Lattes and Shoes

A late autumn wind pushed against Cress as she walked beside Illia to the café. By sheer luck Cress had remembered her cousin had left a pair of old running shoes at her house the last time he visited and though they were slightly too large, they were the only ones Illia could fit into. The hold up had forced them (or more specifically Cress) to run the half dozen blocks to the café Cress worked at, Histoire D'Amour, leaving Cress clutching her leather bucket purse while she gasped for air. Each breath stung her lungs and the heat from her cheeks fogged her glasses.

"Do you need assistance?" Illia asked, bending over to see Cress's wind slapped red cheeks. Her void expression was only disturbed by a small flinch of her eyebrow.

"I'm… Fine…" Cress huffed, slowly reigning her chest under control. Pulling back the cuff of her cardigan sleeve, she tapped the face of her pink watch. The time was nine-twenty-nine and her heart rate was at one hundred eighty-eighty beats per minute. "Just… Winded…"

"Stay still." Illia stepped forward, turning and holding out her elongated hand. She was still wearing the same clothes she'd been wearing since she'd left her world, sleeveless crop turtleneck and all, yet she seemed completely unaffected by the cold weather. Her thin baggy black pants fluttered in the wind as she stood in front of Cress, reminding Cress of a flag flapping at half-mast.

"Thank you," Cress said, her cheeks turning a brighter red as she reached for Illia's hand. Her eyes traced the outline of Illia's fingers, from her pointed fingernails to the peculiar curvature caused by her inhumanly long fingers. "Actually, it's fine. I'm feeling alright."

"That is all that matters." Illia's face was expressionless though there was a slight sigh in her voice that made it seem like she was disappointed. "At least allow me to hold the door." Cress nodded, shuffling awkwardly past Illia into the café.

The bold scent of coffee with a hint of floral wafted from the door, sending a tingle through Cress's body. She loved the scent and the fact that it repelled spiders was an added bonus. Illia made an indiscernible face at the smell, but didn't seem bothered once she adjusted.

The inside of Histoire D'Amour was brightly lit with several sets of triplet spotlights mounted in the main areas. Aside from the bar, there was a sitting area with several loveseats of various designs that had a large, wooden, communal white coffee table in the center, and a narrow area with tables pushed against the wall that seated two people. The walls were decorated in white wallpaper with a gold paisley design, accented with random paintings with Victorian-style frames. There were also two thin bookcases in the corner and though patrons were allowed to read them, they were mostly for show.

"Welcome to Histoire D'Amour!" a woman with shoulder length blue-black hair called behind the bar. "Oh. It's just you Cress. What did I tell you about being… Damn, right on time."

"It's nine-thirty in the morning and you're already on my case. I thought we were friends, Vianna."

"You know I keep my professional and personal lives separate. What would the others say if I started giving you special treatment? Tim is already annoyed I let you off with warnings two times in a row."

"And I am thankful for your merciful benevolence, oh Queen of Coffee."

Vianna rolled her warm brown eyes and looked at Illia with a cocked brow. "Who's this you brought with you?"

"This is Illia, my new roommate. Illia, this is Vianna, my 'boss' and, when it's convenient for her, friend."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Vianna. I did not think I'd get to meet another of Cress's companions so soon."

"Likewise," Vianna said, pouring a final bit of milk into a large latte cup. "Order for Seymour Beaubs!" She sighed as she realized what she'd yelled and slid the cup on a saucer across the counter to a blond haired college age man with a stupid grin on his face that faded when he caught Vianna's murderous glare. "Try a prank like that again in this café and you'll be drinking your next latte through a straw."

The man nodded sheepishly, taking his drink and slinking away to the communal sitting area where another guy the same age was sitting. They snickered quietly, but it was clear they both took Vianna's warning to heart.

"Never a dull moment," Cress said. "My shift lasts until twelve-thirty, so if you get bored and want to go home, feel free."

"I will stay. The demeanor of humans here vastly differs from the humans of my world. I find it fascinating."

"Alright. You can take any of the tables or sit in the sofa area if you're okay being around other people."

With a subtle nod, Illia strode over to the communal area and sat in the center of a loveseat. The college boys stared slack jawed as she sat down and she gave them a polite smile that showed a glint of her teeth. They didn't seem to notice and quickly turned to one another to whisper like gossiping teenagers.

"She's quite popular," Vianna said as Cress tied a dark brown canvas apron around her waist. "And she's your new roommate?" Vianna's stern tone sent a shiver over Cress's skin. If Kirian was the wild sister of the group, Vianna was the mother hen.

"Yeah. We met the other night when we went out for barbecue."

"So that's why you vanished without a trace. Whirlwind romance."

"It's not like that, Vi!" Cress hissed, ears turning red. "And don't give me that 'they were roommates' joke. That's all we are, really."

"Whatever. I just hope those boys don't try to flirt with her. She looks like she's ready to bite their heads off."

"How can she tell? Illia's expression hasn't changed once since we came in."

Cress shrugged, washing her hands. "She's more patient than you'd think for someone with such a cold face."

"At least I'd like to think that. She's been kind to me and didn't seem to mind Kirian, but I who knows if that extends to strangers."

Cress wasn't even finished washing her hands before a wave of patrons flooded the café. It was a Saturday, so all the Friday night drunks came in for coffee dates with the people they'd met the night before. Through all the chaos Illia remained sitting on the loveseat, only getting up twice: once to examine the paintings on the walls and once to get a book (which Cress found odd since she couldn't read). Of the dozen or so paintings, the Illia only lingered on the largest. It was a reproduction of a famous French general on the battlefield and Cress wondered if Illia found it relatable.

"I can't believe you stayed my whole shift," Cress said, waving goodbye to Vianna. "You must have been bored."

"Hardly. Everyone hurries like ants at work even in their leisure time. It's paradoxically peculiar." She flipped a lengthy sectioned ponytail behind her shoulder and stood up. "Part of me regrets having to depart so soon."

"Well you'll see a lot more in a minute. I got some decent tips and my mom sent me some money, so I thought we could go to the store to get you some shoes. Then we can stop on the way home to get some food you can eat."

"Shoes…" Illia's voice dropped, her eye-eyebrows squeezing tight. "Is that really necessary?"

Cress sighed and waved for Illia to follow her outside. Though it was still chilly, bright sunlight was warm against her skin. Once Illia was beside her, she pointed at several stickers on the window of the café door.

"Do you see that? It says no shoes, no shirt, no service. It's a common policy for stores to have in this world."

Illia jerked back, aghast, causing Cress to flinch. "How strange. I understand why humans would create rules about covering themselves, but it seems tyrannical to demand footwear."

"Do people not wear shoes in your world?"

"Humans do. Their feet are vulnerable to the elements, though I have observed many who forgo them."

"Forgo or are too poor for them? If fantasy shows have taught me anything it's that poor people tend to lack proper clothing, though I suppose that's also true here." Cress glanced at Illia. "What about sp… Your people?"

"Such an occurrence is rare as our humanoid forms are merely an alteration of our natural bodies. Those who do clothe themselves either do so for amusement or for military service."

"I'm afraid to ask what your 'natural body' looks like."

Illia blinked and the side of her mouth wiggled. "Perhaps in the future there will be an opportunity for me to show you."

"Yeah…" Cress didn't have the heart to flatly refuse. She could already imagine the nightmares seeing Illia's true form would give her. Even standing there she was fighting to keep her body in check by thinking of William dancing on her shoulder.

The pair made small talk during their walk to a small commercial area a few blocks from Histoire D'Amour. Most of the conversation was Cress answering questions for Illia that ranged from explaining what the "metal carriages" and cellphones were. To Cress's surprise, Illia was visibly uncomfortable around cars saying they were "noisy and suffocating". Oddly, she understood the basics of a phone fairly well, comparing them to a magic communication crystals they used to make the equivalent of video calls.

Upon arriving at the shoe store they were greeted by a woman who eagerly insisted on measuring Illia's foot. They declined, but eventually gave way to the woman's fetish to confirm what they already knew.

"Maybe it would be easier to look in the men's section."

"If you think that best," Illia said, putting a pair of white tennis shoes that were too tight back in its box. "Though I would prefer something less restrictive. I find having my feet covered to be quite uncomfortable."

"What about sandals? Would those work?"

"I apologize that I am unaware of what a 'sandal' is."

"It's a type of shoe that leaves most of your foot uncovered and stays on with straps."

Illia's green eyes perked up at the description. "Those sound divine. I dreaded the thought of wearing the footwear we have sampled."

"My bad," Cress said with an awkward chuckle. "It's cold out and I was thinking from a human perspective."

It didn't take long for Cress to find several pairs of sandals in the clearance section. The major issue was the sizing, though Cress was able to find some women's sandals large enough for Illia's feet.

"Much more pleasant," Illia cooed, wiggling her marginally pointed toes. The winning sandals had been a pair that wrapped around her ankle with a single thin black leather strap just before the toes. The sole was thin, but Illia assured Cress it wasn't a problem.

"I'm glad that's sorted. I was afraid I'd have to start telling people you were a barefoot naturalist or something weird."

"Would that be peculiar?"

"You're in the military. Don't you have norms everyone has to follow?"

To Cress's surprise, Illia shook her head. "Our humanoid forms have the characteristics of our natural forms, so it would be difficult to make appearances uniform. I understand uniformity is preferable from a production standpoint, but such an approach would be inefficient and detrimental for my troops."

"That's really interesting since it's the opposite for humans. Now that I think about it, I haven't really asked much about your world."

"I will gladly discuss it once we return to your home. It is the least I can do to thank you for your hospitality."

A flutter in Cress's stomach turned her cheeks red and she hurried to the checkout counter with the empty shoe box.

"Is it because she talks so politely? She didn't even do anything to make me… Plus she's a monster! This is insane. Maybe if she was human I'd… But she's not. In fact, she's the worst type of monster, so why is my body being this way?"

Cress slammed the empty box on the counter, startling the employee at the register and earning her a dirty look.

"Sorry," Cress said, trying to put the clerk at ease. The clerk didn't answer, simply pointing at the card reader and leaving Cress to figure it out for herself.

"I guess I deserved that," Cress muttered, rejoining Illia. "Still, she was a bit rude."

"Who would dare?"

"No one. I just upset the clerk a little. It's nothing."

Illia's green eyes narrowed, the pairs of lines on her forehead tightening as she looked back at the woman at the cash register. A heavy aura permeated from her that made Cress's skin crawl and she tugged Illia's shirt.

"It's fine. She didn't do anything wrong, so let's go find something you can eat. It's not—" A sudden ding from Cress's purse cut her off and she stopped to uncinch it and pull out her phone. "Actually let's nix that idea for now. Vianna just text asking if we wanted to join her for a late lunch."

"How generous, though I worry she'll be offended if I cannot partake of the meal."

"Don't worry," Cress said with a smug smile. "I know somewhere that might suit your tastes."