“Are you still waiting to order?”
A young woman placed a coffee at the table in front of me. She snapped me back to the cruel reality of the now. I must have given her an ugly look because she jumped right to the defensive, “No rush! I just wanted to check on you. The coffee is on us.”
I looked at the coffee. This place really nailed their aesthetics. The steaming brew was in an espresso sized, handleless cup. The cup and saucer matched. The ceramic design had an overall rust coloring but with a shattered and reassembled effect. I wasn’t sure whether to soak in the appearance or drink the coffee.
“I’ll be around… wave at me when you’re ready to order.” She smiled.
“Thank you.” I tried to smile but my cheeks barely even wrinkled.
I looked back out the window at the bitter cold streets. How long had I been here? I pulled out my phone and checked the time. Two hours! Two fucking hours! Where the hell is Jenn? Stupid question… I know. She’s in no rush to get here, not this time. Not that rushing would make any difference anyway. She was chronically late. I swear she lives in a different timeline and just visits here at her convenience.
I mean, she took days to even respond to my first awkward message. And then there was our first date…
*******************************************************************************
I told you we “met” via a dating app. Despite my perfect fail intro, we actually hit it off with our text game. Jenn and I seemed to vibe right away. After two days of texting I asked her if we could meet for coffee (surprise! I am a coffee fiend). She agreed. I panicked.
By now you probably have this cool guy impression of me and I regret shattering that perception. I am very uncool. At least, five years ago me was very uncool. Now… I’m the same but older. Damn… You ever realize you are the same person your dad was at this age? Except he was married with kids, had a stable job, and owned a home? Whereas your claim to fame is that you once watch the entire Death Note anime series in a day? (It’s only 37 episodes– it's barely a brag). So yeah. Uncool.
Saturday morning. What would a normal Saturday entail? Well, not coffee with an online crush so my world was upside down. I went through my clothes. Don’t I have any damn tee shirts without Marvel characters on them? No. The answer was no. Digging through the closet I found a pink(ish) casual button-up shirt that would work. I paired it with some tan shorts (not cargo, I’m not that embarrassing) and some boat shoes. I looked in the mirror… not too bad!
I stepped out of my room into the hall. My roommate, Keith, was standing in the hall eating a plate of spaghetti. Why? I have literally no idea. I wish I didn’t need to tell you this part, but it happened to me so now it’s happening for you… He was just standing in the hall in his Rick and Morty boxers eating spaghetti at ten in the morning. He stared right into my soul, chewing slowly, sauce on his face.
“Going out?”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck hug?” He spread his arms out. Sauce covered fork in one hand and a plate of pasta in the other.
“You are so fucking weird, man.”
“I know you love me, no matter what you say.” He made a pouty face and turned around to walk into the kitchen.
“I’ll be back in a couple hours. I’m just getting coffee. Don’t wait up.” I laughed. I heard him laugh at me from the kitchen. I turned around and walked out of the apartment.
After adding oil to my car, I started it up and headed to the coffee shop where Jenn and I had decided to meet. The shop wasn’t one of those chain stores. It was a local shop with an especially artsy feel to it. I know coffee and art basically jive well together, but I swear they use art canvas for coffee filters at this place. Not only were the walls covered with local artwork, but the coffee itself was just as expressive.
I got there a few minutes early (we had agreed to meet at 11:00) so I ordered a Da Vinci (coffee with just cream) for myself while I waited. I walked around the store admiring the local talent on showcase. There was a self-portrait made just from crayon tips. I moved along the wall from piece to piece. I found a sunset that boggled my mind. The sun was dipping into a body of water, the clouds were changing all sorts of colors, the sand was littered with sea shells… and the whole picture was created from pencil shavings. I just stared in awe for a while.
An alert pinged my phone. I checked the text. “You smooching?” It was Keith. I put my Da Vinci down and typed back. “You don’t get a play by play and I’m early” He answered back right away. “Weren’t you meeting at 11”
I checked the time. It was noon. It had been a full hour already?!? I’d been staring at the damn wall for a whole hour! I looked around the shop to see if I saw Jenn sitting all alone. Like she would wait an hour. Only an idiot would wait so long! (Ok. That self-narration stung me a little.) But still, no way she waited!
The door opened and Jenn walked into the shop. I knew her instantly. The Divine need no introduction.
Jenn looked around for just a second, scanning the tables and the counter, then she saw me and smiled. She waved with just her fingers and began walking towards me. I wondered how she recognized me instantly but a Good Samaritan who saw me staring slack jawed whispered, “Your mouth is open, bro!” The Dumbstruck need no introduction either.
“Hey!” Jenn said. She hopped just barely when she spoke and her blue sundress flared a little.
“Hi! I’m Justin, pleased to meet you.” I smiled. I was doing so good. I said words. In order. Out loud. I’m basically hitting god-tier right now. So smooth. “Let’s get you some coffee!” I did it again. This was going so good!
We got her a Rembrandt (double cream, double sugar) and I refilled my Da Vinci. We sat down at the table and started talking. She was so cute. I was listening to every word she said, but when she twirled her midnight locks with her elegant fingers my concentration drastically faltered. I took a deep breath to get centered again. Soon we were laughing. I don’t remember who told the joke. Maybe there wasn’t a joke. I don’t know what happened or how it happened but I do remember us looking at the clock and realizing it was dinner time.
We walked to a local pub and ordered some food and a drink. I couldn’t pull myself away from her eyes. Our eye contact was more intoxicating than my whiskey. I swear. We talked for hours but I don’t remember a word. I just remember those eyes. And her smile.
A band started playing music. She turned to look. The brief break in eye contact broke my trance. HOLY FUCK!! How did I get here? What was happening? Is this even real? I pinched myself in the leg. I actually pinched a little too hard. I flinched and kicked Jenn lightly. She turned her head back to me. I don’t know what actual cool spirit possessed me in that moment but I may have said the most unlike-Justin words ever.
“Wanna dance?”
I picked up her hand from the table and led her to the dance floor. Let it be known. I don’t dance. I’m a classic overthinker. Just the thought of my body moving makes me freeze. That spirit of coolness that took over my speech was now controlling my whole body too. I was moving. We were dancing. Our bodies were speaking to each other and the conversation was delightful. Our hearts were beating together and we danced the night away.
Some time after midnight we left the bar and started walking back towards our cars. The moon was just a sliver on the horizon. Jenn stopped abruptly. She looked me in the eyes, her eyes just sparkling with energy, and asked me, “Want to see my favorite place?” We turned around, abandoning our cars and started down a local walking trail.
Soon we were standing on a walking bridge over a small stream. You could barely hear the water moving. A few ducks were startled when we arrived but had since quieted themselves. We stood and just stared into the night sky. There were so many stars! A breeze rustled past and chilled us both. She stepped closer to me. I wrapped my arm around her. Our bodies were warm together. We just stared into the night sky…
A shooting star crossed the sky.
I felt the excitement surge through Jenn’s body. She turned and looked up into my eyes. “That was our star! Make a wish!” she said.
I already had made a wish, and when she said “our star”, my wish came true.