The first day of fall. Colorful leaves, flannels, and boots. The leaves flutters and lands on the grass with drops of rain sliding off their veiny surface. But standing inside the Starbucks Coffee on the corner of 22nd street, pumpkin spice lattes fill the air with the tart fragrance of cinnamon and whipped cream. All I can hear is the coffee dripping into the pot just feet behind.
The bell rings. Our first customer. Of the day and of the season. A red and blue plaid shirt. Dark wash jeans. Shiny, golden hair identical to the leaves outside the window. But most of all, the bright green eyes. The perfect creature walks towards me as I adjust my black Kate Spade glasses.
I look at the register screen for a reminder of what to say, “Hi. Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get you today?” I look up at the customer and open my mouth but all that comes out is my shaky voice saying, “Hi…”
“I’ll have a Cinnamon Chai Latte.” the customer says looking up at the menu, “Grande, please.”
I scribble down the order on a grande cup and ask for a name. “Joey.” I hear as I click the register screen to type in the order. My mind wanders off thinking how much more perfect can a name get.
I know in the back of my head that I need to say something about picking up the order at the end of the counter, I open my mouth and all that comes out is a, “Bye…”
A small line of customers start to form in front of me, but I get distracted watching Joey walk out sipping on his latte.
All day I take orders of pumpkin spice lattes. Thirty minutes left of my shift and there’s no line and no customers. With nothing to do, I find myself drinking a cinnamon chai latte. The bell rings and I put my latte down in a spilt second and look up, making sure it looks like im working. A young guy in a gray American Eagle shirt walks through the front door. His green eyes glow with every step he takes. He looks exactly like Joey, just with different clothes. Still just as attractive. Not knowing if he even remembers me, I don’t say anything about him in the morning. I take down an order of a venti gingerbread latte and ask for a name just as I start to write “Joey”, but just as scribble down the “J”, he says his name is Joe. I paused for a second thinking about how sure I was that it was Joey in the morning. I convince myself that Joe and Joey are the same name and continue on with his order.
The next morning, I get up early just to look nice expecting to see Joey again. I get to Starbucks and just as I turn on the register, the bell rings, and I see those green eyes that no one could ever forget. As Joey walks in, I say, “Hi! Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get you today?” Proud of myself, for not having to check the register and saying the actual line, I raise my head and stare into his eyes.
“A grande cinnamon chai latte. Again” says Joey as we laugh together.
Right before I write down Joey as his name, I double check and say, “It’s Joey, right?”
“That’s right!”
“You can pick up your order at the end of the counter. Bye.”
After Joey grabs his drink, he circles back around looking like he’s lost. But seeing there’s no one in line, he comes back to the register sipping on his latte.
“Hi again!” I say out loud.
“Hey. I’m Joey. As you know.”
“I’m Jess. Nice to meet you.”
Our conversation starts out with multiple awkward “hi”s and “hello”s but we somehow end up arguing about football and sharing our hatred for pumpkin spiced lattes, horror movies, and clowns. Once a line forms, he walks out leaving me with heart eyes.
During my break I sit on one of the couches, secretly waiting for Joey. After a while I get bored and end up scrolling through my phone for no reason. I open my mail and I hear the air leak out of the cushion next to me. I peek up, and while turning off my phone, I check myself in the reflection of the black screen, and look up.
“Hi!” I say way too loud.
“Hey. Nice to see you again.” says Joey leaving a cloud of pumpkin spice latte in the air.
“I thought you didn’t like pumpkin spiced lattes.”
“What do you mean? It’s my favorite.”
I become a statue or several seconds thinking about the last couple of hours. I was positive he said he hated pumpkin lattes. Maybe he ordered the wrong thing, made and mistake and didn’t want to admit it. But then I realize Joey is too perfect to make a mistake and answer back.
“Yeah, I have no idea why I just said that.” I say back to my shaky voice.
“Oh, and I’m Joe”
“Yeah, I’m Jess.” I say thinking how we already introduced each other.
We end up talking about movies. Again.
“Have you seen ‘The Boy’?” Joe asks, trying to find something to talk about.
“No. No. No. I hate horror movies! I thought I told you that.”
“Oh, you did? I love horror movies. They are my favorite.”
I look at him for another several seconds and ask myself about what happened to the Joe in the morning who hated horror movies. I put that though aside trying to not look weird by just sitting still and staring at him.
We sit in awkward silence, so I finally get the nerve to say, “So I’ve got to get back to work but do you-”
“Yeah, sure. Mine is 534-098-2199.” Joey says cutting me off and, saying yes to my question at the same time.
“Thanks,” I say while typing his number into my contacts. “Mine is 534-422-4098.”
I start to type in his contact name as “Joey” but he stops me and says with a smile, “It’s Joe, not Joey.”
I awkwardly smile back and correct his name. As I get up and walk back behind the counter, he walks out the door. I look back at him one more time and I find him looking back at me too. I turn around, feeling my face warm up, definitely blushing.
Sometimes it’s Joey, sometimes it’s Joe. How confusing, and mysterious, and attractive.
That night, I sit on my couch debating whether to be the first one to text Joey or Joe or whoever it is, first. As I move my arm to put my phone on the coffee table, it lights up along with my phone vibrating. I check quickly and nervously hoping that Joe texted me but knowing it’s not him. I type in the passcode on my phone and the screen that pops up is the conversation page for Joe. All that he sends is a “hi”, but that’s all I need to make me happy.
I bring up about how the Philadelphia Eagles just lost during that week, but he replies saying, “cool, im not really into football anyways.
This time, I was positive we were talking about football earlier, but I didn’t want to get into an argument about who said what so I let it slip past.
Our conversation goes on for what seems like forever, but after half an hour of text messages back and forth, we both stop texting each other and we end with a “bye”
I get to work and as always the first customer of the day is Joey. Or Joe. Even before I get to see him walk through the doors, I know it’s him. He walks in wearing a purple and blue plaid shirt and right away I pick up a grade cup and start to write “CCL” for cinnamon chai latte. I turn the cup around to write Joe, but stop as I get to the “o” and wait for Joey, or Joe, to get up to the register just to make a sure I get the name right. He comes up to the register and says, “Hi again. Looks like you memorized what I get every day.”
“Yup. A cinnamon chai latte. Grande.” I say as I write “Joe” on the grande cup slowly hoping that he would correctly me if I get it wrong. After writing “Joe” I stop for a second and look up just as he corrects me and laughs, “Its Joey!”
I add a “y” and hand the grande cup to another worker.
Although, Joey’s drink is ready and waiting on the other side of the counter, he stays for a conversation.
“So are you working tomorrow?” Joey says looking excited.
“Actually, I’m not!” I say wondering why he looks so happy.
“Want to meet up?”
“Sure! How about at Central Park?”
“At 1?” he says as I nod.
“I’ll be there!”
He says that he’s busy and has to get to work as he walks off and grabs his drink. I wave bye, blushing as he walks out the door. The rest of the day, I wait for the afternoon Joey to come but he never does come. I wait until my shift is over and text him back right away.
Me: hey where were you today
Joe: I had a meeting and couldnt come
Joe: I have another meeting in about 10 min
Me: okay. but i’ll see you at the entrance of central park tomorrow right
Me: at 1
Joe: um sure. im pretty sure im free at that time
The way I read the message to myself, definitely makes it seem like he is totally confused. It’s almost like he wasn’t even there when we made those plans. Maybe he just forgot after his meeting or maybe he’s just trying to confuse me.
I get up early to dress nice in a navy blue and black flannel, black leggings, and my new leather boots. I walk out of my apartment way too early, but I just don’t want to be late. I listen to music as I go to the bench right at the corner of central park.
I start to see a guy in the same flannel shirt Joey, or Joe, wore the first time I ever him. From the opposite side, on the sidewalk, I see a guy wearing the same American Eagle shirt on the first day and second time I ever saw Joey, or Joe. I get so confused, I continuously turn my head back and forth, not understanding what is actually happening.
Then I look up and both guys are basically right in front of me. They both wave, and say, “Hi Jess!”
At the same, exact, time.
The two guys who are apparently Joe and Joey start questioning each other. I sit there awkwardly for what feels like an hour. Joe and Joey catches attention of everybody in the park by yelling at each other just as I walk away.