It was raining. Again. She shouldn’t find it surprising. It was February after all. But logic wasn’t going to improve her mood. No matter how reasonable it was that droplets of moisture were falling from the sky, it still meant she was going to be soaked and shivering by the time she walked through the doors of Coffee Republic, her favorite little cafe around the corner from her apartment. Mornings were the worst, especially in inclement weather, but knowing she could grab a perfect cup of coffee and a piece of the best coffee cake she’d ever eaten on her way into the office helped mitigate the fact that she had to interact with other humans before 10am.
Before heading out, she made a quick sweep of the apartment, watering her windowsill herb garden and making sure her rescue, Sir Licks-a-lot (Lenny for short), had food in his cat dish.
She then donned her raincoat and grabbed her umbrella, purse and laptop bag. She mentally congratulated herself on her new bright pink waterproof boots, an impulse buy from last week. At least her socks wouldn’t get wet as she raced through the streets on the way to work.
The otherwise soothing patter of rain had escalated, making more of a smacking sound as it hit the pavement. She strode briskly around the corner, dodging others making their way along the sidewalk. As Coffee Republic came into view, she could tell something was wrong. The lights weren’t on and the umbrellaed outdoor seating was missing. She walked up to the door and pulled the handle. It jiggled a little, but didn’t open. She tugged two more times before seeing the note taped to the inside of the glass door.
Closed for renovations.
What?! No! Why hadn’t anyone said something? Shouldn’t you warn customers when you’re going to shut down, even temporarily? “Good morning! What can I get you? By the way, we’re going to ruin your day for the foreseeable future by depriving you of the only thing that makes your mornings livable.” Would that have been so hard?
She groaned in frustration, shaking a fist dramatically at the door. While standing under the awning outside the cafe offered a minimal amount of protection, she used her body as an additional shield as she carefully pulled her phone out of her purse. She quickly turned on her location and searched for “coffee shops near me,” finding several between her current location and work. She chose “Central Perk,” partially for being an obvious nod to the TV show “Friends,” but mostly because people gave five star reviews for their chocolate chip muffins. She noted the address and began the trudge in that direction.
Stepping through the door, she noticed two things - the long line and that she recognized a couple other patrons from Coffee Republic. Seeing familiar faces made her feel a little better, even if she’d never exchanged words with any of them before. An elderly gentleman she saw most mornings made eye contact, so she smiled and waved at him. He waved back before returning to his paper. She peeled off her raincoat and pulled a small paperback out of her purse to read while she waited.
Bells chimed as the door opened behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and then looked again. The man who’d just entered was on the phone and, even though he had just walked in out of the rain, had a shock of red hair standing straight up on the top of his head. Apparently the person on the other end of the line said something hilarious, because his face lit up and he laughed heartily out loud. The sound was contagious and she couldn’t help but smile too. Their eyes briefly met, causing her to turn back forward in line.
She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but since he was standing right behind her, she picked up on the fact that he was talking to a relative - perhaps a brother? - and they were planning a surprise anniversary party for his parents. She smiled to herself, thinking it was sweet he sounded so excited to be helping set everything up. He even knew their favorite bakery and what kind of cake to get - layered with lemon curd and cream cheese frosting.
When she reached the register, she ordered a large white chocolate mocha and one of their famous chocolate chip muffins. As she moved aside to the waiting area, she heard the man excuse himself and end the call. She was glad he wasn’t one of those rude people who tried to have two conversations at the same time - one on the phone and the other with the barista.
Now that she could look at him without obviously staring, she was amused by the fact that he was wearing a green and black plaid flannel shirt, which only made his hair even more noticeable. He wasn’t traditionally handsome, but had a delightfully interesting face that made you want to get to know it better. As her favorite Landon Pigg song began playing throughout the cafe, she may have started picturing them sitting down together for a cup of joe, chatting about how lucky it was she stumbled in out of the rain on the same day he decided to frequent Central Perk too. Maybe he was from out of town, there on business or, better still, had just moved there and was settling into his new morning coffee routine…
Suddenly she realized he’d finished ordering and was heading in her direction! She moved farther down the counter to make more space. She flashed a quick smile up at him and then buried her nose back in her book, trying not to appear as self conscious as she felt. She began an internal argument with herself, between just grabbing her order once it was ready and racing to work or striking up a conversation with the man with the intriguing face. She’d probably never see him again, so what was the point? But that also meant this might be her only chance, so say something already!
As she heard her name called, she made a snap decision and tapped the man lightly on the arm and asked, “Excuse me? Would you mind doing me a big favor?”
He looked down at her and said, “Oh course! What do you need?”
She lifted the handle of her umbrella toward him. “Would you mind holding this while I reassemble and grab my order? I seem to be juggling one thing too many at the moment.”
“Sure thing!” he exclaimed, taking the umbrella.
She set down her purse and laptop bag, shrugged back into her raincoat and then situated both bags across her shoulder so she was handsfree.
“Guess they were wrong,” she said as she picked up her order and turned back to him.
He cocked his head slightly. “Wrong about what?”
“That chivalry’s dead,” she said, smiling playfully.
He rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. “Oh my gosh. That’s the worst pickup line I’ve ever heard,” he chuckled.
“If by worst you mean the best, then sure!” she returned, smiling.
She reached out her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Quinn...”
Love it! Makes me excited for when I peer pressure you and Sam into NanoWrimo 😂😂😂
ReplyDeleteHahaha (grumble, grumble, grumble).
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