CUARENTA Y UNO

                                    

                                          
Joey had been awaiting Josh's arrival. She just finished preparing his drink, she may have taken a few sips during the process. The sun was finally tucking itself away, displaying it's beautiful shades of red and orange in the sky while Josephine watched from the window of the cafe. The place was mostly empty, a few shattered souls here and there. The majority of them were on their phones or occupied by something else, none of them really bothering Josephine for a refill. Closing time was a little earlier today since tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Rather than closing at 9, they're closing an hour early. What a time difference. Josephine couldn't keep herself from sipping at Josh's drink while she waited; she knew she should've made herself one. She continued to mindlessly stare out into the city street, watching people walk by. She pulled away from the bustle when a curly-haired boy stood in front of the window and stuck his tongue out at Joey. Recognizing that Josh was pulling the funny face she giggled and threw him one back, her tongue peeping out of her mouth. She lifted up his drink and spun it around in her hand, he smiled and finally made his way inside. 
                          
Josh greeted, "Hey, J." He slipped into the seat next to her with a smile and reached out to give her a short side hug. Josephine has always thought that side hugs while sitting down were awkward, but Josh didn't make her feel like that. She returned the smile and leaned into his hold. "Has it been busy?" 
                          
She shook her head, "It's so depressing in here it feels like a funeral." Josh chuckled lightly. "But, I did get a pretty good tip from this angry old man. Sure he said some insensitive things, but all in a day of being an ethnic woman." He caught sight of her frown-like smile and frowned himself. 
                          
His eyes were full of concern, but Josephine was used to it. There have been numerous occasions in which she was patronized by the ignorant. She's learned how to handle those situations and she's grown from it. He placed his large hand on top of her smaller one, "what did he say? I mean, if you mind me asking." 
                          
Sighing, "it's really nothing, J. These kinds of things happen sometimes." Josh shook his head, refusing to give up on the conversation, "Yes, Joey, I know. But that doesn't mean they should." 
                          
"Of course they shouldn't, Shuie. But there's really nothing I can do about it." His eyes never left the sight of her, burrowing deep into her darker iris's. "You can talk to me about it. I know I won't understand, but I can listen." She let out a huff of air, "fine." She adjusted her chair so she was face to face with Joshua. 
                          
"This girl came in with her grandfather, and they ordered their coffee. The girl was nice, she was so so sweet. Drew was mopping the floor, and he didn't put up the sign so I didn't know where the floor was wet. I went to go give the two their drinks, and I slipped and I dropped both of their stuff," Josh was so trained on Josephine, that he almost stopped listening, but he forced himself to pay more attention.
                          
"The Grandpa was really upset about it and something about how irresponsible Hispanics are and the girl was kinda taken aback by what he said. She ended up helping me clean up and Drew took them their new drinks. I just couldn't go back over there. I felt so humiliated. When they left, the girl slipped me a 20 and she apologized about what her grandpa said." 
                          
He couldn't believe that this was something that could ever happen to Josephine Ortiz. She is one of the most hardworking and kindest person he knows. Her dark eyes met his light brown eyes. He felt like apologizing, but he knew she wouldn't want him to say that. "You did absolutely nothing wrong, Jo." She nods. "He's a dick. You didn't deserve what happened to you today. You never deserve that." 
                          
She shrugged, and small smile evident on her lips, "I guess, it is what it is." She was done talking about something so tragic, instead, she caught sight of Drew wiping down a few tables. Josh turned to see who she was looking at. Turning back to her he said, "is that Drew?" She nodded, "yeah, he's been pretty nice to me since the incident happened to I'm kinda savoring the amount of time I have left of that."