Daphne dashed out of the building and ran to her car ignoring the pounding of her heart. Never before had she felt so terrible. When she was a schoolgirl her parents were constantly warning their children about the consequences of ridiculing others because it could hurt them deeply. But only now did she truly understand what it meant.

She drove blindly around the city, pulling to a screeching halt at a local discount store and ran inside. Minutes later she returned to her car clutching her purchases in her hands. It was a small gesture, but she feared that it might not be enough.

Her hand trembled as she turned on the ignition and drove to her next destination. She prayed that he would be there, because if he wasn't, she didn't know what she would do.

Café Nervosa was unusually busy, bustling with customers and she wondered if it was some sort of sign-or an omen of things to come. She made her way through the front door and pushed it open, strangely calmed by the high-pitched tinkling bell that announced her arrival.

To her dismay, the café was even busier than she anticipated. Almost every seat was filled, making it nearly impossible to carry out her mission. Just as she was about to give up and try a different location, she spotted him, sitting alone in a corner, his nose in a book. But she was fairly certain that he was paying little to no attention to what was written on the pages.

She walked further into the café and pushed her way through the crowd until she reached the long line of customers. It was there that she waited rather impatiently for her cinnamon tea. And when it finally surfaced, she pushed her way through the crowd once again until she reached his table.

"H-hello Dr. Crane."

He glanced up from his book long enough to make eye contact and then looked away. Gone were the sparkle in his blue eyes and the sweet smile that usually accompanied his greeting, a fact that was a bit disconcerting. And then he uttered her name tersely.

"Daphne."

She was surprised at how much the tone of his voice hurt. She swallowed hard and tried again. "Dr. Crane, I know you don't want to see me right now, but I think we should talk."

Annoyed, he put down his book, slamming it shut. The sound, although faint against the clamor of the busy café, made her flinch.

"Fine, what did you want to talk about?" He asked in the same curt manner.

"Well, it's about what happened earlier when you and your brother were-."

"Sorting our candies by color?"

The manner in which he threw her words back in her face hurt worse than if he had slapped her. Tears welled in her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

"Yes, that's what I meant. Dr. Crane I'm so ashamed of what I've done! I never meant for you to overhear me laughing, nor did I imagine you hearing me talking out loud. But I couldn't help meself! I've never met anyone like you or your brother and when I saw what you were doing, I-well… I didn't know what to think. You're-."

"You don't have to explain, Daphne. I know what you think of me. I'm not… normal but I can't help it! I have to have things just so, I wipe down my chair before sitting down-especially here at Café Nervosa, but is that so unusual? I order my drinks with the utmost of care; a non-fat half-caf latte with the faintest hint of cinnamon. I love the opera, fine wine, good books and…. Well there are a million other idiosyncrasies about me that people don't like. Perhaps that's why I was constantly teased and ridiculed in school. But I just thought…. Well, you're such an angel and you've been nothing but kind to me from the moment we met. I thought you were different, Daphne. You're so beautiful and I thought that perhaps one day…. Should I ever get the courage-."

Daphne took his hand, blinking back the escaped tears that spilled onto her cheeks.

"Dr. Crane you listen to me. It's true that you're not like other men. But that's why I care about you so much. You're kind and sweet… always there to listen whenever I need a friend. You're always saying such sweet things to me about how nice I look or how nice my hair smells. I couldn't ask for a better friend than you."

He blushed deeply, startled when she leaned to kiss his lips. It was a soft, sweet kiss that made her feel completely unexpected. And she could tell by his response that he was just as surprised as she was.

But the biggest surprise was how wonderful his lips felt against hers.