What's going on in Nick's pretty little head?

Everyone has something they were meant to do. My rightful place was alongside my uncle at Banjo's. After school most kids wanted to play hockey or baseball in the streets, my passion was the cafe. It became a game to me to run around to all the tables making sure they were fully supplied with napkins, artificial sweeteners, and utensils. Uncle Tommy played along by giving me folded napkins with "secret orders" written on them. Table 3 needs more water or bathroom needs more toilet paper.

I guess the fact that I spent so much time at the cafe, well honestly all my spare time, didn't exactly help my social life. While Charlie was busy being Mr. All Star High School Super Stud I was planting the seed for my future career in the family bussiness. Don't picture me as a complete social lepper. There were a few girls here and there although none of them quite understood my love for Banjo's; unfortunately it always lead to the demise of the romance. My senior year of high school things got pretty serious with someone but when she discovered her plans to go out west for school weren't compatible with my plans to stay home and work at Banjo's well....I'm sure you can guess what happened. After prom we parted ways and I resolved to just focus on work.

Then came Katie. She immediatly caught my eye amongst the applicants fighting for one of the three open spots at the cafe. She was just sitting in a corner doodling on a napkin without a care in the world. And this girl was so cute; soft wavy brown hair pulled back, light olive skin, glasses perched up on her tiny nose. She was smiling to herself as if she was in a private joke no one else knew about. Everything in me told me I had to get to know her.

Within that first brief conversation she made a controversial joke about my uncle that would have probably offended most people, but I found her brand of humor bold and refreshing. Uncle Tommy always had this policy about hiring the person, not the application. That day I made my very first execitive decision in the ten years I had been working for my uncle.

"I found someone to work here. Her name is Katie Keppler and she has the deepest brown eyes I have ever seen. Plus she's real funny." I was seriously suffering from a case of verbal diarhea, but I was so excited that I just couldn't help it.

Uncle Tommy let out a hearty laugh, "Nick my boy, I love you like a son. Trust your instincts, if you feel we need a brown eyed beauty to work here then she's hired."

"What? I never said she was beautiful."

"Your smile and rosy cheeks gave you away. Try to play it cool around her though. The last thing I need is a sexual harrasment suit." He slung his arm around me reassurangly.

So I played it cool, a little too cool actually. I kept work strictly work for almost an entire year; never once grew a pair and just asked her out. It was a double edged sword because the more time I spent with her the more I liked her and the more I liked her the higher the intimidation factor set in. When we eventually did start hanging out at work it was to do platonic things like help her study for test. Besides I was completely convinced she didn't see me as anything other than a friend. She was this smart college girl and I was this townie. If only I were more like my cross-country girl magnet cousin.

Very passively I started having movie nights with Katie picking romantic comedies where best friends fell in love. This plan seemed genius or at least to me it did. We'd snuggle up on the couch with some junk food in the dark just the two of us. I kept thinking, make a move you idiot. Look into her eyes, sweep her hair off her face, and lean in slowly until your lips meet hers. Never happened. Nope. After a couple of months it finally hit me: Nick you are not setting the mood for a perfect romance, you are setting things up to be her girl friend. Seriously just add manicures, gossiping about boys, and braiding each other's hair. Once again I think "idiot" is the best worn label.

I didn't think it was possible to fall in love with someone you've never even kissed. Yet another thing I was clearly wrong about. Thanksgiving two years ago we were in a State of Emergency which prevented Katie from getting home to her family. Uncle Tommy invited her to join us for the holidays. He even offered up Charlie's old room for her to stay in. A melting pot of emotions ran inside me: excited, nervous, pure joy.

The moment it happened the two of us were outside building a snowman, Katie's idea by the way. Seeing the snow flakes fall onto her red knit cap, the way she was glowing in the moon light, and the smile she gave to me...I just thought to myself "it doesn't get any better than this." Everytime we're together we laugh so much it hurts my stomach. She's someone I can open up to about anything except obviously my feelings for her. And she gets me; I feel like Katie is the first person outside my family who sees my passion for the cafe as something admirable while others saw it as me settling.

Finally everuything was coming together after four years. Katie and I were living together, although as platonic roommates, hey I'll take what I can get. My OCD skills were coming to my advantage as I had been planning for weeks just how I was going to take things to the next level with the girl I had been secretly pining for for what seemed like an eternity.

I was at Banjo's after hours spreading yellow rose petals in a trail leading up to the table where we met. On the table there was a napkin where I had drawn a stick figure girl in likeness to Katie. Next to the napkin was a burnt muffin. Katie was supposed to meet me at Banjo's to help with some last minute inventory issue. Everything was all set up when my phone unexpectantly rang with an unknown number.

It was the phone call that changed everything. Charlie was back in town. I know I should have been happy to reunite with him after all these years, yet all I could think about was his horrible timing. What took me four years to do Charlie could easily accomplish in four minutes. Katie would have probably already fallen under his spell by the time I got back home.

A couple of weeks after the dreaded phone call came the dreaded conversation. Charlie strolled into the kitchen with a pile of dirty dishes in hand. After he dumped them in the sink he just went for it, "What's the deal with Katie?"

"Don't go there. She's not one of your little adventures."

"Oh, so she's one of yours?"

"It's not like that. Just leave her alone, okay?"

"No problem. It's just, well she's real cute. I'm kind of wondering why you haven't gone after her. Is there something seriously wrong I should know about? Is she really a guy?"

It didn't matter what I said or didn't say because in the end Charlie what do what Charlie wanted to do. He always did. Left Banjo's behind to go out west to school, ditched his family to travel to god knows where, and then he showed up on my doorstep without notice expecting me to cater to him. Now Katie peeked his interest for probably no other reason than the fact that she was female and lived across the hall.

He didn't know that Katie had three different laughs: the nervous one, the practical joke one, or the genuine happy feeling one. Or how about her affinity for doodling when she's anxious. Then there's the weird eating habits, she'll get her bagels with one side slathered in cream cheese and the other all buttered up claiming it's the best of both worlds. And snuggling with Katie is the perfect end to any day. She's not the type of girl you seduce and discard, Katie Keppler is the girl you fall in love with.