Work Text:
If Pamela had to spend one more shift listening to these two idiots psychically scream their pining for each other, she was going to physically scream bloody murder. Pamela tried not to eavesdrop on her customers, she did, but she couldn’t help herself with these two. They were both so interesting – when they were in on their own. Together? Ugh.
Sheriff Jody Mills, in addition to the usual small-town gossip from law enforcement of which high school kids were being morons lately and what Crazy Bobby Singer was in trouble for this time, was a hunter. For one thing, Crazy Singer wasn’t crazy. He was just also a hunter, and covered his unusual activities by playing up the paranoid SOB reputation he’d developed after his wife died. For another, her mind was usually full of interesting things. For instance, today, she was using her laptop to check the dates on animal attacks a few counties east and correlate them with moon phases. That sounded werewolfy to Pamela, and she quickly checked her mental inventory to be sure she had some silver she could use to protect herself. She’d also… yes, she did have that talisman, a ward against werewolf bites that would buy her some time to get treatment if she ended up getting a bite. She’d have to find a way to get that to Jody. Anonymously, of course. Hunters tended to freak when they found out Pamela was psychic.
Linda Tran wasn’t exactly a hunter. She didn’t search the news for unexplainable stories or weird occurrences. She mostly kept her head down, ran her tax prep and computer repair business, and did volunteer work. Occasionally, though, she would disappear for a few days, and come back with a mind full of interesting tales of demons or rogue angels or Winchesters… and her son. Kevin, according to Linda when she spoke of him, was at Harvard studying religion and philosophy. Her brain told Pamela a very different story – he was holed up in a cave in Utah with a pair of angels watching over him, serving as a prophet of the Lord. Occasionally, he would call her and send her on a mission.
Individually – her favorite customers. But when they were at the coffee shop at the same time, which they were, frequently, for Reasons™… they were intolerable. They stopped thinking about anything else but how cool the other woman was, and how much they wished they had the courage to get up, go over to the other table, and say hello. They both recognized something in the other’s eyes that said they had much more in common than the average person would expect, but neither one recognized the signs of pining in the other. It was obnoxious. And yeah, Pamela could see the attraction, neither was her type exactly but if they were interested in hooking up with her, the only reason she would say no is because of the unspoken, un-acted-on bond between them.
So when Linda walked in, Pamela had to restrain the groan as she started making Linda’s cappuccino. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. She had Linda’s coffee ready by the time she got to the counter to order. “Thanks, Pamela. It’s really nice to come in here where people know me.” Except for the one I really want to know me but has no idea who I am.
“You’re welcome! One of the best things about working here is getting to know the customers, you know.” Pamela shot her a wink and finished typing the order into the register.
Linda smiled as she headed off to her table, not too close to Jody but close enough that she had a good view of her. Jody’s mental panic when she looked up and noticed Linda sitting there with her laptop made Pamela want to bang her head. Making it worse, they were the only two customers at the moment, so she couldn’t distract herself by tuning in to Clay Thompson or Benny Sutton or any of the other run-of-the-mill folk in this town.
After half an hour of it, Jody came up to get another coffee. Pamela had it made quickly – and made a snap decision. Instead of writing Jody’s name on the cup, she wrote Linda’s phone number. With a heart.
Jody didn’t notice right away, but a few minutes after she got back to her seat, she did. She frowned at the cup. Not a number I recognize. Wrong area code to be Pamela’s, and why would Pamela give me her number anyway? She’s not the type to be indirect. Pamela suppressed the desire to laugh. She’d given out her phone number on cups before. It wasn’t direct, no, but it also didn’t get her in trouble for flirting on the clock. Jody typed the area code into her computer, confirming that it was, indeed, for Michigan’s upper peninsula.
Okay. I could run a check on the number, but chances are I’d still end up calling, so… may as well just call. Pamela busied herself cleaning a counter so she could watch the show. Jody dialed, and Linda pulled out her phone. Linda stared at the caller ID for a second, and then took the phone outside to answer. Pamela wanted to pout, she was only going to get to watch half the show, but the show was still happening.
The look on Jody’s face when she heard the greeting was priceless. “Linda? Tran? Is this you?” Pamela couldn’t hear what Linda said, but she could guess. “Yes, this is Jody, your phone number was written on my cup. I was calling to find out who it belonged to and why…” Jody’s eyes narrowed a little and she turned to stare at Pamela. “I see. Well, given that it’s Pamela, I’m going to believe there was a reason. Something to do with the heart beside your number?” Okay, now Pamela was a little worried. What did Jody mean by that? Of course, judging by the way Jody was smiling now, she’d at least been successful. “Okay, hanging up.”
Pamela didn’t have time to wonder about that one, as Linda came back in and grabbed her stuff, moving it over to Jody’s table. She tried not to listen in on Jody and Linda’s conversation – helped by Digger coming in with his work buddies – but every time she checked in on them their thoughts were full of the giddiness of realizing their crush was not one-sided after all.