This morning I woke up feeling a lot better. Partly because me and Lizzie made plans to meet up tomorrow.
Okay, "partly" is putting it mildly.
It's strange how excited I get to see her, when she probably doesn't even think about it. I mean, how many people does she hang out with on a daily basis. A book geek who doesn't even watch TV probably wouldn't be at the top of her list.
I swallow down my negative thoughts and order an Uber to take me to work. They're expensive, but they are very efficient while the subway system is down.
When the Uber arrives at my front door I walk out and take a seat in the back. The driver is a pretty blonde woman, no doubt about that. But for some reason I don't even remotely care about that.
"You seem familiar" she tells me as she looks at me through the rear-view mirror. I give her a confused look back. I haven't been on a date with her, have I?
"I don't know, I grew up in Boston so maybe you've seen me around." I look at the scenery that's changing around me.
"No, that's not it." She says as she's still trying to figure it out. Why is she so hung up on this?
"Wait! I got it. You own that book café on Newbury Street right?"
"Yeah, I do" I say with a smile. "Have you been there?"
"No, but I saw the photos of you and Elizabeth Olsen and they mentioned it in the article."
The smile that decorated my face a second ago is now gone. "Oh. Right."
"So tell me. Are you two dating? I won't tell anyone and am totally cool with lesbians. I even made out with a girl once."
Is this how Europeans feel every time they talk to an American?
"No. We're not. She was a customer and I was helping her find a book."
The rest of the ride consisted of her asking all these questions about Lizzie that I didn't even know the answers to. Oh, how tiring one car ride can be.
As I got to the café, I thanked her for the ride and quickly shut the door behind me. I opened the door with the key and was met with an empty café.
Right. Cally isn't here. It is strange to be met with silence.
I walk to the back to put away my bag and walk over to the storage area to see the opened box of books still standing there. I sigh and pick it up.
As I'm walking to one of the isles, I hear the front door opening. I peak around one of the shelves and see Jessica standing there.
"Oh, hey Jess! You're nice and early."
"Yeah I figured you'd need some help getting ready for the day." She said as she moved to help me with the books.
"Thank you. I'll make sure these books are getting a nice setup. Could you get the front ready? We might need to stock up some items. And prep the food."
"Okay." She nods and hands me one of the books before walking over to the front.
When I'm done, I join her to get the café ready. "I want to run something by you." I tell her.
She raises her eyebrow at me. "What is it?"
"Do you know Hannah? The student that comes by twice a week?"
"The short brunette?" I nod.
"I do know her. She always gets the same order. A cream cheese bagel and a cappuccino." She chuckles.
"She does." I say and then pause for a moment. "I'm thinking of asking her to join the team. Does she seem like a good fit to you?"
"I think so. She clearly likes books and the café. Plus, she's really nice so that's a bonus."
"I'll see if she comes by today and ask her."
I look at the antique clock on the wall and see that it's time to open up shop. I open the door and spot our usual regulars. I greet them all with my usual smile and let them walk in and take a seat.
I spot one person that I want to talk to today. I decide to walk up to her and ask her if we can sit at one of the seating areas instead of at the café bar.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jade asks me after taking a sip from her latte.
"I need your advice." I tell her.
"Ask away." She says as she motions for me to talk.
"You and Scarlett have been together for a few years now. But I was just wondering what was like for you to come to terms with the fact that you were falling for such a well-known person."
She gives me a knowing look, but decides to answer my question without asking her own. "It just sort of happened naturally. We started working together and got closer through that. We did have to deal with a lot of stuff, but that just made us stronger as a team. In the end, you know if it's the right person. And if it is, then you'll do anything to make that work. I did not let any of the rumors and issues get to me, because I knew I wanted to be with Scarlett."
I nod as she explains her answer. "But what if you develop those feelings, but deep down you fear that the circumstances will never allow it to work out?"
"Is this about a certain woman that you've met a week ago?" she asks me before taking another sip of her hot drink. I simply nod in response.
"This is going to sound cheesy, but if it's meant to be then it's meant to be. You have to put in work, but it's also a matter of whether everything around it is allowing it to happen. But trust me, you'll regret it more if you don't act on your feelings."
"But I only have a short time left with her here. How am I even going to try to start something with her?"
"There is no one way to do this. You need to just be yourself and show her what person you are and that you are perhaps open to something more. Just be subtle about it. You don't want to end up love bombing someone."
"I'll try. It does feel like the cards are too difficult to play out for us though. For starters because we're on opposite sides of the country."
"You can't already be telling yourself that, because that will manifest. If you truly want this to work, it will."
She is making a lot of sense. I can always come to her for advice.
"Thanks, Jade. I really needed to talk to someone about this."
She gives me her kind smile. "You can always talk to me. I'll be heading back home soon, but please do come by for a visit some time. Maybe we can even get Lizzie to be there." She says with a wink.
"I definitely will. Even if it's just to meet the women you've spoken so highly of."
"I do talk about them a lot, don't I." She chuckles, scratching the back of her head.
"Only for good reasons though, so don't worry about it. I'll keep your invitation in mind." I tell her and stand up to go help Jessica again.
As Jade leaves, Hannah finally comes in. "Hey Willow, can I get my usual order?" She says as she sits at the bar this time.
"Hey Hannah, of course, coming right up."
Her order is always done pretty quickly, so I set it down in front of her.
"I want to ask you something if that's okay." I start.
"Of course" she replies, indicating to me to ask my question.
"Do you maybe want to join our team?"
Her eyes widen at my question. "Me?"
"Why not? We need an extra pair of hands and you seem like a perfect fit for the team."
"That would be amazing. I was actually looking for something."
"Great! Here's my number and I'll make sure you get a contract sent to you and we can discuss everything for a bit." I explain as I write my number on a piece of paper and hand it to her. She gladly takes it and puts it in her phone.
The rest of the day is pretty much calm and I soon find myself back in my apartment. I see that I have a text from Hannah with her email address and quickly reply with a 'thanks'. I send her the contract via email for her to sign.
I can't wait for tomorrow to come around.