Meet Me At The Airport

RESET 2

(Author's Note: There are images in this chapter. If you are reading in offline mode, you won't be able to view them. Just a head's up. Happy Reading!) 

Utterly frustrated with herself, with him, and with the situation at hand, Daniella heads into Starbucks and fumes as she texts Luca, who is confused by her combativeness. A yummy-looking Barista hurridly greets her as she storms in. Her entrance is a lot louder than she anticipates.

"Hi! Welcome to Starbucks! How are you doing today?"

"I'm... lost."

"Oh." He smiles and gives her his undivided attention.

"It's just... I'm looking for the person who's picking me up and we can't find each other. We were supposed to meet just outside and he claims he's here but I don't see him... did you happen to see a tall, like 5'11", leanish shaggy-haired blonde man wandering around with a lost look on his face?" she asks. 

The yummy Barista looks around the glass windows that encases the cafe. He smiles again.

"No... I don't think so? I'm sorry." he replies.

Daniella lets out an exasperated heavy sigh. Her eyes glisten on the verge of tears as she looks around her. The Barista picks up on her glistening. "Hey, hey, hey, listen. What's your name?"

"Daniella." She responds.

"Daniella. I'm Luke. How about you settle on those high chairs over there, and I'll make you a cup on the house? What would you like?"

"Um.... it's October, so I'll take a Pumpkin Spice Latte."

Luke smiles. His smile is blissful and calming, almost like that of a monk.

"He's too calm... or maybe I have zero chill. He must meditate a lot." she thinks to herself.

"Great!" Luke exclaims as he coordinates his word with a gleeful clap.

He turns around and gets to work. Within sixty seconds, he faces her with a cup. The aroma of pumpkin spice hits her like a warm plush blanket. "Now that's more like it" she thinks to herself.

Picking up the cup, Daniella's eyes are drawn and glued to Luke's writing:

"Enjoy & Reset"

His "&" is the most perfectly executed symbol that she has ever seen in her entire life. It's even better than what her teachers taught her back in her schooldays.

As she looks at the bottom of the cup and sees her name, which reads:

"Danilla"

Of course. She shakes her head and smiles. "That's so Starbucks! Misspell-chic! Rhyming much?" she internally observes. 

Yes indeed! That is so Starbucks! Misspell-chic! It's almost like he was trying to rhyme with "Vanilla". She can't tell if it was an honest mistake or if he was trying to relieve her tension with humor. She chuckles and looks up at him. "Thanks." she says.

"Don't mention it! And take your time to settle in. No one's gonna kick you out of your chair."

"I have a feeling it might be a while. Thanks again." she concludes as she heads over to the high chairs on the other side of the cafe.

"If you need anything else, let me know Daniella!" she overhears Luke say as she walks to her seat as his kindness follows after her. 

The first thing she does after sitting down is unwrapping her mustard yellow woven scarf and placing it on the table. She sips her drink, which is perfect of course, and places it next to her scarf.