No Tomorrow, Part 24

7:00 a.m. – continued

“So, what did you do after high school?” Abigail asked, finding herself intrigued by this man who had found her so fascinating, a man she had probably seen around, but never met. She wasn’t willing to drop all of her shields, but he seemed nice enough and those kinds of guys had been in short supply in the city. Besides, she was looking for a nice guy to go to tonight’s party with. He didn’t have to be perfect; he just had to be someone she could get along with for the last few hours of life.

“Went to a music school for piano. I work at the piano bar here. Or, actually, I worked there.” He gave her a shrug. “It’s hard to remember sometimes that there won’t be a tomorrow and there’s no point to working anymore.”

“Here, here to that,” said one of the coffee shop’s employees as she passed one of the other customers their drink order. “I can’t wait to get off in a couple of hours so I can get home. My girlfriend won’t be in town until later today since she went up north a little ways to say good-bye to her grandparents, so I figured I may as well come in to work. Beats twiddling my thumbs.”

Abigail smiled at the barista as she went to finish off her and Grant’s orders. “That seems to be the general sentiment around the world.” She turned back to Grant to let the woman get back to her job. “I’m a reporter for the city paper. We’ve been covering the end of the world almost exclusively for the past two weeks. It’s exhausting and a little scary, but I feel like it’s gotten me used to the idea of dying. I’m not scared of it anymore. I know exactly what’s going to happen at midnight. I actually spent half of last week with one of the Russian military groups wiring explosives together underground just a few states away.”

Grant quickly held up a hand. “Sorry. I’m not that interested in those details.”

Abigail laughed. “Yeah, you’re not the only one. Half the staff quit about a week and a half ago. They couldn’t take it anymore.”

Grant snapped his fingers. “You’re Callie’s daughter, aren’t you? You look just like her. She’s a great news anchor. My roommate and I watch her all the time. She’s been on lately when I get home and Rob’s usually got the TV blaring out the news if it’s not stuck on the sports channel. That’s why you look so familiar.”

Abigail smiled. “Yeah, I am. I’m the older daughter. My little sister looks more like my dad. We’ve been very proud of my mom since she was promoted.”

“She’s great. I’m up so late because of my job that my roommate and I usually watch when I get home. Then I go to sleep and he’s probably out in the living room watching porn or something.”

“I’ll tell her when I get home. I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

“Here you go,” the young woman working behind the counter said, pushing two cups and Abigail’s croissant towards them.

“Thanks,” Abigail said as she reached for her coffee and pastry.

“My roommate’s probably still out cold, so I’m going to stick around for a bit. Care to join me?” Grant asked, hopeful, but not expecting much.

Abigail shrugged. “Sure. I’m in no hurry to get home. Everyone’s probably still asleep, anyways.”

Grant picked one of the tables by the windows and they sat across from each other.

“Any plans for today?” Abigail asked, taking small sips from her hot drink, letting the caffeine give her the jolt she needed and wanted.

“Not really. I’m having lunch with my parents and brother and then I guess my roommate and I are just going to hang out until the party tonight. Hey, you should join us.”

She gave him a small smile. “Maybe. I’m meeting up with some girlfriends tonight.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her business card. “But let me give you my card. Give me a call later and we’ll see where we are.”

He took the card with a smile. “Sure will. Now. What about you? Any plans other than meeting up with your friends later?”