Crumb Cakes and Dinosaurs

Surprise Parties

The world’s comfiest couch was in the corner of Donder’s Roast coffeehouse.

Pretty obvious that it was originally designed for a family of four, but crammed as it was in the corner next to the shelves of paperbacks, people made a habit of stretching out on it and reading.

Kenny Donder had stocked the shelves, just boards on cinderblocks, with everything from the French translation of Catcher in the Rye to dinosaur porn.

Paulette McGee walked south on Bonnier, hoping to sneak in the back door of Donder’s, grab the sofa and a copy of In the Velociraptor’s Nest.

She looked through the window to her right and saw shoes hanging off the edge of the sofa.

It was Amy. 

Amy saw Paulette and didn’t know if Paulette saw her. She grabbed a coffee table picture book of snowboarding in the Alps that had been propping up the sagging bottom board of the cinderblock bookshelf.

Paulette grabbed a green tea and a crumb cake that hinted at having been a contemporary of the velociraptors in the book she wanted to finish.

Amy hid poorly behind the picture book.

“You’re not at work,” Paulette said.

Amy did not move the book she had snatched up for size and not content.