Monday morning I arrived at the café and noticed what looked to be someone wrapped up in a blanket, a figure of a man huddled up against the cold, sitting along the side of the building. He had a thin blanket around his shoulders and had his legs tucked up under his chin, with his head resting on his bent knees. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen this homeless man at the café. I knew he slept there because of the warm air coming up from a nearby grate.
Sadie, another one of the servers, had shooed him away Friday last week, claiming the homeless discourage customers. I knew she had the welfare of the café in mind, but I couldn’t help remembering my own predicament when I’d been released from prison. Just over a year ago, that could have been me doing my best to sleep on the street because I had nowhere else to go.
While Sadie was busy in the kitchen, I kept thinking about the man on the street. I didn’t want to get involved. He needed to be gone. Half angry with myself, I poured a cup of coffee, paid for it myself, and took it out to him.
“Here,” I said gruffly, shoving the cup of coffee at him.
He looked up and tossed aside the blanket, probably thinking I was giving him the coffee as incentive to leave.
“I’m moving,” he muttered, not making eye contact.
“Don’t leave on my account. The coffee is to help you keep warm.” I squatted down so I could see his face. His eyes had bags under them, as if he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a good long while. His face was dirty and he needed a shave. “I added sugar and a little cream. Hope you like it that way.”
He eyed me skeptically. “You put anything else in there?”
He was afraid I was trying to drug him or something. “No. Just sugar and cream. My name is Shay. I work here at the café.”
“I’m Richard.” He took the foam cup from me, tasted it, and regarded me suspiciously. “Why you doing this?”
I shrugged and figured he deserved the truth. “Not so long ago I was about to be homeless. I’m not and I’m grateful.”
He nodded, holding on to the cup with both hands. “Coffee tastes good. Thank you.”
“You eaten lately?” I asked.
“I’m okay. I’ll head to Sally’s for breakfast.”
“Sally’s?” I didn’t know of any restaurant in the area by that name.
“The Salvation Army. We call it Sally’s around here.”
That explained it. “You take care.”
He nodded and saluted me with the cup. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I headed back into The Corner Café and found Sadie waiting for me, hands braced against her hips. I respected Sadie; she called it like she saw it and didn’t take any guff from the customers or the staff. We worked well together.
“You’re encouraging that old man to hang around here,” she said, cutting me with a look.
“Just bought him a cup of coffee. In case you didn’t notice, it’s cold out there.”
“I noticed.” Glancing over her shoulder, she looked into the kitchen. “Don’t you let Frankie know what you’re doing. He doesn’t take kindly to the homeless hanging around here.”
“Gotcha,” I whispered back.
Sadie started filling the napkin dispensers at the counter. “That soft heart of yours is going to be a problem. You can’t save the world, Shay.”
“True,” I agreed, “but I can give one old man a cup of coffee.”
Sadie threw back her head and let out a roar of a laugh. The door opened and we had our first customer of the morning. We did a bustling business between six and nine, both of us running our feet off.
I didn’t have time to think of anything else other than getting those breakfast platters out while the food was hot. At ten-thirty, business had slowed down to a trickle. It was the break Sadie and I needed before getting hit with the lunch crowd.
Frankie, the owner, had a reputation for serving comfort food and for giving customers their money’s worth. One of his breakfasts would feed me for three meals. My one meal a day came from the café and I made sure it lasted. I was saving my money for business classes. Tips were decent, and collecting a paycheck helped me meet expenses.
“What are you doing for Christmas?” Sadie asked, while resting her feet and sipping a cup of coffee. Because she was older and had seniority, she got the first coffee break.
“I’ll be with friends.” Lilly Palmer had invited me to join her family. I’d hardly known what to say when she’d asked me to come to her house. The invitation had been unexpected. It showed her belief in me that she was willing to open her home and introduce me to her family. Her trust was a gift, same as it had been with Drew and his children. It made me more determined than ever not to disappoint her.
After my own break, which was shorter than I would have liked, the lunch crowd started to arrive. Frankie baked his own bread, and his sandwiches were some of the most popular items on the menu. I was sure the special, his meatloaf sandwich, would sell out before noon.
I served the counter while Sadie and Alice managed the floor. As soon as one seat emptied, someone else took the spot. After removing the dirty dishes and wiping the area clean, I looked up to greet my new customer.
Drew.
I nearly dropped the water glass, and right away my heart started this crazy staccato beat that echoed in my ears.
“Hi,” I said, trying desperately to hide my nervousness.
“Hi.” He reached behind the sugar canister for the plastic-coated menu.
“What can I get you to drink?” I asked.
“Coffee.”
“You need cream?”
“No, thanks.”
I poured him a cup and returned the glass pot to the heater. The ding behind me told me an order was up and I quickly turned, hoping it was one of mine. I needed an excuse to move away and calm my pounding heart. Unfortunately, it was Alice’s order.
“What’s the soup today?” Drew asked.
“Cream of broccoli.”
He scrunched up his nose. “How’s the chili?”
“I haven’t had any complaints.” I hadn’t sampled it myself, but it appeared to be a popular menu item.
“Anything you’d care to recommend?”
“Sandwiches are popular,” I told him. “Frankie bakes the bread himself. Today’s special is a meatloaf sandwich.”
Drew nodded and I reached for my ordering pad and the pencil tucked behind my ear. “I’ll give the chili a try.”
“How about some cornbread with that?” I asked. Sadie had been after me to upsell as much as possible.
“Is it homemade?” he asked.
I nodded. “Frankie does all the baking here.”
“Then the cornbread it is.”
“Great,” I said. I tore the order off the pad, placed it on the circular device, and whirled it to be sure Frankie and Jim, his assistant, had it in plain view.
While I waited for Drew’s chili and cornbread to come up, I gave the man two stools down from Drew his check and collected the dirty dishes from the customer at the far end of the counter. The whole time I worked, my hands trembled as if this was my first day.
The kitchen had Drew’s order up in minutes. I knew it wouldn’t take long. I delivered it with the plate of cornbread and brought him the dish with foil-wrapped pats of butter.
Noticing that his coffee cup was half empty, I reached for the coffeepot and automatically filled it.
“Are you still willing to go shopping with me later this afternoon?” he asked.
I nodded. “Sure.”
“What time do you get off?”
“I can be ready to leave here by two-fifteen.”
“Okay, I’ll stop by and get you then.”
I hesitated. I’d rather not leave from the café, especially wearing my uniform. “Would it be all right if I went home and changed clothes first?”
He nodded. “Sure. You want me to pick you up there?”
“Please. Make it at three. You remember where my place is?”
Reaching for his spoon, he grinned and nodded.
“See you then.”
After that I got busy, and other than leaving Drew the check, I didn’t get a chance to talk to him again.
As Sadie, Alice, and I finished cleaning up just before closing, Sadie sidled up to me. “You want to tell me about that good-looking guy who had you all flustered?”
I wanted to pretend I didn’t know who she was talking about but I knew it would be a waste of breath. Little slipped by Sadie. She’d been waiting tables for nearly twenty-five years and had been the one to train me. I was still new enough for her to keep tabs on me and my interactions with customers. She’d been quick to tell me what I was doing wrong, and equally quick to compliment me when I did well.
“That’s Pastor Douglas from Seattle Calvary.”
Sadie’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “You got the hots for a man of God?”
“I…he’s a friend.” I could feel the heat invading my cheeks.
“He’s eye candy.”
“Sadie!” I cried.
“He married?” Alice asked, joining us.
“Widowed. He asked me to go Christmas shopping with him for his children.”
Sadie and Alice exchanged knowing looks.
“Don’t make anything more of this than it is,” I warned my friends. “Drew isn’t interested in me romantically.”
“Drew, is it?” Alice asked.
Right away I realized the mistake I’d made by calling him by his first name. I wanted to groan. While I wanted to believe that Drew might be interested in me that way, I was realistic enough to know it was unlikely. Again I warned myself that letting my thoughts wander in that direction would be ill-advised.
Thankfully Sadie and Alice didn’t bombard me with any more questions. As soon as my shift was over, I hopped the bus and hurried home. I showered quickly and changed into jeans and a sweater. By the time Drew arrived I was dressed and ready.
He parked outside my house, and not waiting for him to get out of the car, I stepped outside and walked over to where he’d parked. To my amazement, he climbed out and came around to open my door.
Dumbfounded, I stared at him. No man had ever done that for me before. It was such a simple gesture, kind and thoughtful. I was tempted to say something and found I couldn’t get the words out. I couldn’t imagine Shooter or any other man I’d been with doing anything like that.
Once inside the car, we seemed to struggle with a topic of conversation. I was afraid he might have regretted asking me to shop with him. Wanting to ease the tension, I asked him about his lunch.
“The chili was great.”
“I’m glad. I’d feel bad if I steered you wrong.”
The exchange was followed by a tense silence, as if we were both uncomfortable. “I checked online for the doll Sarah mentioned.”
“You have a computer now?” he asked.
“No. I got a smartphone. It was a gift from Sadie when she upgraded.”
Drew glanced over at me. “That’s great.”
“Yeah. It’s a good thing.”
“I thought I’d buy one for Mark this year,” Drew said. “From what I understand, all the kids at school have them now. He’s never mentioned wanting one, but I figure it’s time.”
“That’s a good idea.” Actually, I was surprised Mark didn’t already have a phone.
“His own phone and a couple videogames for his Xbox and that’s all he needs. Sarah’s the one who has me worried.”
“I think she’d enjoy getting her ears pierced,” I suggested.
“Sarah? She’s only nine.”
He sounded shocked at my suggestion. “It’s just a thought.” But it was one thing I knew she’d like.
“Did she mention it?”
I nodded. “In passing. Just that a friend of hers had Dory earrings. You could buy her the earrings with the promise of getting her ears pierced after Christmas.”
“I suppose that will work,” he said, as though still mulling over the suggestion.
Drew drove to the mall at Northgate, and once we found a parking spot we were on a mission. Within two hours we had purchased everything he’d mentioned and a few items more.
My one purchase was a pair of gloves for Richard, the homeless man I’d met that morning. I’d noticed how chapped his hands were when he held the coffee.
As we headed back to the parking lot, Drew hesitated as we walked through the cosmetics section of Macy’s. Frowning, he stopped and studied a display of perfumes.
The sales clerk appeared as if by magic. “Can I help you?” she asked.
Feeling a bit awkward, I stood back and waited.
“I need a bottle of…I think it’s called Beautiful,” he said, as he continued to study the display case.
The clerk brought out several sizes and mentioned if he purchased the eight-ounce bottle he would receive a free gift. The price was over a hundred dollars, but Drew didn’t hesitate.
“This is for someone special,” he said, and handed over his credit card.
If I ever needed the reminder that I was out of Drew’s league, this was it. Whoever was getting the expensive bottle of perfume was someone he’d known a long while and whose taste he was familiar with.
No, this perfume was for someone special in his life.
And it definitely wasn’t me.