Yari had expected to be staying in the town of Watersmeet for the summer. Now that she was here, she wondered if it was worth braving the cold downpour just to look around. The world outside the glass door of the laundromat was dark and miserable looking. The cars that drove down the roadway sent out sprays of water as they went. The few people she actually saw either walked calmly from their vehicles with an umbrella or ran with their head down and shoulders up. The laundromat was similarly sparse. The one employee was a kid in his mid teens that spent the entire time working on something that looked a lot like homework or playing with his phone. Alex sat in a big chair also playing with his phone. An older human lady on the opposite side of the washing machine filled room was doing crossword puzzles in an actual book. Aside from the never ending drone of the laundry machines, the place was dead silent.

"Is there a café around here?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Alex got up and joined her at the door. "It's right… Mmm. Well it's on the other side of the road. Behind that black truck. I think it's called Bean and Brew. You'll see it as soon as you move past the truck."

"OK, you want anything?"

"No, I'm good."

Yari opened her umbrella, well technically it was Alex's umbrella, and left the doldrums of the laundromat for the chilly wet air of Watersmeet. The rain pelted the fabric above her and at practically the same moment she decided the rain wasn't so bad, she stumbled into an ankle deep pothole of water. Yari made it into the coffee shop gumbleing and making an embarrassing squelching sound with every other step. The girl at the counter was practically a child. Didn't these kids have school or something.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Hello. What can I get ya?"

Yari scanned the menu with a scowl. "Do you have Express Chai Lattes?" Yari asked Hopefully.

"We have Chai Lattes. Do you know what the Express part is?"

"Um, extra caffeine maybe."

"I can do that." The kid said with a cheerful smile that seemed way out of place considering the gloom.

Yari stood under the awning of the Bean and Brew coffee shop with caffeinated drink in hand and wondered where to go next. On one side was a place to change oil, a bank, and a small and very empty playground. The other direction had a package delivery company, a car wash, and a gas station. Back across the street was the laundromat, a tax preparer, a tool store, a farm store, and a fast food place Yari wasn't familiar with. So far Watersmeet wasn't the fun, boutique shopping experience she had been hoping for.

Yari endeavored to return to the laundromat and ask Alex if there were other stores. Turns out there were. The laundromat had been on the outskirts of Watersmeet. Downtown had everything she had expected, at least from the outside. Yari looked through tons of clothing at a thrift store that perplexingly had almost no brand name clothing. A candy and gift store that had practically nothing imported. And finally a health food store that lacked nearly all supplements. Yari came away with the realization that she was gonna have to lower her standards. The people around her didn't know what they were missing. They stopped at the butcher's before heading back toward River's Bend and Yari once again found herself in the ridiculously cramped cabin with Alex who also seemed annoyed with the lack of room. At least she thought he was annoyed. It was hard to tell sometimes.