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Chapter One – One in a Million

Alex had always gone there, to the same place, everyday for three years, and every time he had ordered the same thing. A soy milk latté. And every time he had seen the same girl. But he doubt she really saw him.

She had dirty blondish hair, with honey highlights in it, and the most stunning brown eyes he could remember. But she wasn’t happy, he could tell by just looking at her. She kept her eyes downcast, not making eye contact with anyone as she handed them their drinks with half a smile. Once he smiled back at her, but she didn’t see notice. If she did she didn’t make it known, she’d just gone back to pouring the chai latté for the old woman behind him.


“What can I get for you?” The red head asked Alex, she offered him a small smile. He nodded back and lifted up his glasses, reading the menu behind her although he already knew what he was getting.

“One large soy milk latté,” he answered, and glanced behind her to the barista and gave a small smile.

“That’ll be four twenty five,” the red head smiled and Alex nodded, turning his attention to the task at hand. He handed her a five dollar bill and waited for the change.

“Thanks,” he said as she handed him back the usual seventy five cents, which as by ritual he dropped into the Nana jar by the till, and moved towards the bar to wait for his drink.

He stood watching her for a while, as the red headed gave her the order and placed it beside the millions of other orders to be made before his that day. He didn’t mind waiting; in fact he enjoyed it much more than the actual latté itself because it meant he could have five minutes, maybe more to himself, just thinking.

She had just poured a drink, and was just about to serve it, when it occurred for the first time in months. A tall, well built man, who Alex knew to be the manager of the small coffee shop, walked in from the back and made his way towards her.

“Brit?” the manager called, and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump a little. “Phone call. AGAIN.”

He seemed frustrated, and Alex knew why. It had happened a few months before, and it used to happen a lot. She would be working, usually right as Alex had ordered his drink, and there would be a phone call for her.

“Thanks,” she nodded, and called out the order before placing it on the bar and taking a step back. “I’ll be right there.”

She wiped her hands on her apron, and readjusted her ponytail before glancing around and tapping a nearby co-worker on the shoulder.

“Emmy, can you take over for a while? I got a…” she began and her co-worker nodded, rolling her eyes slightly.

“Yeah I know. You got a phone call,” Emmy replied and slipped on an apron. “Go on girl.”

“Thanks. I’ll only be a few minutes,” she smiled slightly, but Alex noticed she didn’t want to leave as she headed out to the back, following the manager by a foot.

She disappeared into the back, and Alex pulled himself back from his thoughts, wondering what to do now. He conceded to checking his messages and calling the office to check if there had been any messages for him.

As he pulled out his phone, he noticed a blinking light; a notice that a new message had just come through. He flipped it open and scrolled down the screen, groaning inwardly. The phone rang in his hand just as he was about to answer the message.

“Yes?” he asked, and laughed when he heard the voice on the other end.

“Dude where the hell are you? The meeting started like five minutes ago.” It was his co-worker, and long time best friend Howard Dorough, although most people called him Howie or D.

“Yeah I know,” Alex replied and rubbed the back of his neck, “I’ll be there in a bit. Give me ten minutes ok?”

“Ten minutes?” Howie laughed on the other end and Alex rolled his eyes, “What happened down there?”

“Nothing happened,” Alex answered and leaned back onto the balls of his feet, “Just a slight…” He stopped mid-sentence and listened. It was there again, that sound he hadn’t heard in a while. It was the sound of someone crying softly in the distance.

“Hello? Alex? Are you still with me?” Howie’s voice cut into his concentration. Alex shook his head and turned his attention back to his friend.

“Yeah,” he said and strained his free ear once more, but the crying had stopped. “Just thought I heard something.”

“God you’re going senile,” Howie laughed and Alex laughed with him. Maybe he was, maybe he was imagining things.

“Maybe,” Alex agreed and cast his eyes back to the back of the coffee shop where the back door had just opened. The manger stepped out, closely followed by her. “Look D, I’ll be there in a bit ok? Just stall, I’ll be there in a few.”

“A few? Hello I can’t do that, these are high powered execs who…” Howie began but Alex wasn’t paying attention as she walked back up to the bar and thanked her friend, before working on Alex’s drink.

“Thanks D. You’re a great friend. I gotta go see ya in a bit. Bye.” He hung up before Howie could say anything more to him about how badly he needed to be in the office and watched her. She discreetly tried to wipe at her eyes as she finished off his drink.

“One large soy milk latté!” she called out and Alex grinned, taking a step forward to retrieve his drink.

“Thanks,” he smiled at her, but once again she didn’t notice. She just turned her back on him, and begun making the next drink. He sighed, wondering if she would ever notice that someone smiled at her, thanking her for her efforts.

He took a step back and capped his drink, before heading out the door. He slipped his phone back into his bag and pushed open the door, looking back at her one last time as he always did. Again, as he watched her hand an older man his coffee he wondered if there would be anyway he could help her from being so miserable, and if he could help himself as well.


Britney had worked there for most of her adult life, ever since she’d started college. She remembered the first day she walked into the small coffee shop for her first day, it was so busy that no one seemed to notice she was there. But he noticed her, and now she wished he hadn’t.

He always ordered the usual. Soy milk latté. He would walk in at exactly five to eight every morning with a smile on his face and he’d always drop of seventy five cents into the Nana jar after he’d ordered his drink.

She didn’t know what it was about him, but it was
something. Maybe it was the fact that every time she looked up she’d see him, staring at her intently. It made her blush, she knew it, and everyone knew it. Even her best friend Emmy knew it. And no one, not even herself seemed to know why.

That morning, she’d walked into work and slipped on her apron and at five to eight on the dot he walked in. She made sure she had her back turned to him when he made his order.

“One large soy milk latté.” His voice was loud and clear, as if he wanted her to know. Then came the ritual clink of change, rattling into the jar and before she knew it she had a new order up on the line.

She turned her attention back on what she was doing, pouring the steamed milk into a cup and picking it up to place it on to the bar Just as she was about to place it down, she heard the back room door open and heavy footsteps walk towards her.

“Brit?” her manager, Joey, called, before placing a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump a little. “Phone call. AGAIN.”

She sighed, knowing why his voice sounded so harsh even though he didn’t mean it to come out that way.

“Thanks,” she nodded, “One London fog, no foam!” She placed the drink on the bar and took a step back. “I’ll be right there.”

She wiped her hands on her apron, and readjusted her ponytail before glancing around and tapping Emmy, who stood nearby doing merely nothing, on the shoulder.

“Emmy, can you take over for a while? I got a…” she began causing Emmy to roll her eyes, this happened a lot. Well it hadn’t happened recently, but it used to be a regular occurrence before Joey managed to stop it.

“Yeah I know. You got a phone call,” Emmy replied and slipped on an apron. “Go on girl.”

“Thanks. I’ll only be a few minutes,” she smiled slightly, but she didn’t want to leave as she headed out to the back, following slightly in Joey’s wake. She entered the back room with Joey, where he motioned to the telephone on the wall.

“You got five minutes then I need you back out there ok?” he asked and gave her a fatherly smile. She nodded and watched him leave, before picking up the receiver, placing it to her ear.

“Hello?” she asked, although she knew who it was.

“Brit?” His voice rang in her ears, he sounded annoyed. She sighed and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

“What is it Zeke?” she asked and took out her ponytail, “I’m working.”

“You think I don’t know that?” he snapped back at her, causing her to jump slightly and re-open her eyes. “You really think I would call you if I had a choice?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked him, wondering if he really meant what he said. “You wouldn’t choose to call me?”

“Who cares what it means?” he asked snippily and sighed loudly and dramatically, “All I’m saying is that you wouldn’t be my first choice if it wasn’t important.”

“So you just called me to tell me how unimportant I am to you?” she asked, and shook her head.

“No!” he called, his voice rising and falling just in one beat. “I called to…”

“I can’t do this right now Zeke,” she barley whispered cutting him off mid-sentence and sitting down on the nearby stool, “I have to work.”

“I know you do alright?” he replied angrily, “But we need to talk about the wedding.”

“What about it?” she asked, mentally running through everything in her mind. They had finalized everything last week when she’d ordered the flowers.

“I think we should reschedule it.” His answer was short, and it seemed as if this was his final word. He mouth dropped open as she heard the words.

“What?” she asked and shook her head even though he couldn’t see her.

“It’s just that something came up with work that I can’t get out of…” he explained calmly, and she rubbed her eyes.

“We can’t do that Zeke! You can’t do this to me!” she was practically yelling at him in a whisper. “I can’t just… This took months to plan and…”

“I know you can do it Brit,” he cut her off, not really wanting to hear her words as she spoke them, “Call me once everything’s finalized.” He hung up, before she could really say anything. She looked at the phone in shock, wondering if she had just imagined things. She couldn’t have.

He wanted her to re-book and reschedule everything. All her months of planning the perfect day went down the drain, her hopes of everything fading slowly before her eyes. It wasn’t until Joey knocked on the door and walked back into the room that she’d realized she’d been crying.

“Brit? Are you okay?” Joey asked, there was concern in his eyes. She stood up quickly, rubbing away the tears furiously aware her mascara was all over her face.

“Yeah,” she replied hoarsely and glanced quickly in the mirror, she looked like a mess. “I just wanna wash up real quick.”

“Okay,” Joey looked uncertain but dropped the subject knowing it would only upset her more. He offered her a smile and she turned her back to him, splashing water on her face before turning around again.

“Ok, I’m ready to get back to work,” she said trying to give him a small smile. Joey nodded and pushed open the back door, stepping out, waiting for her to follow. She did and walked up to the bar. “Thanks Emmy.”

She took over the orders from Emmy, noticing as she did so it was a Soy milk latté. His soy milk latté. She sighed inwardly, pushing the previous minutes events out of her mind and concentrating on the drink.

She quickly finished it, and as she did so she became aware of her eyes getting wet once more, and tried discreetly to wipe at her eyes without anyone noticing. But as she turned to announce the drink, he had stepped closer to the bar and was watching her intently.

“One soy milk latté!” she called, trying to sound clear as she spoke.

“Thanks,” he said taking a step forward and giving her a smile. She could feel the blush coming back, so quickly turned her back to him. Making sure to start on the next drink and try to ignore the tingling of the door as he left the shop.