To Be Wild and Precious

Beth was taking a sip of her whatever-size-means-small coffee while seated at one of the tables provided in the café area. She had one foot tucked under her self and the other hanging limply off of her high chair. She was able to swing her loose leg because of the height of her seat, so she did so rhythmically to the beat of the muzak playing softly in the background.

Poor Beth burned her tongue on her first sip, and had to let everything that she took in spill right back into her cup. It had tasted strangely, but she was pleased by it. She wanted to have some more, though she assumed that perhaps she would need some milk and sugar, so she was determinedly blowing on the piping hot fluid and waiting for it to cool down.

As she waited patiently, she looked from her seat around that section of the bookstore. She caught sight of a magazine rack and some board games and those Sudoku puzzles – she’d never gotten the hang of those. She decided that after she finished The Alchemist, maybe she’d by one of those. Then again, maybe she’d just go ahead and buy another novel to read. It’d probably all depend on her mood at that particular moment and the amount of money she had in her purse.

At that particular moment, she was still gingerly cooling down the coffee as she dug through the jungle inside her bag. The book was so tiny compared to her purse that it got easily lost, but, after a few seconds, it was out and free from the constraints of the cloth hanging from her shoulder.

Beth placed the book on the small table, opened it up to wherever she had left off earlier that morning, took out her bookmark, which was an index card, and began to read. She was concentrating on the journeys of the young shepherd boy Santiago as Beth made a second attempt at sipping her warm drink. It went down easier this time, and, though it had a bitterness to it, she was happy with her choice in beverage.

About a half hour to an hour later, having not really moved from that one spot on that table, Beth was starting to feel the effects of the caffeine. Her fingers were drumming on the table at a lightning speed, her eyes were blinking really quickly, she couldn’t keep her legs from moving up and down, up and down in place. She was felt exhilaration coursing through her and jolts of energy.

Beth tried to keep reading but she couldn’t contain herself. She was too full of caffeinated excitement to sit still long enough.

So she tried to go through the Sudoku book and the board games, reading the backs of all of the boxes. Then she flipped through as many magazines as she could before she lost focus. But nothing seemed to calm her down.

She was bouncing on the heels of her feet. Bubbling with energy, she was no longer under her own will. She had succumbed to the power of the evil caffeine menace. And this monster could not be stopped.

She had shuffled into an aisle on the third floor and pulled a bunch of random books off the shelves. She sat on the floor in a pile of them, shamelessly disregarding any and all weird looks from passersby, which luckily were very few. She began to giggle uncontrollably tossing her arms in the air while picking up one of the books lying next to her and flipping through it for some words that she would then interpret very immaturely.

“’I don’t like them soft.’ –oh, that’s what she said.” Flip. Flip. Flip. “’They do do the decorations together.’” She tried to stifle her laugh. “Do Do!” She giggled some more. She picked up another book. Flip. Flip. Flip. “’He must not have a big one since he has a small head.’ – Oh! Ha Ha! That is definitely what she said. These are funny.” Flip. Flip. Flip.
“Excuse me, miss. Could I help you with something?” a familiar voice asked tentatively.
Beth looked up and recognized the figure standing above her. “Oh, Gavin!” She said overly excited as induced by the caffeine. “Look at these books. They’re all so funny. You’d laugh, too. Come on. Sit down.”

“Beth, right? Are you okay? You seem a little - ?” He searched for the word.

“Happy?” She provided for him with a too-big smile.

“Uh, no, that’s not the word I was looking for. I would’ve gone with on-edge. Maybe even over-the-edge.” He raised his eyebrows as he inspected her face and eyes for any sign of drug use, she presumed. “Have you had anything to drink lately? Anything that would’ve because you to act like this because you certainly weren’t like this earlier.”

Beth tilted her head to one side and replied, “Oh, just one coffee, but not even a big one, just a little one, but I don’t really know what size that would be because the coffee shop here has weird names for its sizes. Ooo, look at this book.” She grabbed one of the hardcovers that were by her knee. “The cover is so shiny!” She then gazed up at him with twinkling eyes.

Gavin was squatting down in front of Beth and looked slightly confused by her answer. “Just one coffee,” he asked.

“Yup. Just one.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Of course I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

Liam answered her, “Because you seem much more hyper than a person should be after just a single cup of coffee.”

Beth’s face made an ‘O’ shape as she let out an ‘Oh!’ of realization. She announced, “Well, maybe it’s because I’ve never really taken caffeine very well. I’ve always had really bad reactions to it, but the last time wasn’t that bad. I was only really jittery.” She began to giggle again.

“Okay.” Gavin declared. “I think that’s enough. How are you getting home?” He stood up and placed his hands firmly on his hips to show that he meant business.

“Um…” Bethany couldn’t remember at first but then she recalled. “My dad’s going to pick me up after work.”

“What time is that?” he asked firmly.

“Five.” She laughed. “Isn’t that such a weird number? Five?”

“What?!” He asked.

“Well, I mean, it’s a prime number but when you add two and three together you get five. It’s a prime that’s made up of primes. Isn’t that weird? I think that’s weird.” She giggled.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that five is so late. Why would you stay at Barnes and Noble for so long? Haven’t you been here since we opened?”

“Yup. But I like being here. It’s nice. I just don’t like coffee.” She held the side of her head. “It makes my head hurt.”

“I bet it does.” He agreed. He looked right then left, and then, with his jaw clenched, he told Beth. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to try to see if someone can cover my shift for a little while and I’ll try to get you home. You can’t stay here like this.” Beth nodded and Gavin started in the opposite direction leaving her on the ground surrounded by all of the books. He returned before leaving completely and announced, “Just do me one huge thing and put all the books that you took down back on the shelves. I’d really appreciate that.”

“Okie dokie.” She replied. He sighed, knowing that this was going to be a big mistake, but he disappeared into the employees’ room.

When he returned, Gavin found Bethany on the ground, but with absolutely no books around her. The ground was spotless. Instead, she was facing the book shelf in front of her and alphabetizing the authors as best she could with an energized brain.

Her pulse was still racing and her fingers were still jittery, but at least the laughing stopped, occasionally at least.

“All done?” Gavin came up from behind her and asked.

Beth turned around, a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look plastered on her face. “What?” she asked.

“Oh, I was wondering if you were finished.”

“Um…” her mind was racing and her head was pounding. She couldn’t really think straight, so answering him was difficult. She let her finger stroke one of the books’ spines before her. “I think so.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Gavin guided her out into the parking lot and into a gray SUV. He opened the car door for her and helped her up into her seat. Then he raced around the car into his side and buckled up, as did she.

“Okay. So we have to be quick because Manny said he could only cover for me for half an hour. Please, tell me you live close by.” He looked at her expectantly.

She blankly stared up at him. He rephrased his statement into a question. “Where do you live?”

Beth blinked and then looked down onto the glove compartment door, trying to think. What was her address? It had a small porch, she knew, but what were the numbers, or even the street name for that matter? She realized that she in fact did not know where she lived. She answered him honestly, “I don’t know.”

“Is that just some sort of reaction to the coffee? You no longer remember where you live?” he asked slightly irritated.

The side effects of the caffeine had evolved from an energetic buzz to a lethargic calm. Beth was in a better control of her thoughts and actions, however, her head pounded at every instant that she tried to do so.

So Beth shook her head “No.” She didn’t know where her she lived because she was new in town. She tried to explain this to Gavin. “I just moved here.” She tried.

Gavin shook his head in frustration. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He ran his hands through his hair and then gripped them onto the steering wheel. “So how am I supposed to take you home?”

“Um…well…” Beth tried to remember the day before, the drive into town. She remembered the restaurant they went to the night before and the exit that they took. Maybe that was enough. “I know that we have to drive on the other highway, the one across from this one. And then there’s an exit – some sort of street. It’s George – no – gorge – grieve …”
“Grove Street?” Gavin asked.

“Yes! I think that one’s it. After that there’s a bunch of turns and I’d probably be able to tell which way when we get there.” She asserted, while also trying to assure herself that she could indeed find her way home.

“Sure. Whatever. So I’ll take Route 3 West and then take Grove. Then you lead the way. Okay?”

“Okay.” Beth nodded.

“Hopefully this works.” Gavin mumbled.

He expertly pulled out of his spot and gently eased into the traffic. He took a special exit that was really a U-turn and got them onto the opposite highway, which was next to the restaurant that Beth’s father took them to that had the orgasmic deep dish pizza. They drove along calmly, even when the traffic made them halt. Beth could see that Gavin would keep glancing at the clock on the dashboard, but there were no other indications of his impatience. He did not even say anything about how Beth could possibly be costing him his job. He just kept driving and sitting patiently in the congestion.

When they escaped the traffic by turning on her exit, Gavin said, “Be on the alert, Beth. Tell me which way to turn.”

Beth was so confused. Both ways looked familiar and she had been so sleepy the first time they had come and it was so dark the second time. She couldn’t make out which way had been which right when it mattered. She vaguely remembered a right turn so she ordered, “Right.” Then another road came and she didn’t know if they kept going on or not, but she did recall another turn very soon, and, since there was only a one way, she said, “Left.”
Then Beth saw the Hideous House, the beacon of all hope that she had so little to go. She knew the ugly house meant that hers was the next block over. She shouted this revelation to Gavin and he obeyed, making the turn onto Potter Road. After riding for approximately three more seconds, they arrived at her house.

Beth sullenly looked out the window at the house that stood before her that didn’t feel a thing like home. Gavin must have understood the expression because he inquired as he unfastened his seat belt, “How long ago did you move in?”

“Yesterday.” She answered as she undid hers, as well.

“Yesterday? And the place that you chose to go was your local Barnes and Noble?” He sounded incredulous.

“Yeah.” She smiled halfheartedly. “I love books. They’re the only things that make me feel at home. And, besides, I’d never seen a book store that big before.”

“Where are you from?” he sounded like he genuinely wanted to know.
“Uh, a little town called Kenton, Ohio. Ever heard of it?”

“Not really, but I don’t really know much about geography so I’m not a really good judge.” He smiled and so did she. Her head began to pound even harder so she grabbed the side that hurt in response. “Oh, I better get you inside.”

Gavin got out of the SUV and raced over to Beth’s side. He helped her out of it and guided her up the pathway. He asked her if she had keys but she assured him that her mom was home, so he simply rang the door bell.

After a minute of agonizing pain, Beth’s mother appeared in the door frame, “Hello?” She asked cheerfully. Once she caught sight of her daughter practically in the arms of a stranger whilst clutching her head in anguish, she went in full combat mode. “Who are you? Beth, what happened?”

Gavin answered before Beth could even begin. “Mrs. McAllister my name is Gavin Marshall. I work at the Barnes and Noble that Beth had been at for most of the morning. It seems that she had a bit too much caffeine than her body could handle and she had some strange side effects. I thought that the safest bet would be to take her home.”

Mrs. McAllister eyed him suspiciously, especially since this stranger had known her surname, which Gavin must have remembered from when he filled out the delivery form for Bethany. She was looking at him warily when Beth groaned, her head in her hand, and her mother’s attention was immediately shifted.

“Beth, honey, are you alright? You know that you can’t drink caffeine? Was it soda? Did you drink mountain dew?” Beth was weakly whining “Mom!” when Gavin interrupted, “Actually she said it was a small coffee.”

“That’s it?” Beth’s mom asked.

“That’s what she had said.”

“Oh, well, then. Beth, I think I should take you to the doctor. That isn’t normal.”

“Mom, I’m fine.” Her words were muffled by her mother’s hands on her head.

“No, sweetie, we need to get you checked out.”

“Mom, it’s normal to get hyper from coffee. It’s absolutely normal. Don’t worry about me. I just – I promise I’ll never do it again. Okay?”

“Are you sure?” her mom asked warily.

“Yes, mother. Just let me sleep off this migraine.”

“I suggest you take some Excedrin, if you have.” Gavin said.

Beth looked at him. She almost forgot that he was even there.

“Oh, dear, thank you. Thank you for driving my Bethany home. Would you like something to eat? Or a soft drink perhaps?” Beth’s mother asked.

Gavin tried to be polite. “No thank you. Really, it was the least I could do.” He glanced at his watch. “Crap. I mean – um…I really need to get back to work. So Bethany I hope you feel better. Just stay away from sodas and stuff. And Ms. McAllister, it was really nice meeting you.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” She assured him as they shook hands.

He rushed out of the house, but then he abruptly turned back around, as if he forgot something, and raced back in. He reminded Beth, “Oh, don’t forget that your book comes in on Wednesday.”

“Of course. How could I forget?” Beth replied.

“Okay.” He smiled. “Well, see you then, I guess.”

“Yeah, see you then.”

And with that, the somewhat good-looking guy left bound out of her house for the second time that day. Bethany was absolutely positive that more than a half hour had passed, and she was afraid for him that he might lose his job because of her. Because of one act of kindness, he’d get fired. But this kindness, this generosity that sparked within his seemed to light a flame of passion in his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. It brightened his face and gave his whole appearance a better zing to it. He was full of life and a beauty that Beth could never imagine.

The okay-looking guy became oh-so-incredibly hot in a matter of minutes. And that wonderfully gorgeous guy had just casually been in her house and willingly met her mother. Maybe life in New Jersey wasn’t going to be as bad as she had thought it would be.