Hey Jill. Thanks for picking up.

No problem, Jo. What’s up?

There’s no meeting of the club tonight.

No? Why not?

I’m not sure. Jessica said the meeting was off. I think she might be on a date or something.

Oh. I didn’t know she was like seeing anyone or anything.

Yeah. I don’t think she was. But this afternoon after class we went to this coffee shop. You know the one on Cedar?

Yeah.

So they had this new barista. And I could tell right away that something was wrong.

With the barista?

No, with Jessica. I think she might have been smitten. This barista had this smooth, beautiful coffee colored skin. You know, like chocolatey but with cinnamon. And she was so sleek and slender.

So I ordered my usual, green tea and a bag of roasted pistachios. Jessica usually gets green tea, too, and sometimes a muffin, but this time she ordered a Cappuccino. I’d never been with her when she ordered a Cappuccino before.

Did she order the muffin?

No, just the Cappuccino. And the barista said she’d bring it out, so we went to a table, and Jessica kept glancing over at the girl, she was maybe twenty, twenty-one. I asked Jessica if something was wrong, and she said no. But her voice was strange, like unsure, a little irritated. Then she sort of scowled and said something like, “I have to paste her.” She said it more or less to herself, so maybe she said, “I have to paint her” or even, “I have to taste her.” And just then the barista starts coming around with the Cappuccino, and Jessica gets up, and she goes to meet her.

And the barista starts to hand Jessica the cup, and she says something, like maybe, “Watch out, it’s hot,” or something like that, and Jessica starts to take the cup, but it jostles, so some of the Cappuccino gets on Jessica and some splashes on the barista. I couldn’t tell how much, really, but probably quite a lot, and the barista says, “Oh Gosh, are you okay?” and I don’t hear what Jessica says, and the barista says, “Let’s get you cleaned up,” and they go to the bathroom. They’re in there for a really long time, like ten minutes, and I go to the door and tap and ask if everything’s okay, and I hear Jessica say, “Yeah, yeah, fine,” and then I hear kind of a giggle, so I go back to the table. They come out a little later. Jessica’s top is like splotched with I don’t know, water and Cappuccino. And I ask her if everything’s okay, and she says yeah, and then she says there won’t be a meeting tonight and I should tell you, and then we head out, and that’s all I know. Strange, huh?

Yeah, strange. So do you think they’re like getting together? And how come I wasn’t invited to the coffee shop?

I don’t know, but maybe next time I’m going to order the Cappuccino.