them walk in and out, ordering their very expensive coffees just so, taking secret pleasure in their complex orders. It occurred to me that those decisions at the coffee shop about what flavor and how much foam might be the only element over which those people had any control for that entire day. Perhaps that was why everyone loved to come for their latte-macchiato-double-shot-light-whipped whatevers.
“Welcome back to town,” a redheaded employee said as she wiped the table next to mine.
I stared at her blankly before realizing what she meant. Perhaps it was my look of shock or the close proximity of a regular citizen that tipped him off, but Officer Cornelius strode up next to me.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked her.
“You and Prince Hamlet have a good trip?”
Cornelius stepped closer to my side.
I looked at him, and he nodded subtly. “Uh… yeah,” I said.
“Too bad you couldn’t go somewhere to get a tan.”
I nodded slightly.
“Hey, mind if I take a picture with you?” She pulled out a camera, handed it to Officer Cornelius, then put her arm around me. I was too stunned to nod or smile. I did, however, notice other people taking our picture as well.
“Thanks.” She smiled pertly before going to wipe a table across the store.
Cornelius raised his eyebrows and backed away while I stared out the window and wondered if Gertrude had planted her or if she just happened to ask.
Horatio sat, but I didn’t acknowledge him. “Ophelia?” He waved a hand at my face.
“What? Oh, sorry.”
“You’re freaking me out. Where’d your mind go?” he asked.
I shrugged, not wanting to discuss the girl quite yet.
“Now I’ve got two of you on my hands.” He sighed.
“What do you mean?” He suddenly looked really uncomfortable, and I realized he was talking about Hamlet again. I felt a pain run across my forehead, and I steadied my breath. “You talked to him? How is he?”
Horatio looked over my shoulder at Officer Cornelius, who was standing by the door. Horatio leaned closer and whispered, “I can’t believe you want to know.”
“Me, either,” I said weakly, not sure why this time I was curious rather than infuriated. Maybe it was habit. Or maybe Gertrude’s tears had made me wonder if the trip to England was part of a sinister plan.
He squinted at me as if measuring whether or not I really wanted the information. I nodded my assent, and he looked down at his own cup, picking at the cardboard sleeve wrapped around it. In a low voice, he continued, “Bad. Confused. Unpredictable.”
I felt nauseous but also like something in me was reaching out for the Hamlet I knew and loved. Part of me was worried for him just then, wanted to be with him and talk to him as much as another part of me wanted to hurt him and his family.
Horatio looked around and then whispered, “He says Claudius wants him dead, but he has no proof. Things are… this can’t end well. I’m really getting nervous, Ophelia.” Horatio looked over my shoulder.
Officer Cornelius walked up behind me and cleared his throat. “Sorry, sir, but I have to get her back.”
Horatio looked as if he were going to protest, but I stood up immediately. All I needed was to get either of us into trouble and end the possibility of a second outing. Even an outing used to manipulate the public was better than being locked away. I would do what I had to do to get out. And to stay alive.
Francisco: You were seen having coffee with Horatio. That’s not what I call imprisonment.
Ophelia: That took weeks to achieve.
Francisco: Even so.
Ophelia: A guard was with me, and you know it.
Barnardo: So is that when you worked on your plan for escape?
Ophelia: That’s when I worked on my cappuccino.
21
“So here you are just before your disappearance. It’s a little fuzzy, because it was taken on a camera phone, but that is you, right?”
Ophelia, looking a little bewildered, nods. “Wow. Look at that picture! I didn’t know one like that existed. That’s… that’s scary, actually.” She starts to laugh, and the audience, feeling this gives them permission, giggles a little, too.
Zara tilts her head slightly and smirks. “So the rumor was that you went crazy.”
Slightly amused, Ophelia says, “I do look crazy there, but I was, well, distressed, to say the least.”
“This is during the time you were being locked away?”
“Yes, and after Claudius threatened to kill me.”
Zara looks out at the audience with feigned shock. As the women