"I don't know about you," I commented, "but I would definitely call this grand opening a success."
I stood at the entryway to the office with the owner, my neighbor Katherine. The Friday night opening of her coffee shop had attracted more customers than I had expected, even given the extremely close proximity to the university. As I slowly sipped at my third latte of the evening, I marveled at the line of students, professors, neighboring shop owners, and even a pair of police officers on patrol.
"It's definitely a success," Katherine said proudly. "It'll be interesting to see what my first Monday morning is like, to see how many students and professors will come this way for coffee and breakfast before heading to class. I just wish there were more dorms and student apartments on this side of campus, though, as that would almost certainly increase the foot traffic."
I again watched the many-pierced barista preparing a pair of drinks simultaneously, and was awed at her experience and expertise. Katherine had spoken about her earlier in the evening, but would not reveal how much she had had to pay the young expert to have her come work for a brand-new, single-location coffee shop.
"Well," I said, lifting my latte to my friend, "congratulations on a successful evening."
"Thank you," she graciously accepted, "but I think that if a particular student goes home with you, then she'll also consider this a successful evening."
That caught me off-guard. Katherine nodded her head across the room, and my eyes followed to a young woman who was probably twenty years old, studying from a rather thick textbook at a small table near the front window.
Katherine knew that I preferred younger partners, that my relationships in the past few years had all been with students from the university, even though they were all about ten years younger than me. She truly understood, firsthand, as she had been born exactly seventeen years after her now-late husband.
I had to admire the studious student. She was the only person studying on this Friday night, and I was rather surprised that she could block out the loud collective chatter in the coffee shop. Her shoulder-length hair was a rusty-red and, from where I stood, appeared to be entirely natural. Her fingers were long and slender, reminding me of my older sister, as her fingers were long and slender from having played piano since the age of four. She wore a modest college sweatshirt and black jeans, and the pendant of her necklace pointed straight down as she leaned forward over the textbook. Given the size of the textbook, I assumed that she was a science major, and given that she was studying on a Friday night, my guess was that she earned numerous excellent grades.
"I've noticed her looking at you on occasion," Katherine continued. "She may be studying for an upcoming exam or something, but she was also studying you rather closely earlier. It wouldn't surprise me if her notes contain observations about you."
It had been several months since my last relationship had ended. Christina had been a fun partner, but with her December graduation, both her education and our relationship had ended, as she moved to Florida for a position with a well-known newspaper. I had felt for weeks that it was time to find someone new, to again have someone to hold and cherish, although I had not actively sought anyone.
Perhaps, as Katherine seemed to be suggesting, someone had just sought me.
As she put down her pen, I again noted the long, slender fingers wrapping around the tall cup as she brought it to her lips. As she sipped, she looked about the main room, her eyes finally meeting mine, and as she drew the cup away from her lips, I saw a shy smile enhanced by immediately-glowing eyes. I simply raised my latte toward her, acknowledging her presence and her attention, and even at this distance, I thought I saw her blush just slightly.
"I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Katherine commented softly. "Be sure to introduce yourself to her before she leaves. Somehow, I doubt she'll come to you, even though I can see she wants to at least chat with you."
"Why do you say that?" I asked, my eyes still upon the student as she returned her attention to the textbook.
"Because I was the very same way with Frank," my friend replied. "I don't recall, but he said that our relationship began the very same way: a few moments of eye contact and a rather profuse blush on my end. Fortunately, he finally came over to me and... Well, you know the rest."
I nodded, finishing my latte as Katherine disappeared into the office. Clearly, that was her signal to me that I was to go to the student.
But first, I went to stand in line, and when I finally approached the small table by the window, I carried two lattes. "May I?" I asked, gesturing to the empty chair across from the studious redhead.
She looked up from her notebook, saw that it was me standing before her, and smiled with her lips and with her eyes.
*****
By the time we left the coffee shop, it was nearly midnight, with only a handful of patrons still enjoying the expertly-made drinks. Katherine gave me a knowing smile as Strawberry and I left.
Yes, "Strawberry," for that was her nickname, bestowed upon her by her father in part because of her natural red hair and in part because she loved strawberries. While I obviously could not see it, she supposedly had a tattoo of a strawberry on her lower back, directly over her spine.
"Strawberry," I said to myself, still in disbelief about such a nickname.
"At least she didn't nickname me 'Cherry,'" she replied, partially serious and partially joking. "'Cherry' almost has a slutty connotation. I had a friend in high school whose real name was Cherry, and I would often hear the guys talking amongst themselves about wanting to 'take Cherry's cherry.'"
The cool night was clear, the stars easily visible above us as we slowly strolled away from campus. We walked side-by-side, our hands in our pockets, Strawberry's big bulky backpack almost causing her to look like a turtle able to walk erect. As I had learned, she was indeed a science major, studying biology. Confirming Katherine's supposition, she had an exam on Monday morning, and had been studying a chapter she had not yet read. But, she had confessed, she was perfectly content to chat with me for a while and save the rest of her studying for Sunday afternoon, having already intended to take Saturday off and go shopping at a large mall in a neighboring city.
"This is the first time I've ever gone home with a stranger," Strawberry admitted quietly, as if not wanting anyone else on the sidewalk to hear her.
"I find that a little hard to believe," I commented, hopefully making the statement sound somewhat like a joke.
"I've gone to other guys' dorm rooms before," she said, "but that's different. I've never gone to an unknown guy's home before."
