The main reason Lucas had bought this frumpy space and made it as welcoming and comfortable as he could wasn’t that caffeinated drinks were the only thing people still bought in quantity.  His true fascination was people.  Lucas enjoyed watching the careful interplay of personality type versus personality type, sharing and sometimes grappling for the same space.  He admired the college students for their enthusiasm, and could converse for hours as they worked on their papers and scripts.  Alternately, during the day when his clientele was more of the professional stripe, Lucas often kept his mouth shut and his ears open.  No need for gory details, but it was amazing what self-proclaimed ‘powerful’ people would talk about over coffee.<br/><br/>For someone who felt he had a reasonable nose for humanity, Stacey offered an interesting puzzle.  Crisp, clean, and cold, she didn’t even seem to like his shop much, yet was in here every day.  She had immaculate personal habits that occasionally made him wonder if she was a germophobe to some degree.  If her suit wasn’t tailor-made somewhere in Europe, he’d eat his apron.<br/><br/>For Lucas’ part, if his clothes were clean, he didn’t particularly care how ironed they were.  The only time he’d ever worn a suit was to court, and he’d borrowed that one.  What someone of Stacey’s disposition might consider slovenly was in fact a different set of priorities.  Clothes come off at the end of the day.<br/><br/>Lucas pocketed the card, smiling and waving to Stacey as she departed.  Friendly, like she was an old, dear acquaintance.  Sure, it was petty as hell, but her annoyance at his goofballery has been clear as day and so Lucas was twice as determined to maintain it.  He had to have a little fun.<br/><br/>"Well, she's... interesting," said Katalina, seeming a bit taken aback by the tension Stacey had left in her wake.  "Indian burial ground, eh? Tell me more."<br/><br/>“Oh, no worries,” said Lucas, smiling with his entire face as he always did.  “I bribe them with biscotti on the weekends, so they leave us alone.  I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before, are you down at the university?”  Now that the calamity had passed, the small talk allowed him an initial initial measure of her.  Friendly and open, she seemed confident and was delightful to look at.  To Lucas’ way of thinking, these were all extremely positive things.<br/>