Chapter 5

The day flew by and the two girls worked hard, gossiping about boys and their all-time dream dates. They had two big rushes before the day was over and still managed to stay in good spirits. Erika scans the restaurant to see who is all left, a couple of teens near the back watching TikTok videos, the homeless man, an older woman who seems annoyed with the teens, and that cute guy that Jessica has been talking to for the past 20 minutes. Erika thinks it might be a good idea to let Jessica off early since she's starting early tomorrow. Perhaps she and this guy can catch a movie. Erika thinks as she grabs some cleaning bottles and makes her way over to Jessica. Spying Erika coming her way, Jessica clears her throat and smiles at the guy apologetically. He stops his story, looks over his shoulder, and sees her too. "Uh oh, I don't want to get you in trouble." He says sweetly. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Jessica, I'd love to talk to you again." He smiles and Jessica melts.

"Hello there, are you enjoying your coffee?" Erika says sweetly, placing her cleaning supplies down on a neighboring table. "Very much, you have the best coffee in town, and you two lovely ladies have been so hospitable to me. I'll be giving you a 5-star review on Google." Erika beams in appreciation, "Why thank you so much! We are always happy to have you back!" Erika turns her attention to Jessica. "Hey, did you want to skip out early today? You're starting early tomorrow so if you go home now, I won't have to adjust your schedule for the rest of the week." Jessica lights up, this could give her the chance to go home and get cleaned up then possibly fill her evening with a special event. "Shawn, will you excuse me one second," Jessica says to him and pulls Erika over to another table. "Are you sure I can go home? You won't need me?" Jessica asks anxiously. Erika places a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure. As I said, it will save me from adjusting the schedule. I'll be fine! Go have fun with Shawn." Erika hints.

The way Erika said Shawn's name, all lovey-dovely, made Jessica feel warm and fuzzy inside. "Thank you!" Jessica says to her before running back to the table. "So, you want to catch that movie we were talking about? I can be ready in an hour, I just have to run home and get changed." Jessica tries to sound calm but she is bursting with excitement. "Cool. Let me grab your number." Shawn says pulling out his flip phone. The homeless man clears his throat loudly and then returns his attention to his paper napkin. Jessica watches as he doodles something down. She returns her attention back to Shawn, his curly red hair bouncing at the top of his head when nods to Jessica to let her know he's ready. His big brown eyes and high cheekbones brighten as he smiles widely at her. His lips beckoned her to kiss them.

"It's a house number, just so you know. My Mom is usually home early in the morning, but she's a nurse so she is gone most nights. My brother is annoying and will probably give you a hard time if he answers. He's not home a lot either." Jessica swallows hard embarrassed of the speech she had to give and then rhythmically says the number. "577-896-7746." Shawn smiles at her and says, "Got it. I'll call you soon." He winks at her, and she just dies. Thankfully, Shawn isn’t too bothered that she's almost 19 and still doesn't have a cell phone. This is the reason Jessica has been fighting with her mom for over a year. She's so embarrassed to have to give her phone number out all the time and then explain it’s a house number.

Jessica is almost 19, she did what her Mom asked and focused on school. She got really good grades and was accepted into her chosen college. She avoided partying with her friends and spent a great deal maturing into the responsible woman she is. But she would give anything to have her own independence. This is why Jessica chose to work the summer before going to college. If she could make enough to buy a cell phone, then she could keep a part-time job throughout school to cover the bills. Mom wouldn't know any better since Jessica would be living on campus. Jessica sighs, as he gets up and walks over to the door, the homeless man is standing outside and politely holding the door for him. Shawn takes one last sip of his coffee before discarding it into the trash and then leaves as the homeless man follows behind.

Waving bye, Jessica turns to the counter and runs to give Erika a hug. "Thank you so much! Did you see him? Did you see how tall he was? Oh my god, and that hair. He's so cute!" Erika laughs at all the excitement. "Yes, yes I saw him. He is real! And now, you should be leaving so you can get ready." Jessica nods and runs to the back, removes her apron, and grabs her bag. "Can I use the office phone?" She shouts to Erika. "Yeah, go for it," Erika replies back. Jessica dials the home phone, hoping someone is home to pick it up. "Hello?" Great it's Derrick.

"Oh Hi Derrick, is Mom home?" Jessica asks hopefully. "Nope, she's got a late shift at the Hospital. Is that it?" Derrick says impatiently. Jessica takes a deep breath and exhales. "Derrick, do you think you can pick me up from the café?" She hopes he doesn't give her a hard time. Not today. "No way!" He snaps at her. "Even if I wanted to come get you, I wouldn't" He laughs on the other end of the line. Angered, Jessica snaps back. "Oh, you're rotten. I’ll just call a cab then and give them my money." Derrick is persuaded by this. "Oh yeah? You give me twenty dollars and I'll come to get you." That's absurd! Jessica thinks to herself. "The cab will only cost me twelve bucks!" "Take it or leave it," Derrick tells her, leaving her to make a costly decision. "Fine! But you better get here now!" Jessica growls at him. "See you soon." He says as he hangs up the phone.

Overhearing the conversation, Erika pours her famous handcrafted salted caramel vanilla bean latte and caps it with a lid. "Is your brother a coffee drinker?" Erika asks her. "Yeah, why?" Jessica replies, trying to control the attitude in her voice. "Why don't you give him this? Sometimes it's better to fight back, with kindness." Jessica took the drink and smelled the beautiful aromas of the caramel and vanilla bean. "But what about mine?" Jessica jokes with Erika. "You'll be having enough free coffee tomorrow. How about you go get a taste of that tall handsome guy you just met? Shawn? I believe." Erika reminds her. "Oh right!" Jessica smiles at her and gives her one last hug. "Thank you." She whispers to Erika and then carefully carries Derrick's special drink outside. It isn't long before Derrick arrives. "Took you long enough," Jessica says to him. Before he can answer she shoves the coffee at him. "Here, this is for you." Derrick smells it and takes a sip. "Wow, this is amazing! You didn't make this did you?" He asks sarcastically. "No, my manager did." Derrick takes another sip. "Yeah, there's no way you could ever make something this beautiful." Derrick takes another sip and they head home.

Pulling into the driveway, Jessica hops out of the car before Derrick even parks it. She runs up the stone path to the door and Derrick yells after her, "Hey! Where's my money?" Jessica pushes the door open, "It'll come off my next pay!" Aggravated, Derrick turns off the engine and sits in the car while he enjoys the coffee. Jessica checked the house phone to see if there were any calls or messages. Nothing yet. She thinks to herself, running up the stairs to shower. Throwing off her clothes, she hops in the shower and starts to imagine what she and Shawn might do tonight. We could go to the movies, I wonder if he likes romantic comedies? Maybe we could grab food first, I'm starving! She struggles to escape shampoo bubbles from getting into her eyes. Rinsing off quickly, she turns off the water hops out, and puts on her towel wrap. She scrunches her hair a few times in the mirror and then runs down the stairs to check the house phone. Still nothing. She thinks to herself disappointed. Derrick is stuck in the recliner with the coffee cup glued to his hand, Jessica can't help but laugh at how something as simple as a coffee could have such an impact on her annoying brother.

"Did anyone call?" She asked him kindly. "No." He snapped at her. Well, that was short-lived. She thought about how sweet her brother looked moments before that mouth of his opened. Sadly, she walked back upstairs. Trying to think positively, Jessica goes through her closet, scanning outfit after outfit. It's hard to decide when you don't know what you're doing. Just then, a crash of thunder broke her thoughts. Climbing over her bed to her window, Jessica watched as the beautiful evening was overtaken by dark clouds and heavy rain. This gave Jessica an idea. She pulls open one of her dresser drawers and finds her best pair of black jeans and lays them on the bed. Then she pulls out her favorite black shoulder top with the gold decals on the sleeves and the neckline. Arranging the two together, Jessica can see the outfit coming through. "This will be cute with my yellow rubber rain boots!" She exclaims, but then reconsiders. "Boots aren’t really sexy though." She says, trying to think of something else. They are practical, who doesn't want a practical girl around? Her brain tries to convince her.

She gets dressed in her chosen outfit and hopes that Shawn has a car so she can wear different shoes. Time passed and Jessica anxiously waited by the phone. Derrick would throw her the occasional insult like, "desperate" and "loser" knowing far too well that if she was waiting by the phone, she was definitely waiting on a guy. The storm raged on and it got darker and later. Jessica finally gave up at about 9:30 p.m. She sadly made her way up to her room where she retreated and reflected. What did I do wrong? She thought to herself, replaying her day in her head. Why would he say he would call and then not call? That night, Jessica tossed and turned, lying in bed in her carefully picked outfit. She dreamt about Tom, the breakup, and then Shawn breaking up with her. Jessica awoke in a cold sweat and tears streaming down her face. Lighting cracked the sky and thunder rolled loudly just outside her window sending Jessica into a fright. She slipped out of her clothes and tucked herself under the covers. Tomorrow is a new day. She thought as she drifted back to sleep.