The Café

When Lynn returned to work the next day, most of the regulars were excited with her return, while others silently wished for Katie to come back liking the change and different spirit she brought to the old coffee house.

John was late leaving work and Lynn thought that he wasn't going to show, but was happy when she saw him come in through the door.

“So tell me, sweetheart, did you meet a girl yesterday?” Lynn asked as John had trouble focusing on his notebook, something that was very unusual for him.

He shrugged his shoulders, he couldn’t get his mind off of Katrina, she looked familiar, but did not know where he had seen her. “I’m not sure, really. Her name is Katrina. She was here yesterday, filling in for you, she said.”

Lynn laughed at the name the girl had given him. “Well, I don’t know a Katrina, but I do know a Katie. Blonde hair, light grey eyes?” the boy nodded. “Yeah, that’s Katie, never heard her called Katrina though, sounds too formal, too mature for her. So, you like her?”

Again, he shrugged, “I wouldn’t say that I like her per se, but I would say that I found myself having an attraction to her of sorts.” The older woman gave him a look, squinting her eyebrows together. “Not like that, just wanting to get to know her more. The feeling towards her I have is not concupiscent. A strictly platonic relationship with her would be wonderful. My life is too chaotic for it to be romantic, at this time, you know how much I work, in fact as we speak, I am mentally working.” He smirked at his last statement.

She looked at the notebook, the page blank, “If you don’t mind me asking, what is it that you write?”

“Songs, music.” Is all that he replied, the woman walked away saying, “Come back tonight, you can see Miss Katie then and have your strictly platonic relationship with her.”

John unsure about coming back later that night. He wanted to see her again, but thought that it might seem odd, although once again, he could not get her out of his mind, he wondered about her, what was she like... what did she do when she wasn’t working at that cafe? He realized that he had to go that particular night just to discover more about her, knowing only her name was not enough.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Katie wondered if that man with the notebook was coming to the cafe that night. She figured that he probably had better things to do than go back to the cafe that he already spent a large portion of his afternoons in. A part of her hoped that he would show, but another part of her, a larger part in her brain told her that he would end up just like all the other men that came to see her sing. That is all that they did, they did not care if she could sing, they all just came to see her body. She knew that they did, felt their animalistic stares, but pushed the distasteful feeling away every Monday and Thursday evening.

The girl grabbed her guitar from the back room and set herself up on the stool in the stage area located in one of the corners of the cafe.

“Hi, I’m Katie and I will play a few songs for you all tonight, enjoy. Oh, and remember, the coffee and pastries are all half priced tonight, so enjoy them too, I know I do.”

She started to sing ‘Blowin in the Wind’ by Bob Dylan. John watched her, the faces she made while she sang, clearly enjoying herself even though she was only singing for fifteen people half of which were carrying on their own conversations.

"I'm going to sing one that I wrote myself, now. I know I haven't done this for a while, and well, don't get used to it," she said.

John thought that her song was beautiful, letting in on a small part that was personal to her, however, it was the chorus that stuck with John.

"I'm coming to terms with this, growing up. A part of me is scared as scared as hell, a part of me is happy as fuck. Why can't I stay in my mother's womb, I don't want anything to happen that's new. If I could I would break the hourglass, if only my time would last. I'm finally coming to terms with this growing up, but I'm scared as fuck. Scared, so damn scared."

She sang several more songs, all of which were classic, finally ending with ‘Fly Me to the Moon’.

John was the first person to start applauding her and the others soon followed. Katie smiled at him, surprised that the man had actually come. She noticed that he was sitting alone with only one coffee cup sitting at the table. She found herself being glad that he had come alone.

"So, you didn't take my advice, did you." She said walking up to him.

"Excuse me?" He said confused.

"The notebook; you are still using the old ratty thing. I mean look at the cover, its practically falling apart.”

“Actually, it’s not that old, only a few months, I just use it a lot,” he said, not really wanting to explain himself to the girl.

“I’m sorry. I am really not a rude person, even though that was the impression I just gave you. I didn’t want to seem like that. I actually don’t know why I said what I did. I really did not mean it. Now I am rambling,” Katie said sitting down across from him.

“I really liked your set,” he said changing the subject. Katie knew that he had accepted her long apology by they way he crookedly smiled at her. “My friends, well actually, it’s a friend of a friend, is having a party tomorrow night. I was wondering if you wanted to come. Not like as a date, just as a friend. Unless, you don’t do that, party; then I don’t expect you to say yes, but if you would like to, the invitation is open. Now I am the one rambling on.” John said, he felt nervous around her, he could feel his palms begin to sweat while she did not reply.

Normally, John was not shy around girls. He knew his way around him like he did that back of his hand, how to cheer them up when they were sad, how to apologize to them so that they would have no choice but to accept the apology, and just the right way to tell them that what they had ‘just wasn’t going to work.’ He knew how to sweet talk a girl into doing practically anything he wanted; for him, words were like a superpower, especially when applied to women. However, he seemed to be at a loss of words with Katie. With her he found his tongue tying in knots and feeling as if it were swollen, he found the connection between his words and the left frontal lobe of his brain to be absent

Katie replied, “Thank you for the invitation, but I don’t go to friends of friends parties, when I don’t know the name of the person who invited me. Sorry, but a girl’s gotta be careful. She got up from the seat and began to walk to the counter.

“John.”

She turned and looked where the voice had come from, “It’s John. I am John,” the man with the notebook said. Katie left the counter and slowly walked back to where the man sat.

She stuck her hand out to shake his, “Well, it sure is nice to meet you John, and I would love to go to the friend of your friend’s party with you. Since I don’t know where this person lives, could you pick me up? I’ll meet you here, at the cafe, if that works, okay?”

The entire time, Lynn sat behind the counter watching the friendship unfold. She knew that they would become fast friends, she had seen it many times. John left before Katie did, waving to Lynn as he headed toward the old rugged door. After he was gone, Katie rushed over to Lynn.

“You know him?” she asked the older woman. After Lynn gave her a knowing smile.

“Yes, I have known him since he was a young boy, I knew his parents before that, wonderful people they are, as is he. A bit secluded, but a very nice young man, single might I add.”

Katie rolled her eyes at the last sentence, “I plan on staying single for a while, Lynn. I have to focus on my career, my real one. As much as I would love to work here forever, I can’t. I went to college for teaching, and that is what I am going to do, but first I have to get hired; something that seems nearly impossible at this time. But don’t get me wrong, I love to work here with you, I love the customers, the smell and the ambiance that is created by the dull walls.”

“I know sweetie, you don’t have to explain yourself. I have worked here since I was in my thirties and I love it, I wouldn’t dream of anything else. But that is because I did not have any dreams when this place found me, but now this place has become my dream. I don’t want that to happen to you, I don’t want you to have to make somewhere your dream when you already have some of your own. Follow them wherever they may take you and I know that you will do great. Someday soon you will be a wonderful teacher; one that the kids will love to go see and not just because she is pretty, but because she has one of the kindest hearts I have ever met,” the woman said. She then continued, “If you ever start to doubt yourself, just know that I believe in you enough for both you and I. I love you like the daughter that I never had and if you ever need anything, I am only a phone call away.” The two women hugged with tears in their eyes, one with her eyes filled with happiness provided by the other and disappointment in herself, the other woman’s eyes filled with pride in the other woman and love for her.

After their talk, the two women found themselves to be better friends than they had been before. Lynn would go over to Katie’s apartment a few times a week for a movie night or for a cup of coffee as neither of them wanted to have coffee at their place of work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

John did not discuss the girl from the cafe with his friends. He knew that they would be supportive of his feelings, but he liked having a secret from them. He often wondered if he was wasting his time and thoughts on Katie. He knew that she would have no reason to waste her time on him and he also knew that one day she would forget about him.

He wished that he had the nerve to talk to her in her natural habitat: the cafe; but she looked so confident there as if she had sucked his own confidence from him in order to fuel hers. At times he thought that he could see the fine stream flow from his mouth and into hers as if she was sucking up his soul. He thought if she had taken his soul from him, he probably would not mind if she took his soul as long as he could get to know her.