Cast Ashore — a novelette in 15 chapters

Cast Ashore: Chapter 2

Stormy Weather

‘Between the Flags’ — author artwork

I plonk my blue-and-white trophy down under my favourite bench and go inside to order my coffee.

Kaja isn’t chatty this morning: her wide-eyed Slavic face wears a frown under its cloud of blonde curls. She takes my order with a curt nod, barely acknowledges my prepared pleasantries with an absent ‘Won’t be long, Les.’

There’s a storm brewing here too, it seems. In the eighteen months since she took over the café and store, I’ve developed a feel for the meteorology of Kaja.

I return to my bench disappointed. That snub nose, with its saddle of freckles, those blue-grey eyes under their long, pale lashes, that dimpled grin she flashes me from time to time — they brighten this solitary man’s day. The fact that she’s twenty years my junior and married means that my pleasure in her company is innocent, platonic.

More or less.

I just can’t warm to her husband. Ben’s a big man with a booming laugh, perennial designer stubble around his square jaw, cleft chin. He’s something or other high up in banking. Despite the blokey, jokey act, he manages to give the impression that he’s ‘up himself’ and looks down on everyone else.