Moe was confused and lonely. Confused because this guy, Alric whatever-his-name-is, was bothering him, asking him all sorts of stupid questions about Moe's customers, about Moe's day, about Moe's shop. He'd introduced himself as a detective, but the badge that had been shown had moved so quickly that Moe hadn't been able to identify what agency the man was from. He certainly wasn't a cop; no police-man in Moe's town would be caught dead wearing a cravat and top-hat. Every time Moe asked the man to reiterate his credentials, though, Detective Alric side-stepped the question, redirecting Moe's attention.
Moe was lonely, of course, because Jon wasn't in the store.
Moe had known Jon for years. A regular patron, never bothered anyone, always tipped. It was only that morning that Moe had realized what Jon meant to him. He was important. He was attractive. He was, in a way, the love of his life.
Moe hadn't told Jon this, of course. He hadn't had the chance. Flicking his honey-blonde hair over his shoulder and pulling down the hem of his pencil-skirt to avoid showing the detective too much leg, Moe remembered the upset look on Jon's face as he abandoned his coffee earlier, sprinting for the door. Every person in the cafe had protested, moaning, groaning, one person shouting for him to come back, but it was no use. Jon was gone.
Many of those patrons were still there, probably hoping that Jon would return. Moe knew that he hoped the same thing. The big burly barista had to watch the shop that day. If he had someone to call in, he might leave to find Jon, but, he reflected, he wouldn't know where to start.
"What was that again?" Moe asked in his deep baritone voice, looking down at the detective from his perch on his stiletto heels, "I must have gotten distracted."
"Jon," Alric repeated, "I'm looking specifically for a customer of yours named Jon."
Moe's face lit up at the sound of the name, while at the same time his heart dropped knowing that Jon wasn't there.
"He's not in any trouble, is he?" Moe quickly asked.
"No trouble at all," Alric replied in a smooth voice, "I just need to find him to talk to him about something he may have witnessed."
That seemed legit to Moe, but sadly he couldn't help the detective. Even after all the years of Jon visiting his shop, Moe hadn't paid him the type of attention the young man obviously deserved. Filled with self-loathing for his inaction, Moe apologized to the detective, and offered him a free coffee. It was the least thing he could do after being such a let-down to his Jon.
