A Long Time Coming

"A Long Time Coming"

a short story

Gary Baker, April 2013

The door to Cafe Gruyer opened fluidly as Xander Belmont stepped into air-conditioning and out of the stifling summer heat. Once inside, the tang of effervescent coffee grinds coveted the newcomer, and he felt a wave of relaxation come over him.

This was his realm, this was where he could feel most at home after recent events at work where, despite all he had done, despite all precautions to guard against it, Xander had still fallen for one of his photographic subjects. Jealousy had grown and soon nothing but the self-preservation of his own willpower had been able to keep him from growling at the girl's partners each and every time they met in hallways and stage rooms.

But all that was in the past and, as he usually forced himself to do, when he entered Gruyer he chose to leave life at the door. This was a time for the moments of rejuvenating tea and thoughtful silence that would be enabled.

“Hey! If it isn't the Xander Belmont!” came the barritone voice of the barrista on duty. “Long time no see, stranger!”

Xander looked up to find his old childhood friend, Joss, working the espresso machines with coffee stains as dark as his skin streaking across the elbows of his white button-up. “Joss!” A smile lit his face despite his maddeningly sour mood, “good to see you – how've you been?”

The Great Return

"The Great Return"

an epilogue

Gary Baker, November 2012

(part of a much larger project, book 1 of Blood to Dust)

Elias stepped out of the waygate and into his living room as if leaving the archway from the kitchen. He then paused just inches from the portal and scowled at his surroundings.

Nanna wasn’t home, much like he had expected, and the garbage had been taken out to avoid becoming a breeding ground for pests, but what was off was the lack of any other changes. On the wall to his right stood his miniature library, where books both crazy rare and brand new were organized by size, then genre, and then author with an LED ceiling light mounted in the corner above it all. Further along that same wall was the entertainment system with basic speakers and a small series of games and other gadgetry that he only used on the rare occasions when he had nothing better to do than to watch movies streamed from his primary gaming console.

Across from that, along the opposite wall, was the plush thrift-store sofa and the crocheted blanket laid over it by Nanna not long after he had bought it. On a side table nearest Elias, sat a small vase with small clear marbles in the bottom. Somehow the water was still clear of algae growth and the flowers were still