A Singular Witness

Throwing Rocks

Quinn woke up late, and rolling over to look at the alarm clock, rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Working her way out from underneath Daniel's arm, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood. She padded silently over the hardwood floors of Daniel's loft apartment in her bare feet, grabbing her overnight bag from beside a large window that overlooked the college campus.

Carrying her bag to the bathroom, she started the shower. She let the hot water run through her hair and down her back. When she was done, she checked that the door was secure before blowing out her hair, hoping that the dryer would not make too much noise. When she was dressed, she stepped quietly out of the bathroom.

"You always try and sneak out on me." Daniel said, smiling. He wore a loose fitting pair of casual pants and leaned, shirtless, against the kitchen counter.

Quinn could smell that he had made coffee, and smiled appreciatively. "Is there enough coffee in that pot for two, or did you think I had already left?"

"There's nothing more depressing than only one cup of coffee. On mornings you're gone before I get up, I make a point of drinking enough for us both."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Well, if it won't cut your daily dose of caffeine too painfully, I might have a cup this morning."

"Don't worry, I know how you like it." Daniel said, blinking tenderly before he turned and took two mugs down from the shelf.

As they sat sipping their coffee at the table, Quinn glanced at her watch.

"What do you have going on this morning?" Daniel asked.

Quinn drew a long breath. "I told Jessica that I would meet her for breakfast."

"Is she driving?"

Quinn nodded.

"Didn't you tell me that last weekend when you guys went out, she decided it would be fun to get lost?"

"Yes, and it was fun, actually. We just kept driving on roads we'd never taken before, until we had no idea where we were."

"I'm glad you found your way back."

Quinn looked at him, her expression thoughtful. "We always had the GPS. We just didn't use it until we had to in order to get home. It seems like it must have been harder in some ways for people to get lost before GPS, back when people were used to thinking about where they were all the time."

"I just know you're right here, Babe." Daniel said, his tone gentle.

Quinn blushed, checking her watch. "But I gotta go, I'm running late."

"You're always running." He said, walking her to the door. He pressed his nose against her forehead before she walked out. "I'll call you later."

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Jessica was waiting in the parking lot, the top down on her mini automobile, when Quinn walked up and dropped her bag into the back seat.

"I was so hoping I would not have to come in, and face the unpleasant task of manually ungluing you two." Jessica said in a mocking groan.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You would not be able to bear the disappointment of a total lack of such drama."

Jessica laughed. "So where to for breakfast, the hookah bar?"

"Have you even had any coffee yet? You sound so deprived...."

"Girl, I could make you a list, but you would not check it twice." Jessica grinned, and backed out of the parking lot. She drove down Main Street into the old town, and pulled into a parking space in front of a small hole in the wall diner that had not changed in any substantial way over the course of the last century. Huge catfish carcasses were mounted on the walls over each booth, petrified in an eternal swimming motion. Quinn ordered Huevos Rancheros, while Jessica ordered a stack of blueberry pancakes.