Chapter 2: Princess Ann

The breakfast place was located in a strip mall, sandwiched between a pharmacy and an electronics shop. Though it had opened only a couple of months ago, it had attracted a small but growing clientèle, who primarily lived or worked nearby. The majority of locals were elderly, and knew each other.

Elderly couples who came to the breakfast place often split up to join their individual friends at separate tables. The men gathered at a couple of tables to discuss politics, or other matters of great importance. The women gathered at a couple of tables across the room from the men, to complain about living with retired men who had too much time on their hands, and not enough to do.

Business owners often sat together to discuss matters of business, whether it be rent or the impact of new laws upon their ability to make money. They tended to arrive, eat, and then depart. Although they shared a table, they often arrived at different times, and parted separately. Sometimes they moved from table to table, taking their food with them, to discuss some important business matter.

The wait staff – the woman who owned the place and the part-time waitress – had adapted to the behavior of the clientèle. Basically, they treated each customer individually. Each customer had their order taken individually, and was given an individual bill. Parties could combine their bills when it came time to pay. It just made dealing with the general chaos of the dining area easier.

Chaotic was a good way to describe the little breakfast place. It seemed as if people were always in motion. Some went from table to table to engage in friendly banter, while others were taking orders, delivering food, and clearing tables.

There were the sounds of silverware being rattled when being set out, and food being cooked in the kitchen. Orders were shouted, conversations were taking place, and chairs were being moved about.

In a way it was a reassuring cacophony of noise, as it was based on friendly interactions and people at work.

One of the things that Dexter liked about the place was that it had a very basic menu. You ordered what you wanted from it, and it was delivered at a reasonable price. It was a good place to go when he wanted something that wasn’t easy to make for a single person. Dexter couldn’t make a soft-boiled egg to save his life! It either came out runny, or hard-boiled.

This particular morning Dexter wanted half a grapefruit, toast, orange juice, and coffee. For a couple, having half of a grapefruit for breakfast isn’t a problem. However, a single person is left with half a grapefruit in the refrigerator. Dexter would intend to make a fruit salad with the remainder, but that never seemed to happen. The next day, the grapefruit never looked all that appealing. After several days, he would have to throw it out, and he hated wasting food like that.

Dexter entered the breakfast place and wandered over to a table where one of the local insurance agents was seated. Dexter knew the man from previous visits, and greeted him.

“Hello, Jim, mind if I join you?”

“Have a seat,” Jim answered.

“So, how’s business?” Dexter asked.

Winking at Dexter, Jim said, “It would be doing just great if you’d buy a policy from me.”

Dexter laughed and said, “I’ve got insurance on two cars and a camper. I’ve got renter’s insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and three different kinds of insurance on my business. I’m paying more for insurance than most people make in a month. Now, if you can find an insurance against insurance, I’ll talk to you.”

Jim said, “No can do ... guess there’s always tomorrow.”

Wendy, the owner of the place, stopped at the table. She put down a glass of water and turned to Dexter.

“What can I get for you?”

“Half a grapefruit, white toast; a small OJ, and a coffee,” Dexter answered.

“You like it with light brown sugar, right?”

Dexter said, “That’s right. I’m impressed that you remembered.”

Wendy laughed, “Don’t be impressed. Just about everyone that orders the grapefruit, likes it with the brown sugar.”

“I’m still impressed,” Dexter said.

She left to submit his order, and returned after a minute with a cup of coffee. Dexter held it to his lips to take a sip, and decided it was just a little too hot. He dropped an ice chip into it after using a spoon to fish out a piece of ice from his glass of water. He tried the coffee again, and found that the temperature was just about right.

A woman stopped by the table and said, “Hello, Jim. Mind if I join you?”

Dexter looked up at the woman. She was about five years younger than he was. Unlike a lot of women her age, she still had the figure of a much younger woman. She had blond hair that was pulled back from her face and fixed in some sort of swirl at the back. His first impression was that she was pretty. His second impression was that she was more than pretty.

Jim answered, “Hello, Ann. Have a seat and join us.”

Jim introduced Dexter and Ann. Ann was a real estate agent who sold houses in the area. Dexter was introduced as the owner of a small Internet business.

Wendy showed up with his breakfast, and took Ann’s order. Ann and Jim chatted while Dexter attacked his grapefruit. When Wendy showed up with Ann’s breakfast, Jim excused himself and left. Suddenly, it was just Ann and Dexter at the table. She was looking across the table at him.

Feeling awkward, Dexter tried to find a neutral topic of conversation.

“Well ... here we ... So, what’s it like, selling real estate?”

“I hate it,” Ann said.

“Why?” Dexter asked.

Of all of the jobs out there, Dexter assumed that being a realtor would be one of the least hostile job areas. It was a fairly portable occupation, meaning that one didn’t seem to be locked into a particular company.

Ann answered, “It isn’t a very stable occupation. I can go for quite a while without making any sales. That means no income. Then I can get a couple of good sales back to back. I’m always worried about my income, so I watch my money very closely. As a single woman, I can tell you that it’s terrifying to watch my bank balance decrease for one or two months, without anything being deposited.”

“I can see where that would be scary,” Dexter said.

“It’s a job that involves dealing with people who are feeling very insecure. Buyers are concerned about everything. You might think they are concerned the most about the house and you would be right. How old is it? How old is the water heater? What are the taxes? How much is the typical maintenance? How much does it cost to heat and cool? Will there be any problems making alterations to it?

“But the house is just the beginning of their worries. They want to know about schools, crime, neighbors, shopping, and such. How good are the schools? Is there much crime? How long does it take the police to respond to a call? What is the average income of the neighbors? What stores are good, and how far away are they? What are the taxes?

“The sellers are often very emotionally invested in the house. They think their house is the best one in the area, and should get the highest price. Their feelings get hurt when potential buyers start finding flaws in their place. I’ve had women break down into tears, when a couple talked about all of the changes they were going to make to her house.

“So you’re dealing with a lot of emotional people. On top of that, the buying process itself is stressful. The whole negotiation process is just painful ... with offers, counteroffers, conditions of sale, and time lines. Then you have to get into the bureaucratic stuff like title searches, inspections, and dealing with mortgage companies. At any point in the process, the sale can fail. It’s like everything conspires to make this an unpleasant experience.