Madison had laughed it off. She had grown tired of promises disguised as personality traits. Still, loneliness had a way of eroding resolve, and so she had agreed to one coffee, nothing more.
Seven o’clock came and went.
Madison told herself it was fine. Traffic was bad on Fridays. Emergencies happened. People were human. She refused to spiral over ten minutes. Still, she felt the familiar tightening in her chest, the old instinct whispering that she had misjudged her worth again.
She lifted her cup just as a small voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Are you Madison Bennett?”
Madison looked up, expecting perhaps a confused server or a lost tourist. Instead, she found herself staring at three identical little girls standing side by side, their expressions serious enough to be startling.
They could not have been older than six.
Each wore a navy cardigan, slightly mismatched sneakers, and expressions that blended confidence with urgency. Their hair was light brown and tied back in neat ponytails, as though someone had prepared them carefully for this mission.
Madison blinked once, then twice.
“Yes,” she said slowly. “I am.”