Count on Me

Chapter One: The Countdown

Katrina Portokalos chewed on her lip as she packed everything in her front pocketed backpack for work, she couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something; she did a double check that she had everything just to be sure. 

The last thing that Katrina wanted was to be late for work, she would never hear the end of it from her father and she knew that it really wouldn't be worth it. 

Working at the family restaurant might not have been the best job in the world but Katrina knew that it was better than nothing, she was only a waitress but sometimes her brother, Nick, allowed her to take his shifts in the kitchen to give her a break. 

Chewing on her lip, Katrina tried to remember what she was forgetting and she knew that there was something big but she really couldn't figure out what it was that she was forgetting. 

"Katrina... you are going to be late," Maria Portokalos scolded walking into the kitchen to find her youngest still at home, she had expected Katrina to already be out the door yet here she was. 

Maria knew that her youngest was struggling, her two eldest sisters had already found their soul-mates and yet Katrina was still waiting; the family were all hopeful that when her timer finally ran down that she would end up with a nice Greek boy. 

"I'll see you later Ma," Katrina murmured kissing her mother on the cheek before she grabbed her bag and hurried out of the house so that she would be able to make her shift. 

Maria smiled knowing that the family were all excited, she moved to the calendar and peeked at the date marked on it; she couldn't believe that today would be the day. 

It surprised her how calm Katrina was right now especially considering how nervous Maria had been when she had met Kostas for the first time; she smiled knowing that after today that everything would be fine.

***

"You're late," Nick Portokalos teased when Katrina burst into the restaurant, he leant against the counter as she hurried to stick her bag behind the counter and grab her apron; she peeked around glad to see that the morning rush hadn't started yet. 

Taking a deep breath, Katrina couldn't wait for her cousin Angelo to finish fixing the plumbing in her apartment; it was so much closer to the restaurant than her parents' house, she missed having her freedom to come and go when she pleased. 

"So how are you feeling?" Nick asked eyeing the print twist knot jersey top and jeans that she was wearing, she looked nice and he was sure that whoever Katrina ended up with would be wonderful and would look out for her. 

Katrina stared at her older brother, she had no idea why he was acting so weird; she moved to make fresh coffee knowing that she might not have the chance to when things got moving. 

"I'm fine thank you Nick," Katrina replied turning to face him, she peeked across the room as her father and aunt walked inside; she had a feeling that she was missing something and she was sure that they both had things to do that morning. 

Kostas had insisted that Katrina do the early shift since he had a meeting with the accountant, it was the main reason that Katrina was here yet he had just walked in the restaurant without any sign of the accountant. 

"Not even a little nervous?" Nick teased slowly starting to realise that Katrina hadn't even looked at the inside of her wrist, he was excited and he knew that if their family had their way then they'd all be here to see this moment.

Katrina poured them both a cup of coffee, she eyed her brother not knowing what he was talking about; she peeked about glad that everything seemed so calm right now and it wasn't going to last for long. 

"Nervous about what?" Katrina asked handing him the coffee, she sipped on her own knowing that it would be a busy morning and she wouldn't get take a break until just before lunch when it would all pick up again. 

Nick couldn't help but grin, he couldn't believe that his baby sister hadn't realised that her timer would max out today; he knew that the rest of the family had remember and they were all dying to see who she would end up with. 

"Your wrist," Nick said smiling, he knew that it could be anyone and that the timer didn't mean that Katrina would end up with someone that was Greek; their older sister Toula was evidence to that happening, it had been a very big surprise to them all. 

Katrina stared at Nick for a moment before she slowly looked down at the timer that marked the inside of her left wrist; she blinked seeing that it was on its final count down. 

Opening and closing her mouth for a moment, Katrina couldn't help but stare at the numbers as it continued to count down on her arm; she hadn't even realised that this was actually going to happen. 

0000 d. 01 hr. 23 m. 56 s. 

It had never crossed Katrina's mind that this day would actually come, she had always pushed the idea that she would actually meet her soul-mate one day; she couldn't help but feel sick realising that no matter what happened she was going to meet the person that was meant for her. 

0000 d. 01 hr. 22 m. 35 s. 

"I'm sure he'll be great," Nick said patting his sister on the shoulder before he left her alone, he had to get back to the kitchen and he knew that people would be arriving soon wanting to be feed. 

Not saying a word, Katrina rubbed the thumb of her right hand over her left wrist; she peeked about not knowing what to do now.

***

Katrina hadn't been able to stop peeking at her wrist every few moments, she honestly couldn't believe that Nick had to point it out to her; she had no idea who was going to be the other person but she knew that it was all going to be a shock. 

0000 d. 00 hr. 2 m. 35 s. 

The last hour had just disappeared and Katrina couldn't help but continue to peek at the door every few seconds, whoever walked through next would be her soul-mate; she felt ill not knowing what else to do while she waited. 

The door opened and two old men walked into the room followed by a group of younger ones, Katrina's stomach seemed to flip knowing that one of them could be the person that she was waiting for. 

Katrina chewed on her lip and moving to serve some coffee, she tried to keep her face neutral as she served first the old men glad that there was no sign of her timer timing out there before she moved to the younger men. 

0000 d. 00 hr. 1 m. 10 s. 

Starting to pour out coffee for the table of younger men, Katrina kept her head down not actually knowing what to do in this situation; she tried to resist the urge to stare at her timer as it counted down the last minute. 

"You're late," one of the men called turning to look at the late-comer, they didn't pay much mind to the waitress instead focusing on talking about the training session glad that it was over. 

0000 d. 00 hr. 0 m. 5 s. 

Katrina moved away a little confused about why she hadn't felt anything, she knew that she would be able to check her timer when she got to the counter. 

However just as she turned, Katrina found herself bumping into the man behind her and he quickly grabbed onto her arm to steady her so that she didn't fall to the floor.