Summer of Like

            Falling in love was never on my list of things to do over the summer. Actually, it never crossed my mind. I was too busy with school work, picking colleges, and working to find love. I barely had time for my friends. But seeing him sit across from me while I worked changed all of that. With his blonde hair and blue eyes, it was difficult to focus on anything other than his face. I was useless at work when he was around.

            I watched him as he sat at the corner table and drank his caramel macchiato while reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. When I got up enough nerve to walk over and start a conversation about the book, he got up and walked out the door. Once he was gone, I could actually focus on work which distracted me from the fact I lost a chance with him. Who knew someone could feel such strong feelings for someone without knowing anything about him?

            Three days later, he was back. He didn’t order anything nor did he have a book to read. Instead, he just sat at his usual table and watched me work, or so I was told. I walked over to him and asked if he needed anything. Of course, he said no, and I went back to work. I bused tables, did the trash, and made blueberry muffins. And there he was, just staring at me. I tried to ignore it but the fact that he was somewhat interested in me made it difficult. 

           Towards closing, and since I was assigned to work until then, he invited me to have a blueberry muffin with him. I couldn’t tell him no. We talked about The Great Gatsby and the colleges we chose; we talked about the weather and our summer plans; and we talked about future careers. We talked about almost everything.

            We were still on a no name basis two months after our first conversation. The summer was coming to an end, and I was going away to Ball State and he was going wherever he chose at the last minute.  We continued to talk every day at the coffee shop until August 12^th. The night before I had to leave, we made plans to share a blueberry muffin at the corner table and talk about everything except about me leaving.

            The clock ticked away our time together and I had to say good bye. I gave him a hug and got up to leave. I was halfway to my car when I turned back around.

            “I don’t know your name.” I said.

            “Beck,” He said. “And yours?”

            “Caroline.” I smiled, and left, knowing that my summer was finally complete.