A Little Something Different

October (Charlotte - a barista)

Charlotte- a barista

“Have you seen my perfect honeybunch Gabe lately?” Tabitha asks during a quiet moment. She obviously wants to gossip, and while I don’t want do work, I’m not sure if I’m in the mood to talk about Gabe. “I’ve seen him a couple times, but not nearly enough, so I thought I could live vicariously through you. If you’ve seen him.”

“You are babbling.”

“He’s just so cute!”

“I think he has something wrong with him,” I say. I don’t want to be too mean about him, mostly because Tabitha is a kind person. You don’t meet kind people like Tabitha all the time and definitely not working at a place like Starbucks. But I don’t want her to get her hopes up.

“No way! He’s adorable.”

“He was in here a couple weeks ago and he was so out of it that I think he was seriously stoned.”

She shrugs. “I’m not one to judge people’s drug habits.”

“It was 10 am.”

“Maybe he was sleepy.”

“I had to ask him about forty times what size coffee he wanted.”

“You mumble.”

“Every single time he comes in here, he has trouble answering the simplest questions. The time before that it was Sumatra or Pike Place, the time before that it was whether he wanted his pastry warmed up. I should stop asking questions.”

“He’s just quiet. The past few times I’ve seen him in here, it’s been around the same time as this girl, Lea. And they’re always so shy when they see each other and almost sort of smile. It’s like we’re getting to watch their love unfold before us.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with your cats lately.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with your head up your ass lately,” she shoots back.

I make a shocked face and throw the steam wand rag at her.

“Gross,” she says. “I don’t want your dried milk rag in my face.”

“I don’t want you waxing poetic about love between a stoner and some random chick in my face.”

“I totally ship them,” Tabby says, leaning her hand in her chin and staring at the door, like she’s willing them to come in together.

“I shouldn’t even ask,” I mutter.

“Like when you want characters on a TV show to get together. And you ship them, you want them to be in a relationship and to live happily ever after.”

“I thought you shipped him with yourself.”

“Well, obviously, in an ideal world. He’s into Lea though, I can tell. So if we can’t find happiness together, I definitely want him to find happiness with her.”

“Okay Tab, tell me honestly. Have you been writing fanfiction about Starbucks customers?” She throws the rag back at me as the bell at the door jingles and we both turn to look. It’s not Gabe or Lea.

“Maybe I should,” she says with a smile.

I roll my eyes.

“I just like them. I like how he looks at her and I like how she looks at him. I think they would have beautiful babies.”

“Oh, Tab,” I say, shaking my head.

“I like the idea that we’re getting to watch their lives without them knowing. And I know that might sound voyeuristic and weird and pathetic, but it also makes me happy. And I don’t have a ton of that kind of happy in my life at the moment, so let me enjoy some damn Starbucks customers falling in love!”

“I hate to have to be the one to tell you this,” I say. “But I saw him in here yesterday with some chick with super fake looking highlights.”

“And you’re only telling me this now!”

“I only just remembered!”

“Well, that’s predictable,” she says, her face falling.

“Maybe it’s not what we think it is! Maybe they’re related,” I say. I honestly have no idea why I’m defending that dork.

It gets busy after that and we lose track of the conversation, but I have to admit I think about Gabe and Lea on and off for the rest of the day.