Two Beds and a Coffee Machine
By Savage Garden
And she takes another step
Slowly she opens the door
Check that he is sleeping
Pick up all the broken glass
And furniture on the floor
Been up half the night screaming
Now it's time to get away
Pack up the kids in the car
Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write
Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through
And there are children to think of
Baby's asleep in the back seat
Wonder how they'll ever make it through this living nightmare
But the mind is an amazing thing
Full of candy dreams and new toys and another cheap hotel
Two beds and a coffee machine
But there are groceries to buy
And she knows she'll have to go home
Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through
Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write
Another lonely highway in the black of the night
But there's hope in the darkness
You know you're going to make it
Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Silent fortress built to last
Wonder how I ever made it through
A roadside cafe?, a haven for wanderers.the last place of rest before she went on, hitch hiking her way into a new life, a better life.
She sat at the booth alone, a picture of misery and loneliness. Huddled around a steaming cup of coffee, she guarded it as jealously as one would with a most treasured possession.
In a way, it was.
It signalled the last of her money gone and the time for her old life to end, and her new life to truly begin. She had gotten awaywith a strength that surprised her, she walked away from him without looking back, with no regrets.
She should have done it sooner, but she had been afraidtoo afraid to stay, too afraid to leave.
But now, she was lost and in a way, just as scared as she was before. She had no money, no friends, no ridebut she was free. That was what counted.
She was so hungry.
Top up, hon? a kindly waitress asked, looking her over with all too knowing eyes. The waitress had seen her type before. A runaway, an escapee from a life so brutal she had chosen to flee to nothing.
Yes, please, the traveller relaxed her tigress stance, and allowed more coffee to be poured into her cup.
A stomach growled loudly. A sympathetic smile creased the waitress lips.
Can I get you something to eat?
The slight young woman shook her head softly, unknowingly revealing something she had sought to hide.a scar that ran down one side of her face, faint but still noticeable.
I have no money, she replied quietly, almost whispering as though in fear someone would overhear her confession of strapped finances.
The waitress opened her mouth but before she could say anything, a husky voice beside her said, Ill pay for dinner, if she would allow me to join her.
The waitress smiled, noticing how the handsome young mans eyes lingered on the dark head bent downwards.
Her eyes flashed quickly upwards, lingering over warm, expressive eyes full of friendliness and natural charm and a sweet smile that seemed to know its power of being instantly trusted.
Oh, no, she protested, also seeing an underlying sympathetic glint in both the waitress and mans eyes and hating the fact she had put it there.
It was too late. Her rescuer was sliding smoothly into the booth across from her, not too close yet close enough for her to tense with undisguised wariness.
What are you wanting? he asked softly, gesturing to the waitress. She shook her head slightly, looking up and meeting his eyes briefly. You dont have to do this, you know, she murmured, yet looked out of the corners of her eyes at the waitress, order pad in hand, longingly.
I want to, he replied.
She smiled slowly, tentatively as though unused to such a simple motion. Her ability to smile had felt lost over these past years, with tears and sadness taking its place. It felt good to smile, despite the fact that it was only fleeting.
Holding her head careful so that her disfigurement remained hidden by her dark hair, she turned to the waitress and asked for anything she wanted to bring. It didnt matter to her, one way or another. It was foodthats all she cared about.
He smiled gently at her and, eyes never leaving the figure across from him, asked for coffee.
The waitress withdrew, feeling as though the air was static with awarenessand that life had just changed for two wandering souls.
They sat in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, he blatantly staring, she casting shy, wary glances.
My name is Max Evans, he said abruptly, wanting the slightly fearful look on her face to disappear. She looked far too innocent to feel such an emotion.
She jolted slightly, unprepared for the reality in his voice when things seemed so surreal.
Im Liz, she softly replied.
Just Liz? he asked, a smile teasing his lips.
Just Liz, she agreed, gracing him with a soft smile in return.
She accepted him, accepted his kindness, his friendliness. As impossible as it sounded, with all lifes previous lessons drilled into her brain, her actionswith him, with Max, she felt as though she was trulyfree.
She didnt know how to explain it, and she didnt know where this feeling originated from but for some reason, she trusted in it, trusted in himit was something instantaneousand not questioned.
She had never felt like this beforenot even with him, the one she left, the one she had loved.or thought she did.
A hand waved in front of her face, breaking her from her morbid thoughts and causing her to flinch back wildly. Not again! she thought, bracing herself.
The hand stopped mid-motion, its owner shocked. He wasnt dumb, he knew what a movement like that meant.
Hey, he said softly. Im sorry.I didnt he broke off and ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated with himself. Should I go?
No! she said, grabbing his hand and clinging desperately to it, she didnt want to lose the first person who made her feel as though she was something worthwhilefor the first time in years.
Unwillingly, a tear leaked from the corner of her eye, followed quickly be another. Years of surpressed emotionsfear, anger, frustration, desperationit was though a dam was about to burst.
All because of freedomand the kindness of a stranger.
She looked into his eyes and saw understanding, compassion. He turned his hand in hers, linking his fingers with her trembling ones.
Im here to listen, his eyes seemed to say.
And listened he did.
Without really knowing why, she told him. Through the tale of the darkest period in her life, her years with her boyfriends, his anger - ever present and always taken out on her. Lizs bewilderment and anguish, she had only wanted to love him, to have someone to call hers.
He listened as she told him of her breaking point, when enough was enough.
He got his revenge, she said quietly. I will always remember him, he made sure of itevery time I look in the mirror.
She turned her face and showed him her shame, the proof that nothing she ever did was good enough.
Liz stared at the table top, not wanting to see revulsion in the face of he who was her confident, whom she could trust without a doubtand without really knowing why.
This stranger whom she somehow knew without never meeting him before in this lifetime.
Fingers brushed gently over her scar and she turned disbelieving eyes on himMax was looking at her with suchcould she actually believe it? Was that love?
Did she even know what love was?
This isnt who you are, this markthis despair, he told her softly. You have buried yourself under so much pain that the real Liz isnt shining through, the Liz I can sense beneath all this.
You dont really know me, she said, leaning into the hand cupping her cheek almost instinctively.
He shook his head. Yes, I do. In a way, you are me. A part of you is scared to change, unsure in your newly found freedom. At some stage or another, we all feel like that. Believe in yourself, Liz.believe in what you can do.
His words sunk in slowly. It was as though a weigh had been lifted from her shoulders, like a cross she had unknowingly put on herself. It was just what she wanted to hear, at this pivotal moment. It was just the support she needed.
She was free.it was her life, her good days, her bad days, her future. She could do anything she wanted to.
She was Liz Parkerand she believed in herself.
She smiled fully for the first time in years, a smile of eagerness and innocence.
Despite it all, she had overcome.
And she had seen herself as she truly was.
As the waitress set her food down in front of her, she reached for his hand and felt her heart open.
All because of the kindness of a stranger.
The End
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