Espresso Love

Carrots and Questions

Maverick

Seeing Annabelle in the morning quickly becomes routine over the following months with Jess bringing us something fresh from the oven. The baked goods change from pumpkin to peppermint to mint as the seasons fly by. Some days Anna walks over after I arrive. Other days I wait down the street until she grows impatient in her apartment building and walks to the coffeeshop. Our conversations stay light as we meet each day. We continue to ask questions, learning new bits of information from each other. I never grow tired from learning all about her likes and dislikes, hopes and worries. Every new piece of information I wish I could write down to capture and look back upon.

"Okay, okay, here's a new one," she starts when her laughter dies down after my latest answer to how I like to eat my carrots. "Would you rather eat crinkle cut carrots," she pauses for my disgusted look before finishing the question, "or eat beetles?"

"I would rather eat beetles, believe it or not. There's just something about the carrots." I look across the booth and laugh at Anna's surprised expression. "Funny story, actually," I begin.

"Don't tell me..." Anna trails off with the greatest look of horror plastered on her face as she sees where my story leads.

"One time my buddies and I went to South America where they love to eat crazy things."

"Do. Not. Finish. That. Sentence." She squirms in her seat.

"One of them dared me to eat part of the local cuisine," I continue, laughter sneaking into my voice.

"Maverick, I just cannot believe you right now." Anna scrunches her shoulders up to her ears as she gets up from the booth. "I just... ugh." She picks up her empty coffee mug and starts heading down the stairs.

I laugh as I shout the last sentence across the room, "And I ate a beetle covered with the most delicious seasoning. Not as bad as you would think."

"La la la la la..." I hear her giggles ring through the coffeeshop punctuated by the silence of the early morning. Glancing down at my phone, I see a new message from one of my friends detailing another new adventure. Typing in my reply, I find myself answering a way I never thought I would: no. She's all the adventure I need right now, I think to myself. Instead, I say my father has been on me about being in the office. True enough.

Anna walks back up the stairs, reminding me of why I told my friend no. Her wavy brown hair cascades in the morning sun's rays through the window behind me. When she looks at me, her vibrant blue eyes sparkle with left-behind laughter. A sly smile completes everything and my heart aches. It tells me to be careful. It tells me to leave. You don't need anything tying you down right now. I ignore it and return Anna's smile. If possible, her smile grows even larger.

She slides into the booth and pulls out her laptop. "I can't imagine all the adventures you've been on." Anna clicks a few times before looking back at me. "Where have you all been?"

"Oh, just here and there." I try to avoid her question. Normally when I tell people where I have all gone they look at me differently. Instead of the traveler stuck in a business firm, they see a businessman with the privilege of traveling. I don't want Anna to see me this way. Will she? My phone begins to ding, alerting me to text messages most likely my friend protesting my response. "Do you mind?" I ask Anna, picking up the phone. A sigh escapes me as I slip out of the booth.

Looking at the missed call, I see my friend Caleb's face. I hit the redial button and head down the stairs and onto the street outside. The phone rings a few times before a familiar British voice blasts through the phone's speaker. "Where you been, mate?"

"Here and there," I echo from my earlier conversation with Anna. I look up to the cloudless sky and imagine myself in the airplane that flies overhead. "Father has been on me about all my travels, so I figured I could settle into the corner office for a few weeks."

"A few weeks? Mate, it has been more than a few months since you've come to my flat. You have been MIA, and everyone is asking about you! That beautiful girl Elise has been wonderin-" Caleb breaks off mid-sentence. I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure we still have a connection when I hear his voice shouting through the line again. "THIS is what it's about isn't it? You have found yourself a girl over there in the States. Well, mate, I demand I meet her."

I consider pretending he's wrong but decide against it. "Yeah, there's a girl. Not sure where it's headed, and I don't want anything to mess it up."

"Well, has anything official happened yet?"

"No, nothing yet. We haven't even stepped outside this coffeeshop for the past few months. I don't know her life outside these walls, and she doesn't know mine." His silence gives me the push I need from him. "I know I should ask her out, but... she's different, Caleb. I want this to be right."

"Well, the only way to find out is if you take the first step." A sudden crash comes from his end of the line with a string of profanities. "Mate, I've got to let you go. Let me know how things go."

"Will do," I answer and hang up. Looking across the waking street, I see Anna's doorman glaring at me. With a single wave, I turn around and head back into the coffeeshop.

"Everything good on the Western front?" Jess asks, pulling a tray of baked goods from the oven.

"Yeah. Just Caleb checking in to make sure I am still alive." I rap my knuckles on the counter a few times and glance around the rustic shop. "Jess, how do you know if something will work?"

"Do you mean baking or in life?" She waves a paper plate over the pan, attempting to cool the cookies quicker before the first customers arrive.

"In life, I guess. There are all these things you need to keep track of and keep perfect, and you seem to do it perfectly." I ignore my phone dinging in my back pocket.

With raised eyebrows, Jess ignores the dings as well. "Mav, nothing is as perfect as it may seem. Some days I'm not sure something will work. The best thing I can do, however, is just jump in and push through whatever challenge I face." She picks up a rag from behind the counter and wipes off the cookie container before placing them inside. "You'd be good for her."

Before I can reply, Anna appears at the top of the stairs. Jess chuckles to herself and finishes up the cookies. Anna heads down and stands before me. "I have to get going, but I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing," I reply. Anna leans closer, and I imagine her trying to kiss me. Her lips on mine. My lips slightly part. Her arm brushes past mine to grab something off the counter. "Oh, uh, sorry."

"No problem." She squeezes my arm before heading out the door.

"Man, you are in trouble." Jess breaks through my day dream.

Turning around, I tell her a plan that comes to mind as I say it out loud. "Think you can help?"

"I'll let you know what I can do." Jess turns her attention to a customer coming through the door. I leave for the office as the plan develops in my mind.