The place was abuzz, Luke was amazed at how much business he was getting. It was the first time his diner had been so busy since he opened it last year and he didn't know whether to be proud or annoyed. They'd had an influx of tourists that summer from some new festival Taylor Doose had hoodwinked the town into voting into existence. Every time he turned away from the door to take care of a customer the door would jingle once more, and he'd begun to call out gruffly for them to sit where they liked without even looking to see who walked in.

"Hey, I could really use a jolt! It's my first day as manager of the inn and I could really use some coffee. I've heard you make an amazing cup of coffee," his newest customer called out to him.

"I'll be with you in a moment, sit where you like," he said in the middle of taking someone's order.

"But see, I don't have time to sit down and wait. I'm already behind schedule, I just need a quick cup and I'm out."

Luke turned in frustration, hand held up to his current customer to wait a moment, "Sit down and wait your turn!"

For one-half second, he was completely frozen by her sparkling blue eyes flashing merrily before him. He wasn't well acquainted with her, but Luke had seen her around town several times, and once when he'd met Mia at the Independence Inn. She had been a maid there or something.

The half second was gone as the woman thrust some bills into his hand.

"See, I've already paid, including tip, all you gotta do is pour," she said, "it's easy." She shadowed him as he tried in vain to ignore her as he got to his other customers, the ones who had actually sat down and had been waiting their turn like civilized people were supposed to do.

"I'm well trained in the skill of the wear down, trained under the master of the wear down, Emily Gilmore. Just ask my father and he'll tell you how masterful she is."

"Gah, you're so annoying!" Luke cried when he couldn't take her chatter any longer, "Sit down and shut up! Or I'll kick you out!"

He left her standing in the center of the diner, mouth agape as she watched him move from the tables to behind the counter.

Luke barely noticed her sweet talking Morey into giving her a portion of his newspaper and didn't notice when she suddenly appeared in his path.

"Geez," he said in shock at having almost run into her, "you'd make a good horror movie."

"What's your birthday?"

His face wrinkled in confusion, "What?"

"I want to know when you were born," she said.

"Why?" he asked as he moved passed her with an order of bacon and eggs for a table near the door.

"I'm not attempting identity theft here, I just want to know your birthday," she said.

"November," he said warily.

"and the day?"

"21st," he said as he served the table their breakfast. When there was silence and no sign of her for a moment, he found it hard to believe that he had finally shaken her off.

Sure enough, she appeared again before him and handed him a ripped portion of the newspaper.

"Take a look, our meeting was predicted by the stars," the woman said. Luke snatched the paper from her with annoyance and glanced at it briefly. It was a piece of the Scorpio section of the horoscopes. The newspaper's predictions were written over in pen by this woman's clear but hurried scrawl.

You will meet an annoying woman today, give her coffee and she will go away.

He looked up at her with a glower and tried not to smile. He wasn't about to reward bad behavior. They held a staring match for a few moments, he glaring at her, she looking at him expectantly with her hands clasped under her chin.

With a sigh, he moved behind the counter and poured some coffee into a styrofoam cup.

"Yay!" she cried and took the cup from him, took a sip and reveled in the taste, "Mm, that is good. You've just got yourself a new customer."

"Oh goodie," he remarked in a mock giddy tone that sounded completely out of character.

"Hey," she said as she backed toward the door. She nodded at him as if to indicate the horoscope he was holding. "Keep that in your wallet, it might bring you luck."

Luke found himself watching after her, long after she'd left the diner and hopped into a jeep outside where a young girl waited and drove off. He looked at the paper in his hand and then back at the spot where her jeep had been.

A small smile crept into the corners of his mouth as he thought about her, sliding the paper into the little pocket of his flannel shirt until he had the time to dig out his wallet.

Never in his life had he met anyone like her. No girl had ever overwhelmed his thoughts like this before. As he continued working, he found his world felt a little emptier without her. Which was crazy since he'd only known her for a few short minutes. He found himself looking out the window, seeing if she would come back. Hoping she'd come back.