a cigarette in his hand. A cigar he had smoked earlier. But for a walk... he preferred a cigarette. Something about a  cigar warranted that he be seated. A...

When he arrived in  Bloomington, IN , he felt different. He wouldn't leave here right away like he did with any other place he stopped.

He didn't just pick the first hotel he found. He drove around a bit. Ended up booking a bed and breakfast downtown. It looked like one...