As I was hurrying out of the kitchen, all I could think about was how angry I was. No, I wasn't angry. I was enraged. It was times like these when I was tempted to quit, tempted to walk back into that room and give him a piece of my mind. I wanted to look him dead in his stone cold eyes and let him know how disgusting he is. I wanted to go back there and rip up that time card, tell him how I won't be needing it any longer. But my father would be absolutely outraged if I walked out on the family business, especially one that was already suffering.
It was easy to spot the customer my uncle was referring to given the fact that he was the only one in the shop. Surrounding the table where he sat was a sea of ghostly looking chairs and vacant counter tops. I could see cobwebs hanging off the legs of the chairs from all the way across the restaurant. The tiny little sugar packets were probably from the year 1987 and the coffee never seemed to smell all that fresh. It was the kind of coffee shop where you'd expect Jason to come out of the back room with one of the kitchen knives. No wonder we had no customers.
"Hello, I'll be your server this morning," I said to the customer while handing him the menu. "What can I get you today?" I was still sulking about my unforgiving boss when he looked up at me.
"I'll just have a regular coffee," he said politely. For the first time I saw his face, immediately bringing me out of my delusion. His eyes were the most stunning shade of blue I'd ever seen and they sparkled as the light hit them. His hair was dirty blond and his skin looked as though it were made of a million, minuscule stars all joining together to form the glow that seemed to radiate off his flawless face. And then there was his smile, the smile that, for a second, made me forget about all my problems and soak into the beauty that was this solemn man. No, he was not a man. He was an angel.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I asked apologetically as I returned to the real world.
His gorgeous eyes looked straight into mine and he said, "Just a regular coffee, Ms...," he searched around for my name tag that was secured onto my apron. "Ms. Rosabella," he said with a smile.
"Alright, one regular coffee coming right up," I said, slightly over enthusiastically. Before I made an even greater fool of myself I dashed back into the kitchen and out of sight. Charlotte and Beck were in the back room talking when I scampered through the door. I immediately tried to keep my cool, but my best friends knew me well enough to sense when something was up.
"What's goin' on?" asked Charlotte suspiciously.
"Nothing," I replied as I grabbed a coffee mug from the shelf. I tried to avoid eye contact.
"We've been friends since third grade, Rose. I know how you get when you're hiding something. What is it?" It didn't seem like Charlotte was about to give up, but neither was I.
"Really, it's nothing," I insisted.
She made eye contact with Beck and then looked over at me. "You know what happens to people who lie, don't you?" They both started to inch closer to me. "Their best friends, who always know what's best, force it out of them... by any means necessary."
I gulped, knowing exactly where this was going. "By any means necessary?"
"By any means necessary," she persisted. In a panic I looked to my left and then to my right. There was no where to run. I was trapped. They started to tickle me and I began laughing uncontrollably.
"Stop! Stop!" I shrieked in between bursts of laughter. "That's not fair!"
"It's not fair that you're hiding things from your best friends," insisted Charlotte as the they continued to tickle me.
"FINE!" I shouted nearly gasping for air. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" They stopped tickling me and I slowly regained my breath.
"Well, what is it?" she demanded.
"It's... it's a guy," I admitted sheepishly, trying once again not to make eye contact.
She gasped. "Who is he?" she exclaimed. "What does he look like? Where'd you meet him? Does he have a friend? I want ALL the gory details!"
"See for yourself." I led her over to the door and cracked it open slightly so she could see him.
"Oh. My. God. I think I'm in love," she said, absolutely stunned. She then looked over at me with astonishment. "Well what are you waiting for? Go back out there and get married!" She slid the coffee into my hands and nearly pushed my out the door, causing me to stumble a little bit.
"Only Charlotte," I mumbled under my breath. Regaining my poise, I strolled back over to the table where the customer was sitting. "Here's you coffee, sir," I said while setting the cup down in front of him.
"Call me Holden, Rosabella," he said. His voice was so utterly perfect that I didn't want him to stop talking.
"I, um, I go by Rose," I stammered. I hated my name. What kind of cruel parents would give their child an ugly name like Rosabella?
"Why shorten it when your name's so pretty the way it is?" he questioned. "But if you insist, Rose." He smiled that adorable smile again and I wasn't sure what to say.
I peered over to the kitchen to see Charlotte peeking through the door watching us. "Of course," I muttered almost inaudibly.
"Excuse me?" Holden asked looking slightly puzzled.
"Um, enjoy your coffee," I said and began walking back to the kitchen.
"Wait!" shouted Holden before I could go too far. I turned back to him in shock. "I do hope to see you here again." At that he took my hand and quickly kissed the top of it.
I smiled, my face probably turning about ten different shades of red. "Maybe you will."
