ArchivedLogs:Coffee Talk

Coffee Talk
Dramatis Personae Luke Cage, Melinda, Corey, Felix	2013-05-18 Dancing conversations
Location <NYC> Busboys and Poets - East Harlem
A quiet, artsy spot nestled away on a side street in East Harlem, Busboys and Poets combines cafe and bookstore in a way a Starbucks tacked on to a Barnes & Noble could never achieve. The food is a solid, multi-national cuisine menu that caters to all kinds of dietary choices, and its fair-trade tea menu is extensive. Its weekend brunch tends to draw a large crowd, but there is ample enough seating both at tables and on its many comfortable armchairs and couches that at other times of the week there is never a wait. The walls are adorned with the work of local artists, and tucked in among and alongside the couches are rows upon rows of books, with a definite slant towards the political and the bohemian. New York has been experiencing its April showers a month late this year, and it feels like every other day has water falling from the sky to bring some dreariness to the citizens. Not everyone is keen on the idea of being dampened so often, so many hide their time away in the various shops and edifices in the surrounding area. Businesses can't help but be happy that poor weather leads to increases in cash flow, and the place is doing a brisk business between books and coffee like beverages. Corey is in the place looking for books himself, preferring to support local businesses when he can, so instead of hitting the mega chains, he goes through this establishment. He is carrying a few books on New York city, and with a coffee in hand, he takes a moment to rest at a table, opening up one of his books to glance at it, old reliable cell phone sitting out on the table beside his acquired tomes. Through the front windows of B&B's can be seen a hurrying Luke Cage. He's jogging, probably because he has no umbrella, his shirt is soaked. He's in a bright yellow, fitted t-shirt, dark jeans, and biker boots. He hurries to come in the front door, and WHAM - the thing opens way faster than he thought it would, knocking out the bit of glass in it with a shatter. He stands there a moment, looking embarrassed, and really more surprised than anything, before finally coming in and carefully closing the door behind him. He's already having an apologetic conversation with the owner, and looks to be writing a check. He should be freed up in a moment. Felix has been wandering through the bookshelves, carrying a couple of books himself. A glimpse at the titles would reveal 'Advanced Statistical Mathematics for Artificial Intelligence' and 'Presocratic Philosophers'. There is also a a paper cup from the establishment with coffee, black, in the opposite. A damp umbrella, one of those long ones with a hook at the end, hangs off his arm. "Oh, hey Corey, I did not expect to see you here today." he says emerging from one of the isles of books just before his attention is redirected to the front door due to the loud crashing noise. Although he has just said hello, his gaze is fixed at the front door for a moment. Melinda enters a little bit after Cage, not really noticing him so much as the employees rushing to the door to start carefully cleaning up the glass. She steps in carefully, skirting around the mess and away from it, tossing a cheerful comment to one of the workers. She heads immediately toward the coffee serving area and is pleased to stand in line. Her umbrella is shoved into a plastic shopping bag she keeps with her, and her bright yellow rain jacket is opened up. Underneath, she is wearing a knee length pencil skirt and a large baggy purple top, yellow galoshes on her feet. When she is reaches the register, she orders a large cappuccino and a cinnamon roll, then begins looking for a table. Nodding his head at Felix, he gives the man a smile and is about to respond when the sound of glass shattering causes his head to jerk in that direction. "Jesus, what the..,"he manages to get out before he sees the staff and the new comer already settling the matter. Shaking his head, he looks back to Felix, shaking his head. "Apparently coffee near you comes with additional excitement." He chuckles, and wipes a bit of just noticed spilt coffee from his shirt, thankfully staining impossible from the plain black coloration. "Least it doesn't seem to be anything too bad going on." Shrugging at that, he sees Melinda at the counter, and raises a hand in greeting to her as she looks around. Luke finally nods, and smiles at the owner as they shake hands. Both men are smiling in fact and seem to be in good spirits. Problem resolved with money! Luke walks in, trying to avoid the worst of any stares, and eventually makes it to the line at the coffee bar, where he makes his order and is waiting for it before he even recognizes who he's in line with. "Oh hey," he says, stepping around where Melinda can see him. "You were at the soup kitchen, right? Yeah, I thought it was you. It's Luke," he says, offering his hand to shake. Once the matter up front is under control Felix returns to the conversation that he had attempted to start. Chuckling at the comment about the coffee. "Yes, I guess I really must be more careful about where I get coffee." he adds with another little laugh and a smile. The every curious person, he looks down at the books to gander what they may be, then up to see who Corey is waving at. That big guy at the door really looks familiar and he looks like he is trying to place a name to the face. Melinda takes Cage's hand and shakes it firmly, shaking her head a little as she smiles. "You seem to like noisy entrances, Luke. I'm Mel. Come here often?" Melinda's order is slipped across the counter toward her. She picks up the cup in one hand and the roll in the other and steps a little away, nodding to Corey in greeting, unable to lift a hand. "It's really coming down out there," she remarks to Cage, still too faraway to comfortably talk to anyone else. "Hrmm, probably a good idea. I'd suggest where I work, but if you bring that sort of excitement there too, I guess you'd have to settle for visiting Starbucks or Duncan Donuts," Corey says with a chuckle. With Felix looking to his tomes, he taps them nodding. "I wanted to learn more about New York, so its local histories and stuff. I get told often enough I'm not a New Yorker, so I may as well find out what it means." Glancing at the other man's books, he chuckles at the Philosophy book. "Interesting choice. I had some classes on that subject myself, interesting things really. Is that only Western philosophers? Or does it go into the Eastern ones too?" Looking towards the fellow Mel is chatting with, Corey thinks he recognizes the man as well, but not sure he shakes his head giving it up. Luke looks down, clearly embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm just not... graceful, I guess." He laughs quietly, and then his order is called as well. A chocolate chip muffin, and coffee to which he adds way more cream and sugar than could possibly be healthy. "Yeah, I guess I come here quite a bit. My mom lives a few blocks from here. And I- oh," Luke notices Corey's wave, figures out pretty quick Corey isn't wing at /him/ and points for Melinda's benefit. "You know that guy? I think he was trying to get your attention." Nodding at the comment about not being a New Yorker, Felix is clearly not one with his Russian accent. "This book is primarily western philosophers." he answers to the question. "I have the time, so I thought I would read up." Looking back at the other two people as Corey does, the gears are still moving in his head, trying to figure out who that guy is. "Oh, He works for me down in SoHo." Melinda smiles readily to Cage, eyeing him as he adds to his drink. "Hmmm. A little coffee with that sugar? I have a friend who takes it the same way. Do you also bounce around the room afterwards like a butterfly on speed?" She starts moving toward an empty table, leaving Felix and Corey to their conversation for the time being. Nodding at the matter of it being mostly western philosophers, Corey smiles. "Yeah, most of my classes focused on that sorta thing, unless it was specifically an eastern class. Like it would be so hazardous to our education to study Socrates and Lao Tzu at the same time." Shrugging, he pushes out the other chair at his table for Felix since Mel was going off to her own table. "Oh, and theres an Ikea in Brooklyn, so I was figuring I'd take the subway down there and look through what metal frames they have for Penny. Bound to be some sturdy things there, they may even have stainless steel." Cage grins and shrugs. "I know what bitter tastes like. I like it better this way," he says, holding up his barely-brown colored coffee. He also seems to think he was invited to join Melinda at the table, and pulls out a chair for himself which he eases down into. He takes big bite of his muffin, washes it down with some more coffee, and says, "And 'no', I don't 'bounce around'. I'm not sure I've 'bounced', ever." He laughs out loud, a little louder this time, before he shushes himself. "Now /that/ would be a sight... But, what brings you out to Harlem? You live out here?" "I remember now, he was in the news. Though I am unable to recall why." Felix shrugs, taking the seat that has been pushed out for him. As he reaches for the chair the word 'Penny' can seen written, in black ink, on the back oh his hand with the penmanship of a child."I have not had much formal study in Philosophy, just a few classes here and there. I guess I need a couple more books." he adds with a little laugh as he looks over the bookshelves for a moment. "Laow Sue, you say, how do you spell that?" Sticking his hand in his pocket and producing his cellphone with witch to take some notes. "I have no idea where to get picture frames, so I will differ to your judgment on that matter. But, I was really hoping that the three of us could go pick out the picture frame together. I think Penny would really like that." He does not look like he would have been upset if Melinda or Luke had come to this table. "Nah, I just like coming here for the ambiance. I also feel like I get stuck never leaving my neighborhood on weekends if I don't try to get out from time to time." Melinda settles into her chair and takes a quick sip of her coffee, lightened only by steamed milk and froth. "You should try bouncing some time. I hear it really gets the blood pumping." She then starts to unroll her cinnamon roll, breaking off a piece about the size of her thumb and nibbling on it. She has no problem whatsoever with Cage joining her. "So, do you live around here?" Starting a little buzz dance across the table, Corey snatches it up and glances at what the number is before picking it up. "Hello? Yeah, one second." Putting his hand over the mic part, he looks to Felix. "Sorry, I've gotta take this. And theres lots of ways to spell it, but if you want to google it, try Lima, Alpha, Oscar, Tango, Zulu, Uniform," he says spelling it out in military. "I'll call and we can schedule a trip to Ikea together then." Standing, he grabs his books under his arm and puts the phone to his ear, talking into it. "Yeah, shouldn't take me too long to get there. Ten minutes if I'm lucky, so give me twenty and I'll meet you. Alright, see you." And out he goes into the rain once more. "I'm not sure bouncing is for me." Cage grins across the table, and only briefly registers the man heading out to take a call. But in that moment he thinks he made eye contact with Felix and just offers the man a friendly smile and a nod. "I live pretty close to here, I guess, but the other side of Harlem, really. Like I said, Mom's over here. Gotta keep her close, but not /too/ close. Know what I mean?" He chuckles as he takes another bite and chases it with coffee again. Felix takes quick note in his phone of the spelling and only has time to quickly say goodbye as Corey heads out. Taking a sip of his coffee, he looks over the bookshelves again, "Philosophy, Philosophy" he speaks to himself softly as he scans. Then he gets up and tucks his phone back into his pocket, leaving the two books and his coffee on the table he heads into the rows of books, obviously intending to return shortly. Not really knowing the two at the other table he is not going to plop himself into a conversation uninvited. "I suppose, but I keep my mom several states away." Melinda notes, continuing her edible uncoiling. "I don't mean to keep harping on the topic, but it is a funny thought. Though, throw you in a gymnast uniform and put you on a professional trampoline and it's not so strange." She pops another bit in her mouth and considers. "So, did mom cook you a whole home cooked meal and guilt you into the 'when am I going to have grandkids' conversation? Or are you immune to that one?" Cage lets out a loud and proper belly laugh at Melinda's question, definitely for its frankness, and probably to cover up his own surprise. "Why, do you /know/ my mom? How do you know her? Did she put you up to this?" He laughs again, slight lower volume. "Holy god, yes she did. It was /ribs/ not ham, but yeah. When I got outa prison, she was all happy of course, but followed it /right up/ with the questioning. I had to tell her, 'Ma, I /just/ got out, gimme time!" He's chuckling to himself now, trying to time a sip of coffee to not still be laughing. Returing back to his table after only a short trip, Felix has two more books that he stacks on to the others already on the table. He sits down and takes a sip from his cup and picks up one of the books, 'Ancient Eastern Philosophy', flips open the cover and reads the inside quickly. Then as if he has just realized something, he looks over at Luke. Although he tries to hide the face that he is staring in Luke's direction, he is really bad at hiding such things. It is obvious that Felix now recognizes Luke from somewhere, probably the news. He takes another sip of his coffee in an attempt to hide his gaze. "How about, 'No, mom, I didn't get any conjugal visits.' That would shut my parents up pretty quickly." Melinda jokes quietly and shrugs a little, something conflicted showing up on her face at the mention of jail, but it is pushed away quickly. She happens to see Felix at that time, with his staring and her brows climb her forehead quickly. "It looks like you have a fan over there, perhaps." "Yeah, I thought I saw him earlier. A fan, or a reporter, maybe? I'll just call him over and say hi, if that's ok?" Without really waiting, Luke waves a long distance hello to Felix, smiling, and waves the man over. Too far to call to him, but surely he sees the enormous black man waving to him from across the room. Felix knows exactly who they are talking about, but he looks around anyway, just in case. Nope, sorry, they saw you looking, you really should work on that. He does not look terribly thrilled to have been spotted and appears a bit embarrassed, but he picks up his books and coffee and heads over to the other table. "I am terribly sorry, I just recognized you, from the... uh... news." he says softly. "I did not mean to interrupt the two of you." he adds. Then he just stands there, not sure if he should just head up to the checkout counter or not and he may look a bit intimidated by the rather large man. "Yeah buddy, take a load off." Luke doesn't stand, probably used to how it puts people off, having him tower over them. Instead, he pushes the other chair out with the toe of his boot, smiling. "I saw you seein' me, figured we might as well say hi. I'm not gonna be famous forever, so I decided to enjoy it. What's your name?" Luke offers his hand to shake, whether Felix sits or not. With a bit of hesitation Felix accepts the handshake that has been offered. "I am Felix. Nice to meet you all." He takes the seat that has been offered, it would be rude not to, and it would look funny to just keep standing here. He turns to Melinda, "So, you know Corey?" Then he sets his small pile of four books down on the table. Now, the people at this table can see the word 'Penny' written on his hand. As he makes himself comfortable in the chair he takes a sip of his coffee. "Yes. We work together," Melinda replies, setting her cup down and leaning back in her chair. She takes a moment to read the cover of the books he sets down, somewhat obvious about it. Her brows quirk upward, her smile widening. "There's some light weekend reading if I've ever seen it," she jokes, turning her attention back to Felix. "Do you collect books, or do you like used book stores that take them back for exchange credit?" Luke glances at the titles as well, but apparently they don't mean much to him. Of course, he can /read/, but he did get his GED in prison, so it's not like he's a scholar. Apparently they're just not interesting to him. He /is/ interested in the back of Felix's hand however. He taps the table with his index finger next to where Felix's hand is resting. "Hey, thats a funny coincidence. Mel and I here just met a homeless girl called Penny the other night." He turns to Mel and elaborates, "That girl who came in right before you had to go... red..." he says, a hand gesture indicating he means 'red all over', trying to describe the blatantly mutant girl without knowing the right words to be polite about it. A smile pops across Felix's face and he nods in agreement with the comment about light reading, "Oh yes, I like books. Anything to do with math, computers, or philosophy." He is starting to look a bit more relaxed now, "I tend to keep everything I read and thus I have a sizable collection at home." When Luke talks about the wiring on his hand, he starts to pull his hand back. That is until it is mentioned that they have met Penny as well. "That does indeed sound like the same Penny" Indicating that he understands exactly what Luke is trying to say. "As it happens. Corey and I met her in the park the other day. A group of teenagers were taunting her in the park." Melinda eyes Cage for a moment, shaking her head. "I should be kicking you under the table. Who stays at the homeless shelter is confidential. You really shouldn't be giving names to people you barely know." She turns and purses her lips. "It's nothing personal. It's just to respect the privacy of individuals. People fall on hard times and their problems shouldn't be dragged out in open conversation." She frowns as Felix continues, tearing bits off her roll and munching moodily. "Oh damn, sorry Mel. I didn't know. I only got her name when she came by my office the next day." Cage is penitent for a moment, sips at his coffee, and then remembers what Felix said. "But see, why isn't crap like /that/ illegal?" Cage asks, ire in his voice. He's keeping it calm, but his irritation is plain. "They watch my every move just because what's in my genes is illegal, yet these punks can taunt a lonely, distraught girl. How is that any kind of justice?" He chuffs a noise which all by itself seems to communicate the fact that its a good thing Cage wasn't there to see the altercation himself. Felix looks at Mel for a moment, perhaps a bit unsure. "No harm intended Mel. Penny is a sweet girl.". His eyes shift over to Cage, "Corey and I ran them off. Then we sat with her for a bit." Again, he looks back at Mel, "Cory and I are in the process of helping her." There is a noticeable tone of conviction in his voice, he is very serious about helping Penny. He rubs the writing on his hand, gently, and as he realizes this he picks up his cup and takes another sip of coffee. "This is just half of my life's work. You're embracing your current 'popularity' right now, right, Luke? What if that got you hurt? Sure, a big guy like you doesn't have to worry about all that many people coming to harass him, but not everyone has that luxury." Melinda regards Luke kindly, like it was obvious he didn't know. "And to be honest, 'penny' is a word too. Maybe the guy has a thing for copper. Maybe he was looking for her to turn her in to people who are looking for her." She turns her coffee cup. "It's a shitty world we live in. Sometimes, not talking about things is actually protection." She finally looks over at Felix. "I'm glad you're trying to help, but be careful taking in people off the street. Some will rob you blind and some will hurt you. Some may even drag you into the hell they're trying to crawl out of, emotionally or physically. Make sure you have good boundaries... and stick to them. If she doesn't follow the rules of the house, no matter how you feel for her, don't let her situation abuse you too." "I've been hurt plenty of times, Melinda, and I didn't exactly give him her address, did I? I was just making conversation." Luke leans back in his seat, apparently not all that thrilled about being openly scolded, even if it was in a nice tone. "But you're not wrong about the rules of taking someone in. I've done a lot of work with the homeless in Harlem, and people get in trouble just trying to do the right thing sometimes. That's good advice." To Felix he adds, "I'm glad you're trying to help. You just gotta watch yourself, like Mel says." As his eyes widen, Felix sit back into his chair, taking in everything that Mel has to say. "While you are right. What kind of person would I be if I just ignored the world around me and did nothing to try and improve it. Certainly, I do not want to hurt anybody, or have them hurt me. But, I must do what I can to try an make this world a better place." He pauses for a moment and takes a sip of his drink, "/For Everybody./" A little uneasy in his chair, perhaps not liking the feeling of being scolded either, he shifts in his chair a bit and then forces himself to relax a bit. "You are both right. I will definitely proceed with caution." He looks back at the isles of books, "Maybe I need another book." he adds with a smile. "I should go." Melinda gets up, looking back and forth between the two people at the table, sliding her chair back gently and slowly. "You guys have a good evening and I'll see you around." She gives a little smile, pops the remainder of her pastry in her mouth and gives a little wave, buttoning up her coat as she heads back outside. Luke stands up when Mel stands. Things went a little sour, and he doesn't really have the social graces to make things right. But he does like making, and keeping new friends, apparently. And he's a gentleman. "Yeah, ok Mel, hope to see you soon." He smiles, a little awkward, but genuine, and waits for her to go before taking his seat again. He sighs and shrugs and nothing in particular. Finally he asks, "So Felix, you live around here? Not a lot of people know about this place." Seeing Luke stand, Felix does likewise, he always tries his best to keep up with the social graces, "Nice to have met you." Returns both the smile and the wave as Mel prepares herself to leave. Once she is out of earshot he turns to Cage, "I had no idea." The look of 'how was I supposed to know' crosses his face. As he sits back down he glances back at the door one more time, before turning back to Luke, "I am from the east side, but I like to explore /all/ the bookstores in the city." He relaxes back into his chair and finishes off his coffee. "Well, trust me, you found a real gem here." Luke gestures expansively, to include the whole store. "I'll be the first to admit I don't know shit about a lot of stuff, but everyone around here says this place is the greatest. And I definitely like the coffee." He shrugs, happy to except that his favorite coffee shop is full of books he'll never read. "Coffee is good, but I really came here for the books." Felix looks at his empty cup and then over to the books. "It never hurts to meet potential friends either" he adds with a little smile, though behind the smile he still looks a little unsure about Luke. Leaning in a bit, and lowering his voice, "I think I like the coffee at Evolve better though." If it had not been noticed before, he looks just like the 'nerdy professor', bookworm type that likes books. Luke looks down at the table for a moment, his eyebrow raised while he thinks about that evaluation of coffee establishments. Then he seems to get something and looks back up. "No kidding, you like that place huh? It's always freaks and geeks when I go in." He's using some pretty offensive language, but its almost like he's testing the smaller man. Not so immediately trusting after all. With a little tilt of the head, Felix clearly understands that this is a little test. "No one there is any different than everybody else in the city." With a little smile he adds, "But, then I guess I might be one of the /geeks/." He glances down at the math book with the long title and gives it a couple taps with his finger. "No kidding, huh?" Luke's smile is broad and easy. It's not like the place is a big secret, and obvious from his manner, he basically has nothing to fear from anyone. Oh, new mutants. Good luck with that whole 'invincible' thing, Luke. "One of those. Well maybe I'll see you there some time." He reaches into a back pocket and produces an only slightly rained on business card proclaiming Luke to be the Hero for Hire, body guard and P.I. "I do what I can to help out around the place." Apparently, by his manner, he thinks of all of New York as 'this place'. Felix does not look like someone who would even attempt to stand up to Luke, or anybody even close to the same size. Reaching into a pocket on the inside of his sport coat, a business card is produced, on which is 'Dr. Felix Kuznetsov, Theoretical Mathematician.' He accepts this as an offer to exchange business cards. "I do what I can to help out as well. But, I think you and I have a very different view of how to help," he says with a nice big smile, as he looks at his watch and realizes the time. "I guess I should get home soon, it really is getting late." "Well, it takes all types, doesn't it Doc?" Luke offers a sly smile, and makes to go as well, standing and waiting for Felix to do the same, before offering his handshake again. "Take care Doc, I'll see you around."