Like every other morning, I started my day by going to the little coffee shop down the street. I sit down at my regular spot in the corner and order a medium coffee with a croissant. The coffee shop is very small but the people that work there are extremely nice. There are a few tables and chairs, and a sign hanging above the counter with the menu plastered on it.
I usually stay until I finish my coffee and croissant, then I start my day and make my way back to the farm. I live on a very small farm with a few animals and a garden. Taking care of the farm is a challenge because I'm alone, but I'm used to it by now. I have chickens, pigs, goats, and a couple of other animals that just wander around. As for the crops in my garden, I have tomatoes, cucumber, beets, and a variety of fruit trees. Those are my favourite! Every morning after I get home, I walk through the trees picking apples, cherries, pears and peaches.
I finish my croissant and continue drinking my almost empty coffee. Usually, at this time the place is dead because it's so early in the morning. As I get ready to leave, a woman walks in. She has long brown hair, and it's pretty tall, a little bit shorter than me. I can't make out any other features because she is wearing sunglasses and a big hat. I find that strange, the sun isn't even up yet so there's no need for those.
Curiosity gets the best of me and I decide to stay a little longer than usual. I observe the woman as she orders a large coffee and a vanilla sprinkled donut. She catches me staring and whispers to the man taking her order. I look away and pretend to be watching something outside trying not to seem like a creep. The man taking her order nods his head and goes to get her stuff.
I look back and see she is leaning against the wall with her fingers intertwined and her legs half crossed. The woman looks over at me and makes eye contact, catching me staring at her again. She smiles and lets out a little laugh, then directs her attention to the man holding her food.
I decide that it's time to leave, now that she has her coffee and donut, assuming she would be leaving too. I grab my phone and wallet, then look around to make sure I collected everything. I slowly walk towards the glass door when I hear the woman behind me say something.
"Wait!" She says, and I turn around to see who she is talking to. She makes eye contact with me and speaks again. "Where are you going?" She asks.
"I was about to go back home," I answer, wondering why she's asking.
"I bought a coffee and a donut hoping you would stay for a while. I get it if you have to leave though."
I think about it. The farm will be fine for a little while longer. I can feed the animals as soon as I get home.
"Sure, I can stay. I mean, who would turn down a free donut?" I joke. She smiles and my eyes light up. She had the most beautiful smile I think I've ever seen. It's one of those that make you instantly smile back just by looking at it. Wow.
I sit down still thinking about her glowing smile. She sits down in the chair in front of me and starts pulling the food and drinks out of the bag. She sets them down and I take one of each. Once she gets settled in I speak.
"I'm just going to come out and say it because I've been curious ever since you walked in. Why do you have sunglasses and a hat on before the sun has even come up?"
"I'm extremely sensitive to light so I always wear sunglasses. As for the hat, I just thought it matched my outfit and looked good." She says.
"You're right about that. It does look good with your outfit. And I used to be sensitive to light too while I was on medication. I'm not anymore though." I say.
"So do you live around here?" The woman asks as she takes a big bite of her donut after a sip of her coffee.
"I do actually. I own a small farm a little bit down the road. It's not known but I get pretty good business." I reply.
"I have always wanted to live on a quiet farm with a few animals. My favourite thing to do is garden. I have a garden at home that keeps me pretty occupied." She says with a small smile.
"That's pretty much my life. I just get to hang out with the animals and tend to my garden. It can get pretty lonely sometimes too though." I say before taking a sip of coffee.
"Yeah, I would believe it."
"So do you live close to here too then?" I ask sliding my chair a bit closer to the table. She takes a minute to respond, looking like she's debating her answer.
"No, I don't. I am uh, just visiting one of my friends around here. I live more in the heart of LA." She says, sounding not very convincing. I just roll with it, partially because I don't even know her.
"Oh, that's nice," I respond not knowing what to say.
"You seem to be comfortable in this place. Do you come here often?" She asks taking a look at her surroundings, then brings her attention back to me to hear my answer.
"I do actually. I come here every morning before I do my work on the farm. It's just a nice place to relax before a busy day. You know?"
"Yeah, I totally get it. This place is really cute and they have really good donuts!" She says as she takes her last bite. I little sprinkle sits on the side of her mouth and I smile trying not to laugh.
"What's so funny?" She asks.
"You have a little... sprinkle on your face," I say still holding in my laugh and pointing to it.
Not saying anything, she takes her tongue and licks around her mouth grabbing the sprinkle that was in the corner.
"All gone?" She asks.
"All gone," I reply. I take out my phone and check the time. It's 30 minutes past feeding time and the animals are probably hungry. "I should get going. The animals are going to be hungry."
"Ah ok." She says sounding disappointed.
"This was nice though. Thank you for the coffee and donut! Enjoy your visit with your friend..." I pause hinting out that she never gave me her name.
"Oh right, my name is Chase. Chase Olsen." The woman says.
"Olsen? Like the Olsen sisters." She makes a weird face and says "uh yeah." I ignore it and continue what I was going to say.
"It was nice to meet you. I'm y/n by the way."
"It was nice to meet you too y/n." She says and stands up out of her chair. We pause and look at each other. Then I break the tension by waving and walking out the door. That didn't feel right.
I walk to my truck, step in and turn it on. While driving home I ask myself so many questions. Why didn't I get her phone number? Why did that feel so normal? Why do I feel like I already know her? Hundreds of questions run through my head while I kick myself for not getting her contact. I'll probably never see her again.
I try to push it out of my mind so I can get all my farm work done since I'm already behind. I start by feeding the animals then make my way to the garden. I pluck all the weeds and pick all the vegetables I can find that are ripe. Then I go over to my fruit trees and pick all of those too. After I'm done I tidy up my house and by that time it's dinner. I'm not very hungry so I just make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and make some chocolate milk for on the side.
Again, like every other day, I sit at the table alone staring at a blank wall. Don't get me wrong, I love my farm and I don't regret my decision of leaving home but sometimes I wish there were other people here. It can suck to be by yourself all the time.
I finish eating my food and clean up. I took care of all the chores for today so I just get to relax now. I walk outside through the wheat field and get to my favourite place. My thinking tree. Ever since I moved in here, that has been the place I go to most. It is a little willow tree with these beautiful long leaves that blow in unison with the wind. I sit here whenever I have to think about something, or am stressed out, or even just to relax. The sunset bounces right off the little pond beside the tree perfectly and is an amazing view every night.
Being at my tree, I can't stop thinking about the woman I met at the coffee shop. I can't get over that smile and her hair. It looked so soft and flowed perfectly over her shoulders. How could I be so stupid not to ask her for her number? I mean, she didn't ask for mine either so maybe the feeling wasn't the same. I can't get over the feeling that I know her for some reason. And her name, Chase Olsen. To be honest, from the parts of her face that weren't covered by sunglasses and a hat, she looked very similar to the Olsen twins. Weird.
The sun has set and I decide it's time for me to go to bed. I lay awake deep in my thoughts, but eventually, fall asleep listening to the crickets chirping as always.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Hope you are liking it so far! I have so many ideas and am excited to see where I can take this :)
I will also be leaving little comments at the bottom of each chapter like this. Usually after I come back and edit.
Edit 10/10/2021- I know this first part isn't the most exciting but please give it a chance! The next parts have a lot of Lizzie content in them for you all:)