Waiter,There's A Lady In My Coffee by Pat Councilor
Niles leaned back and sipped from his double cappuccino, half-caf, nonfat milk, with just enough foam to be aesthetically pleasing. He stared across the table at his brother in an uneasy brisk of emotion not to be sensed by his brother's keen intuition. "Frasier," he broke silence.
His brother placed the paper on the table at Café Nervosa. "I'm sorry Niles. I'm just engrossed in this article in today's paper. It has to do with pets and how the owners can distinct fully acknowledge what his pet is feeling."
Niles raised an eyebrow as he watched his brother take a sip from his latte. "Frasier, I had no idea that you had an interest in bond between Dad and Eddie."
He shot Niles a look. "Oh heavens no. Are you delirious with fever? No, my mere interest is finding a way to make Eddie convincingly look like he constantly wants to go for a walk. You know, get Dad out of the house when needed and more often. And why not? Don't I deserve the extra peace and quiet in my life? And the ladies do need a little more time in 'Frasierland'."
"If we could leave 'Frasierland' for a moment to enjoy the gravity here on Earth… Obviously, I'm not the one who's delirious."
Frasier shot him a look.
Niles continued. "You are telling me that you want to spend countless hours training Eddie to make him look like he wants to go for a walk when you signal him and to also convince Dad that he can read Eddie's mind?"
"Well, with some great determination and a carefully placed newspaper article…"
Niles shot him the 'God sakes man, where is your dignity?' look.
Frasier hoisted his briefcase on the table and opened it to fold the paper and tuck it inside. "A man can dream."
Niles took a long drink from his cup until he could see the bottom of the cup. He then motioned for the waiter to bring him another.
"Niles is everything okay?" his brother asked with sincerity.
"Why… yes. Why do you ask?"
"You're a cappuccino sipper, not a caffeine guzzler."
"I just want another cup of coffee and enjoy my brother's company, is that alright?" He checked his watch.
Frasier shot him a double take. 'Share time, eh? Why is he checking his watch?'
Niles' voice dropped, "By-the-way Frasier, thank you for meeting me for coffee."
"We always meet for coffee. Niles, is there something on your mind?"
"No," he said with a single nod of his head. "Right now, I want to enjoy some light-hearted banter between myself and my big brother. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?"
"Niles, calm down. You're scaring the staff. Perhaps you should switch to decaf."
Niles voice instantly softened with an innocent tone. "So, how is work?"
Ah, now there was a topic that Frasier was never short on words. "I did have a caller call in with narcolepsy that called in about another problem. Just when we were getting to the root of the problem, he kept dozing off."
"Are you sure it was the narcolepsy?"
"What… are you saying that I am boring… my show it boring… is that what you are insinuating?"
Niles raised his hands defensively. "No Frasier. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
He leaned in toward his brother. "Niles, you're acting more weird than you usually are. What the devil is going on?"
"Oh alright," he said as the waitress brought his coffee, "you can always see right through me." He took another long drink of coffee; a long, long drink.
"Niles!"
He almost spilled his coffee all over himself. He placed the cup back on its saucer. "Alright, but before we go there, I want you to know that I REALLY enjoy or coffee time and basically any time we share…"
"Niles, what are you trying to say? It sounds like you're going to break up with me."
Niles glared his way.
"What are you saying?"
"Well, now that Daphne and I are a couple, she thinks that she and I… should be spending more time together and… that I should see less of you."
"OH MY GOD!" Frasier abruptly stood. "YOU ARE BREAKING UP WITH ME!"
"Frasier, please." Niles looked around the room to find that Frasier had captured the attention of everyone in Nervosa.
Frasier took note as well and conspicuously slipped back into his chair.
"It's only temporary," Niles promised.
"So I just wait around until Daphne tells you it's okay to accept me back into your life?"
"It didn't sound so bad… until you put it that way."
Frasier stood and pulled out his wallet. "I have been your brother for your entire life. We are more than brothers, we are friends. Does she take that into consideration?"
"Frasier, Daphne and I have been through a lot lately with breaking up both of our marriages, getting out from under Donny's lawsuit and finally free from Mel. And I will pay for your coffee."
Frasier dropped several bills on the table. "No thank you. You've done enough for one day, thank you very much."
"The party that we're planning…"
Frasier gasped. "You mean?"
"Yes, you are no longer part of the party planning committee. It's just Daphne and me now." He squinted, expecting his brother to implode right there, where he stood.
He headed for the door, but stopped short to scold, "And I was the one that got you two together in the first place." With that, he turned on his heels and walked out.
"Frasier, wait." But his brother was gone. He was mad and why wouldn't he be. He checked his watch. He, too, had to be going. He had a session to get to. He picked up his brief case and took his wallet out of his inside breast pocket.
"Hello there."
Niles looked up into the eyes of Daphne. She had just walked in. She had startled him. "D-Daphne. So wonderful to see you." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Niles," Roz smiled. She turned to Daphne. "I'll go order our coffee." With that, Roz headed for the counter.
"I see you had coffee with someone," Daphne commented. "Who was it?"
"Oh, it was Frasier. I know, I know. You don't want me seeing him for a while, but that's why I asked him to meet me here. I didn't want to explain that to him over the phone." He gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I've have to run. I have an early session. I'll see you tonight."
After he left, Roz suggested they sit at the next table over where the table had been cleared. Daphne sat in her seat with her coffee steaming in front of her. Suddenly, her heart skipped several beats and sank to a dark region in the pit of her stomach. Over at the other table, at the seat directly across from where Niles was sitting and apparently where Frasier had sat, was a white Nervosa coffee cup. Daphne could see it from there. The brim of that cup had a smear of lipstick.