New Beginning 783

The old man in the baseball cap left the newspaper behind, and Dale Brennan claimed it by setting his coffee cup down on it. He put his Moleskine notebook next to it-- look at me; I'm a writer-- and set his computer bag on the floor. The coffee shop's manager had put those stupid little locks on the outlets, and his four-year-old laptop battery wouldn't a charge, so it looked like today was going to be strictly longhand.

He put his coat over the other chair, sat down, picked up his cup and the...