Stephanie sat quietly in the local coffee shop. She was having a hard time constructing a memo to her boss. The subject matter was simple enough, but she couldn’t concentrate long enough to complete more than a sentence or two before her mind wandered.

The server approached, carrying a half-filled coffee pot. The young woman with a lot of purple in her hair and colorful eyebrow earrings, asked, “More coffee?” Stephanie nodded and thanked her.

“You seem kinda distracted if you don’t mind my saying so,” the server said. Stephanie noticed the woman’s name tag. It was Brianna.

“Fortunately, I don’t mind, since you have already said so.”

Brianna filled Stephanie’s cup and turned to leave.

“Wait, I’m sorry. I am distracted, very distracted, actually. I didn’t realize it was that noticeable.”

Brianna turned around to face her. “I’m no psychic, but I’ve seen that look before. You got man trouble.” She placed the pot on Stephanie’s table.

“Right again, Brianna. I am having relationship trouble. My husband left me last night.”

There was no one else in the coffee shop so Brianna sat down. “Another woman?”

“Not according to him. He said he was leaving because I make him feel invisible.”

Brianna took a hard look at Stephanie. The woman had her hair in a ponytail and she was wearing very little makeup. She was cute, if not pretty, late forties or early fifties. “My boyfriend dumped me when I got pregnant,” Brianna said. He decided to be invisible, I guess.”

Now, Stephanie took a closer look at Brianna. She had a pretty face, but her teeth needed fixing. “Did you sit down so you could counsel me or so I could counsel you?”

“Both I guess. Want me to leave?”

“No. Did you have your baby?”

“I did. When I insisted on it, he packed up and left me. My mother watches Josh while I work and go to school.”

“I’ve been married to Michael for 23 years. We never had children. I never wanted kids. He did.”

“You think that’s why he left?”

Stephanie laughed, not unkindly. “Oh, no. I think he left because his career, if you could call it that, hasn’t advanced and mine has. Actually, he’s been unemployed for a few months. I’ve been the breadwinner.”

Brianna thought that one over for a minute. “Is he invisible? To you, I mean.”

Stephanie added a bit of cream to her coffee. “Sometimes.” She took a cautious sip “I work a lot of hours.”

“How’s he going to survive without you? Can he make enough money to get by?”

Stephanie frowned. “Maybe there is someone else. I really don’t know.”

“But you still love him. That’s written all over your face.”

“You’re right.” A question formed in Stephanie’s mind. She had to forcefully keep herself from laughing out loud. She settled for a smile. “What should I do, Brianna?” She bit her lip.

But Brianna was well aware of what Stephanie was thinking. She stood, smoothed her slacks and walked away. Stephanie went back to her memo, but her concentration was even worse. She hadn’t meant to hurt Brianna’s feelings, of course. She thought it might be best to leave.

But Brianna returned. “I’m sure you think I’m just a stupid girl who got knocked up and wound up working in a coffee shop. But since you asked me what you should do, I’ll tell you.” She crossed her arms. “Don’t do anything. Your husband will be back. He’ll say he didn’t know what he was doing. That he loves you and all the rest.” She took a deep breath and looked out the shop window for a moment. “You tell him that when he gets a decent job, you’ll think about letting him come home.”

“Is that what you would do?”

“That’s what I did do when Larry decided he wanted us to get back together. Only it wasn’t a job thing, it was drugs. I told him he had to go to rehab and stay clean for a year.”

“Really? How long has it been?”

“Going on two years. I don’t think he’s coming back, do you?”

Stephanie looked at her computer screen. “I don’t know.”  

“You don’t have to be polite.”

Stephanie nodded. “No, I don’t think he’s coming back.”

“Maybe your husband will.”

Stephanie’s eyes got watery. “You think if I tell him he has to get a job, he’ll do it and come home?”

“He might. His brain hasn’t been addled by drugs, has it?”

“Well, he is addicted to the Golf Channel.” The women laughed.

Brianna put the check on her table. Stephanie finished her coffee and handed Brianna her a credit card. “Stephanie Jankowski, nice to meet you.” She smiled. “I’ll be right back.” She returned, receipt and credit card in hand. “I hope your husband comes home soon.”

Stephanie was, momentarily, at a loss for what to say. She certainly wouldn’t say she hoped Brianna’s man would return. “Thank you. I hope things work out for you, too.” She penciled in a generous tip.

One month later, Stephanie returned to the coffee shop and looked for Brianna. The owner of the shop told her Brianna had quit two weeks ago.  “Do you know where she went?”

“She met an older man, a guy named Michael. She just met him like three weeks ago. She moved in with him already.”

Stephanie didn’t need to ask. Somehow, she knew.