Out of twenty-four hours in a single day, spending four minutes and twenty-six seconds with Spencer was nowhere close to enough time, decided Eleanor. Her desire to see him worsened each time he disappeared to a case. 

Eleanor spent three months trying figuring out the method of madness to his work schedule. She quickly came to the conclusion that there was no specific trend. Away time on cases seemed to take between two days or four, depending on how severe the situation was. She did come to understand that if Spencer was gone for one day, it usually meant he wasn't going to be visiting for a couple days. Those were the days she left the cafe, knowing she wasn't going to miss the chance to see him. 

Eleanor ventured down the stairs from her apartment, purse hanging off her wrist. She was hurrying to shrug on her coat over her shoulders.

Nora and Sydney, seeing the woman carrying her purse, slapped each other to ensure the other become alert.

"What is she doing?" whispered Sydney.

"I've never seen her leave the shop," said Nora, horrified.

"Good morning, girls," smiled Eleanor. "I'm running to the store. Can you both handle the shop for two hours? I'll rush."

"Y-Yes, of course. Of course," agreed Nora.

"Wonderful. I'll be back soon. Call if anything goes wrong," begged Eleanor.

Sydney pointed. "There's the door, Eleanor."

"I'm gone!"

Eleanor was attacked the minute she squeezed through the back entrance of the cafe. Sydney wrapped herself around the flustered woman, making noises that Eleanor couldn't decipher as excited or terrified.

"What happened?!" panicked Eleanor, dropping her grocery bags. "Where's Nora? Is she safe? Have you called an ambulance? Are my boys okay?!"

From the stock supply closet emerged Nora, a chocolate chip cookie shoved hastily into her mouth. Once she saw Eleanor, panic set in, and she spit the cookie out, surprised. She dropped to her knees to sweep up the mess.

"Was the freak-out a cover to steal food? Because I don't mind, as long as you pay me back," said Eleanor pointedly.

"No, no, no," disagreed Sydney. "Nora, get off your knees! We have news, remember?"

Together, the girl's screamed, "Dr. Reid came in!"

Eleanor was too shocked to ask them to quiet down. She shook her head. "He... He couldn't have, he's on a case."

"The boy tried to surprise you!"

"No way," breathed Eleanor, throwing her hands to her head. "Tell me everything right now!"

"He came into the place--" started Nora.

"--looking really excited," added Sydney.

"Then, he got coffee, he asked for you, then when he found out you weren't here, he gave us a gift bag!"

"So, naturally, you opened it?" asked Eleanor.

"As we do all your mail," agreed Nora.

Sydney, from underneath the counter, pulled the pretty blue gift bag. She shoved it into Eleanor's hands.

Eleanor rushed to the counter. She tossed the wrapping paper into the air, desperate to see what Spencer left.

"Now, you see, this is where I'm confused," said Nora.

"Why would he buy you a coffee mug?" asked Sydney.

Eleanor clutched the mug in her hands. She didn't answer, at first, busy reading the slip of paper Spencer set within the cup.

El,
It's been three months since the night I surprised you after hours at the shop. If, by a good chance, you do remember when I shattered the coffee mug that night, you'll know I needed to replace it. It took me all this time to find the exact store you bought all of your cups. Don't thank me.
P.S. I left my number with the girls. Call when you're not too busy making your wonderful coffee, yeah?

Eleanor tried her best to not appear disheartened in front of the awaiting girls. They didn't know exactly how far their boss' memory issue went. Eleanor would have never admitted it to anyone, if she had the chance. Spencer knew, only due to his observation skills. He noticed in the way her hands fiddled when he referenced a point in their prior relationship.

Ironically, directly after he inquired about it, Eleanor forgot his job. "Damn your... Your... Oh, hell," she was trying to say. 

"I work at the B.A.U.," reminded Spencer. To be polite, he avoided her eye.

"Behavior analyst skills."

"Eleanor, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries."

"No, no. I understand. You've been growing closer to me... It wasn't long before you found out about my Alzheimer's. Especially with that big observant brain of yours," she chuckled awkwardly.

"How long have you...?"

"A little bit after I bought the shop," admitted Eleanor. "I finally got what I wanted... And I'm going to forget all of it."

"What stage?" mumbled Spencer.

"Three."

"Stage three. Mild cognitive decline, if I remember correctly."

"I would bet that you do."

Spencer didn't hear her. "Friends, family, or perhaps co-workers may notice, if they're close to you. It's rather normal to begin having difficulty remembering names, or specific words, or where you put a commonly used object. Trouble tends to circulate around planning things and social settings where you're performing certain tasks. However, it's not all these symptoms that..."

He fell silent. He recited things that Eleanor knew all too well from obsessive research on her declining mind. He dropped his head for a moment. With his kind, apologetic eyes, he found her again, and quietly said her name. 

"Yes, Spencer?"

"I can promise you I won't let myself stray from this shop. Mine is a face you're not going to forget."

"Good," she had smiled.

Sydney drew Eleanor from her flashback by shouting, "What are you waiting for?! It's been three hours already since he came in."

Eleanor couldn't answer. In through the front door came Will LaMontagne. His boy, Henry, was joyfully giggling as he bounced up and down on his father's back. 

Will's partner on the force adored Eleanor's coffee, which meant they made frequent visits throughout the week. On his very first visit, he overly enjoyed the atmosphere. He often brought his son back for breakfast and to settle Henry's infatuation with Eleanor's animals. The three were incredibly friendly with one another.

Eleanor leaned over the counter to ruffle the boy's fluffy blond hair. "Hi, Henry! Hi, William LaMontagne."

"I told you it isn't necessary to call me by my full name," chuckled Will.

"Okay, Mr. LaMontagne."

"You love pronouncing it, don't you?"

"I do."

Will chuckled. "How are you doin', El?"

"Good, good... How about you? How's the family?"

"That's what I'm here about," admitted Will. 

Eleanor asked Sydney to take over the cash register. She, Henry, and Will scooted down the counter for a bit of privacy. 

"Is everything all right?" wondered Eleanor.

"Jennifer's had a rough week at work. I think she needs a stress reliever for a night. So, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind keeping an eye on Henry for an hour or two tomorrow night? We're only going for dinner, then we'll be right back to get him." 

"Oh, I'd love to. I think Midnight and Kermy were getting antsy to see him anyway."

"Perfect," breathed Will, letting Henry slide down his back and to the floor. "I'll call you when she's back?"

"You know where I'll be," smiled Eleanor.

"Thank you, El!" shouted Will. He chased after his boy, who was heading for the door, when he heard barking outside of the cafe.

No longer than two minutes after Will and Henry's exit, Sydney and Nora popped up over Eleanor's shoulders, repeatedly asking if she was busy.

"Not at the moment, no. Why, what's up?" asked Eleanor.

"Spencer, duh!"

"Right. Right, Spencer," chuckled Eleanor in a fake obvious tone. She chased the ladies from behind the counter. "Syd, Nora, leave the premises."

"Why can't we listen?" whined Nora. 

"Go," said Eleanor.

"We're gone!" chorused the girls.

Eleanor brought the slip of paper from within the present Spencer left. She took a seat on the counter, then dialed the number into her cell phone. Her finger hovered over the green cell phone button. 

"Okay," whispered Eleanor, closing her eyes. "It's fine. All I'm doing is calling to make sure it's the right number. It's not a big deal. Easy. Simple."

Before she could ponder the decision and back out, Eleanor hit the button and applied the cell phone to her ear. She bit her lip, listening to the nauseating dial tone. 

"...son of a bitch! Hi! This is Doctor Spencer Reid. I actually can come to the phone right now, with a very special message that your mother is a--"

"Reid," said another man strongly.

The phone call ended. 

Eleanor looked at the phone. 

Seeing Eleanor move the phone from her ear, Sydney and Nora returned instantly, inquiring animatedly about the phone call. 

Eleanor frowned. "To be entirely honest... I don't know."