Neverwhere’s Universe

All Season’s Café: Music, Poetry & Books

It’s a slow day at the All Season’s Café today. It’s in the middle of the week and we don’t have any musical performances or poetry readings going on this evening. The café has its usual clientele – struggling students, the old couple Alfie and Ruth, the hard-working musicians, the avid readers that come in here to read a book. There are also some other people sitting by the tables near the counter – a group of younger girls and a few ballplayers. It’s quiet and I enjoy the silence and calm for a while.

We have just fixed the Café up with some fall-time decorations and the seasonal menu to go with it. We follow the seasons and always decorate and fix the menu after the season – hence the name “All Season’s Café”. Fall time is my favourite season so it’s fun to go to work with the cosy vibe of fall colors and decorations. We change the cups and stuff also after the season, so pumpkin mugs, plates and a lot of candles are surrounding me at this time of the year. We also have a fall-time playlist playing softly in the background to enhance the fall vibe. Of course we have fall-time specials also – so pumpkin-spice beverages and pumpkin soups and pies are also a part of the theme. Of course we have a lot of other things on the menu too, for those who don’t want the seasonal menu, but I really love the concept of following the seasons. We also change the book displays so some of them are following the theme too.

Since it’s slow, I am going through the sugar and salt packages by the counter when I suddenly get a feeling of excitement. I look up, only to meet a pair of beautiful brown eyes looking at me.

He’s got a smile on his face – I guess he is having a good day today. I get all weak in the knees. I always do when he’s around.

• Hi, he says. Georgia, right? He’s pointing at my nametag and his smile is even more charming than usual today.
• Yes, I stammer, welcome. I hate that my voice always seems to lose its usual confidence when he’s around.

Normally I am confident and secure in myself, but it’s something unnerving about this man – in a good way. He’s not a creep. I have since long ago learned to discern creepy customers from the ones that are ok. But this man – he looks so handsome and he seems so nice at the same time…Normally, with good looks like that…it’s creeps, but this man doesn’t give off that kind of vibe.

-What can I get you today? I ask, my voice is a little stronger this time.

– Hot cocoa with whipped cream and a piece of Shepherd’s Pie, please, he says. But now he seems a bit shy and nervous all of a sudden. My name is Patrick, by the way, he says and smiles at me again.

-Oh, ok, I answer – surprised – so Patrick – I’ll get you your order, please sit down, I say.

-Ok, thanks Georgia, he says as our eyes meet again.

Again I feel like the world is stopping for a moment. I get mesmerized by his beautiful eyes and the look he gives me. I try to shake the feeling as I go back to fix his order.

Patrick has been coming to the Café recently. I think he may be new to the neighbourhood. I have no idea what he’s working with, but he always has a notebook, a pen and his laptop with him. I first notice him a few weeks ago, but lately he has been coming into the café more frequently.

The first time he comes to the café is on one of my worst days in a while – there are a lot of complaints that day. Also one of the worst customers with wandering eyes and hands that keep grabbing me is in the café. Eventually I get so tired of the man grabbing me I take a hold of his hand and use the weak spot between the thumb and the index finger to pressure him. He makes a big fuss about it, but I tell him that if he continues grabbing me I will call the police on him. He gets angry, so I actually call the police on him. Luckily for me, one of the other customers sees my predicament and he films the incident and also steps in when the grabby customer tries to hit me. The police has evidence, so we have since banned this man from the café – it turns out he has tried to grab some of my colleagues too. Thankfully my manager has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment so he protects his staff against it. He’s the one who has told us to call the police or a guard if stuff like that happens.

Anyways, it is when all of this commotion is going on that this man – who I now know is named Patrick – comes into the café. Our eyes meet and suddenly the time stands still – just like in one of those movies you sometimes see. It is like everything around us stops. It is only for one moment, but I feel like I have been struck by lightning. The rush of emotions that I feel is something I never experience before. His eyes calm me down in a second. He feels very familiar to me – like I have known, or met him before.

After that first time our eyes meet, I notice that I start to look for him and wait for him to visit the café. Every time he comes into the café though, butterflies fill my stomach and I go blank when I try to talk to him. I am usually confident when it comes to dating and things like this, but this guy makes me feel tongue tied for some reason. Maybe it’s because he feels familiar somehow. I even start to dream really vivid dreams about him and some of those dreams…well they are kind of spicy…and maybe that is why I find it so hard to talk to him in the “real” world…I don’t know.

When I get back to the table with his order I accidentally see that he’s writing on a music sheet.

-Are you a musician? I ask.

-No, not really, but I like to write lyrics and I have learned a few things when it comes to creating a melody to go with the lyrics I write, Patrick answers me – still a bit shy though.

-Oh, ok, I smile as I lay down his order. You know that we have music and poetry nights here, right? I ask.

-Yeah, I saw something about it on the sign outside, but I have never performed any songs I have written, he says quietly. Or read any of my lyrics out loud, for that matter.

-We have a performance here tomorrow night if you want to check it out, I blurt out, before realizing that that comment could be seen as an invite to a date. I immediately stop and feel how my cheeks are getting warm and a bit red.

-Will you be working tomorrow? he suddenly asks me.

I get flustered and stammer a bit…as I answer him – a bit surprised:

-Yeah, yes…I will be working tomorrow…my voice drifts away as I meet his gaze for a moment.

-OK, good, he answers cryptically as he looks at me.

I leave him at the table eating his pie. What was that I wonder to myself…it feels like…well maybe…a date of some kind…I feel a bit shaken up and distracted, so as I come back to the kitchen I spill half a cup of coffee all over my apron. Sam – the cook laughs at me.

• Well, Georgia…what has gotten you so flustered and distracted, he says as he smiles at me.

Sam is an older man and he has been with the café since it opened some time ago. He’s married to Maggie, one of the other of my colleagues. They are the sweetest elderly couple and they feel like family to us who work at the café.

I laugh a bit nervously, as I answer:

-Well, I don’t know – getting a bit tired I guess, I say.

-Uhum, uhm, aha…He looks at me with a knowing look in his eyes as he smiles again. He doesn’t comment on anything else, thankfully.

Music night

The next day it’s time for music night. I am feeling really nervous and excited for some reason. We have stacked up on some more fall favourites, since music night is very popular and often draws in a bit of a crowd. I like these evenings, because it’s a fun mix of people that come to the event. You have everything from the local blues band, the gospel singers to avantgarde artists and poets and occasionally even metal bands coming to listen, perform and mingle. These nights are busy, but in a good way.

At the café we sell books but also coffee blends and tea of different kinds. We also sell our seasonal mugs and stuff like that. I am not serving coffee and drinks today – I am standing at the counter where we sell the other stuff.

Maggie and Sam are serving coffee and Martin is selling books. Music nights we also have some part-time student workers, so we are fully staffed tonight. The café buzzes with activity, anticipation and conversations. There is also a lot of flirting and people getting to know each other.

I am looking for Patrick, but I haven’t seen him yet. A part of me is disappointed, but I soon get caught up in the busyness of work. The stage is booked and busy, so different artists are taking part and taking turns after one another. Tonight’s mix of music is classic soul, singer-songwriters and also a young pop duo. The music is blending in the background for me, because I have so much to do.

Suddenly I feel a familiar excitement and the butterflies in my stomach are making somersaults. Without even looking I know that Patrick is around. I look towards the door and I see him standing there looking around – For me? I wonder…He seems disappointed when he doesn’t see me, but Sam goes up to him and says something pointing at the counter where I stand. I see that Patrick is getting a bit flustered and embarrassed, but he looks at me and when our eyes meet I get that familiar feeling of getting struck by lightning and everything stops….

Weird, I think to myself….I really think that only happens in movies…Everything fades in the background and I only see him, his eyes and him smiling at me….I only see him…and he only sees me….We look at each other for something that feels like forever when he suddenly breaks eye contact.

One of the student workers suddenly comes up to me and says that she’s supposed to relieve me for a while. I am looking at Sam with a face that must look like a gigantic question mark, but he gives me a wink and urges me to come to him.

-What’s going on? I ask him. -Why is everyone acting so strange?

-You’ll see, he says and then turns me around to look at the stage, where a beautiful warm voice is starting to sing – hesitantly at first, but then stronger and stronger. Everyone in the room turns silent and all focus is now on the stage.

On stage Patrick is sitting with a guitar on his lap and sings a beautiful slow love song while looking at me intensely and with intent. The butterflies in my stomach are suddenly getting even wilder and the intensity is so strong that I almost fall down on my knees. Again it’s like time is standing still and I am completely lost. I see only him and he sees only me…The café has gone completely silent and the only thing that is heard is Patrick’s soft and warm voice singing to me. I almost start to cry at how beautiful the song is.

A moment later the song is finished and everyone is giving Patrick standing applause and ovations. He looks shy now, but he smiles happily. He leaves the stage and comes up to me, taking my hand and pulling me a bit closer to him.

The café is starting to buzz with activity again, while Patrick and I go outside. He hasn’t let go of my hand yet. He grabs my jacket from Sam who smiles broadly at us.

Outside the pumpkin lanterns are lit, it’s warm and the sky is full of stars. Patrick takes both of my hands and asks with a sincerity that feels naked:

• Do you want to be my official girlfriend, Georgia? I fall in love with you the first day I meet you, he says…and I have wondered ever since then how to approach you and get to know you better….His voice trails off and he looks at me with nervousness, but also a determination…

I am still a bit overwhelmed with all the emotions inside me, but I answer him with a shaky voice:

• Yes, of course…but maybe we should start with a real date first, I laugh sheepishly.

He laughs and says with relief:

• -Yes, let’s do that…let’s start that date now…or let’s pretend we have been on that first date…now he is more confident. He looks at me again….and again I feel the butterflies, the time stops and I only see him and he only sees me…

His face is drawing closer to mine and he takes his thumb and strokes my lips. My breath is caught in my throat as he leans closer to kiss me…When our lips meet…the world explodes in a million stars and heat rises up between us. The kiss lingers and our lips kiss with an urgency now. After a while we have to stop to catch our breath….

We both laugh and he draws me in for a warm hug – a hug that envelops all of me. It’s the kind of hug that makes me melt – all hot and bothered. Also a hug that makes me feel safe and truly loved…Suddenly my world feels new and exciting and everything feels right.

So….this is how a new and exciting beginning feels…I am ready for a new adventure…I hope we both are 😃