Jasmine's Place Issue No. 2 - November/December 2012 | Page 7

…she was about to shoot off to her car when an elderly woman seated on a bench in front of the café caught her eye. pieces - she wondered what troubled her. .. The woman sniffled, cleared her throat and turned to her. “How are you today?” Dani shifted in her seat. “… fine?” ready and out the door in thirty minutes flat! Racing to the car, she decided she would have just enough time to run in the coffee shop for a quick jolt of java. The woman fidgeted with her hankie. “I’m Martha.” After buying her coffee, she was about to shoot off to her car when an elderly woman seated on a bench in front of the café caught her eye. “I couldn’t help but notice that something’s upsetting you.” Dani said even though she knew butting in could make her later than she already was. Judging by her wrinkled and weathered features, the woman appeared to be in her late seventies. Her clothing, while dated, gave evidence to a rather comfortable life. “This is totally unreasonable, I’m in a hurry!” her mind said, but her legs seemed to have a mind of their own and before she knew it, she was sitting beside the woman. “And I’m Dani.” An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment. Martha blew her nose. “I was hoping to make it to the county hall. My godson’s a land broker and just closed a major land deal for the family. They’ll all be there for the signing of the agreements…I was invited too… It’s supposed to start in thirty minutes.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman wipe away a stray tear with a worn monogrammed handkerchief. Dani’s heart broke into a million JASMINE'S PLACE 77