There she is. Ugh. God can be so cruel sometimes.
It could be considered slightly creepy that I've adjusted my schedule here to match hers at the coffee shop across the street. I just consider it assisting fate. Just opening a few more opportunities for a happy ending to my sorrowful life.
I'm not a creepy stalker who just watches her through the window everyday without her even knowing I exist. I'm not that dude. She knows me. We're friends actually. She takes her lunch breaks over here. We sit in the break room here in the store. Rarely do I eat rather than sit and watch and listen. She tells me all sorts of stuff about her family and her best friend who doesn't appreciate her, her dog who hates her, her skin being too dry, her wishing her teeth were whiter, her wishing she had an honest guy in her life, besides me of course.
And after she's done talking she hugs me and says over my shoulder, "Thanks Charlie, you're such a great friend." and walks away. I stand there watching Christa's perfect figure move gracefully through the store, out the door, and across the street. This is what I look forward to every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The reason I continue living each day. Okay, her and Reese's.
I have about an hour before any real customers come in so I walk around the store making sure everything looks okay. Nothing is ever not okay, but I have to kill time somehow.
I walk over to the store's main record player and start blasting some music. I go to the break room and put on a pot of coffee. I walk back to the counter only to find Zach the ninja has managed to sneak in behind it. He's reading some book, more than likely Star Wars.
"Does the music always have to be so loud?" says Zach without lifting his eyes from his reading.
"If you have to ask that question, you don't belong in this store. I will kick you out." I wouldn't. Zach is too sensitive.
"Where's my future wife at?" He now raises his eyes to scan the store. Let me describe Zach for you. At this moment in time he is wearing a bright purple vest. He wears it every, single day. His black rimmed glasses are too big for his face and consequently cling to the tip of his nose. His jet black hair is always sleeked back into a retro 50's style. He's hopelessly in love with Kelsi, the obnoxious brunette my boss forced me to hire here. She's kind of cute. If you think those crazy melodramatic artsy girls are cute. She just knows how to get under my skin so she does it at every opportunity. I'll let Zach have at her.
"She's late Zach, she's always late." At that we hear the door swing open dramatically. (because thats how she does things)
"I'm not late am I?" she brushes passed us to punch her time card.
"Only 20 minutes dear. Better than yesterday." Zach tells me it's the subtle terms of endearment that will get her to love him. She walks up to him and punches him in the arm.
"Love you too Kelsi." He tries.
Kelsi leans over to fix her shoelaces and her ponytail falls over her head to expose a small star tattoo on her neck behind her ear. Zach notices it too.
"Kelsi! When did you taint your flesh with that ink!" Zach is touching her shoulder but she brushes his hand away.
"Over the weekend. Do you like it?" She turns her head to show me.
"Eh, its alright." It was probably the coolest thing she had ever done.
"If its on your skin I love it." Zach grins and Kelsi rolls her green eyes.
Kelsi walks over to the record player to put on something else. "You don't want to be late for work right Zach?" Zach works at a pet shop across town but comes to the record store every morning to see his future wife, if only for a few minutes.
"Yes, I guess I'll be going. But just so you know Kelsi, I'm free every night this week and my number is still in your phone! Later guys." He walks out and Kelsi takes her phone out of her pocket.
"Zach Petruchio...delete." She sighs and puts her phone back in her pocket.
"You do know I can just schedule you to come in an hour later so you don't have to deal with him right?"
"He'd figure it out soon enough."
"Why don't you give the guy a chance anyway? I mean he's a good guy. Is it the vest? If it's the vest then yeah, never mind, there really is no hope for the dude."
"It's not the vest." At that she smiles mysteriously and slips away into the break room.
A couple customers walk in and start wandering around the store. A good opportunity to change up the music.
As I reach for another record Christa storms into the store calling my name.
For Real.
"Christa whats wrong?"
"Break room...now!" As much as I want this to be the moment she realizes she wants me and confesses her undying love for me, I can't help but sense something is wrong.
Kelsi's eyes get real wide as Christa storms into the break room. I let her know there are customers out front so she takes her enormous mug of coffee and quietly sneaks out of our way.
Christa is wearing her uniform, complete with apron. She basically falls into a chair and folds her arms on the table. She looks up at me then buries her head in her arms. I am so scared she's gonna start crying.
"Christa, are you alright?" stupid question, obviously she isn't. She looks up at me with her blue eyes lined with tears and her blonde hair framing her face.
"Charlie, do you remember when you told me about your mom?" I have no idea where this is going. My mom shot herself 6 months, 2 weeks, 3 days ago in the bathroom at our apartment. Why this is at all relevant, I haven't the slightest idea.
"Of course Christa."
"That's so sweet. You totally trust me with stuff like that. Charlie, you're so... so great to me."
"What is this about?"
"Billy broke up with me Charlie." Oh yeah, I forgot to mention him. I tend to block him out of my mind when thinking of Christa. "I can't believe it! He just doesn't care about me. Not like you do Charlie."
She's standing now. She starts walking towards me. "I don't know why I didn't see it before. I mean, you're cute, smart, funny, your art is amazing, your music is great. I like everything about you Charlie." She wraps her arms tightly around me and rests her head on my chest. I have dreamt of this moment about a million and two times. I can't think of anything to say so I just hold her for a while until it's obvious that we have life to get back to.
"I should get over to the shop. I'll be back for lunch. Thank you so much Charlie." And with that her beautiful rosy pink lips touch mine for four whole seconds before she grins and walks out of the room.
What just happened...