Episode 1: Mass hysteria and a cup of joe

I turned the corner and opened the door. The bell chimed at the local coffee house indicating to the workers one more caffeine addicted customer has just entered the premises, red alert. I glare intently at the vast variety of choices outlined by the colorful chalk menu board above the counter. Suddenly my eyes were blinded by a sweet aroma of perfume. Not any kind that I could personally recognize but if I had to give it a description I would say it would smell something like walking past the perfume counter at Dillards or JC Penny. Not that I do that very often, but I’ve had my trip around the block Christmas shopping from year to year.

Beside the point….I regained my thoughts and tried to regain memory of the soft voice whispering in my ear “guess who.” I shuttered and caught a glimpse of a memory from the past. It was an old friend from a few years back. One that I hadn’t seen in what seems like ages. A smile filled my scruffy, bearded face, as a time lapse of memories jogged across my mind. I turned around and saw her. It seemed so much like a silhouette scene from a Hollywood blockbuster when two people separated by time accidentally run into each other like fate took over. I don’t really believe in fate, but more so in God’s plan, however the word fate and Hollywood almost always go hand in hand.

We continued through the line of people. Some rushing of to their nine to five jobs, others enjoying the long exposures to wifi sitting in their comfortable chairs while shopping on ebay. I stammered through my ridiculously long drink order as though I was back in the third grade learning how to enunciate. Good coffee comes at a great price, including a vocal one. My quadruple venti, no whip, extra hot, shaken not stirred, upside down, non-soy, fat latte; which is just short for a plain latte with no whip cream; was one tongue twister I had been practicing every day for the last three years. Ok, I’m not going to lie to you, it probably was more than once a day. I always enjoyed the part of the show when the barista would repeat your order back to you.

Back on track now. We got our drinks and took a seat in the back corner of the store. Sitting faced to face at a small round table with awkwardly uncomfortable wooden chairs, was exciting at best. But I knew that from the second I sat down it would be a journey to the past to catch up from where we last left off. It had been quite a while since we last spoke, our high school days were long gone….ok they weren’t that long ago, but it seemed like forever. We sat and shared exciting stories that college had brought us, trips we took, people we met, good times, bad times, you name it. I sat and listened attentively as she rambled on about John Doe, midterms, and this one time in the cafeteria when the meatloaf tasted like cardboard….and oh yeah finals. Yes it all came in that order. Each subject had maybe a sentence or two a piece.

The time went on as I sat back and listened. All of a sudden she got quiet. Not the kind of quiet where she ran out of things to say. Trust me I am a firm believer in the energy bunny, but it simply wasn’t like that. DUN DUN DUN, I thought to myself as I pondered a million different things that could possibly happen. The look on her face reminded me of Mona Lisa without the smile. The sharp intent direction of the eyes told me something was up. After what seemed like an hour of silence, she spoke. “There is something I need to ask you….” Oh no I thought, I knew this didn’t sound good. I sat and pondered looking for the most brilliant, intelligent, insightful way to respond. “Ok” I said as I pictured the angel on my shoulder smacking me on the back of the head saying “good job moron, is that the best you can do?…‘ok’…..durrrrrrrr” Yes it actually did sound like that too. She was quiet for a few more seconds and she finally spoke. “…..

 

To be continued…..