Part 3 of 6

Monday, November 26.

Jenkins had let me keep the morning Monday shift and adjusted my schedule for the rest of the week. If that meant not working on Wednesday nights then I’m happy. Sure the morning rush was busy than the afternoon scarcity, it would be worth it when Dexter would come in.

Today’s Monday Riddle was: What four days of the week start with the letter ‘t’?

The pumpkin spice lattes became less ordered as the holiday drinks like the eggnog latte and gingerbread latte came into season. I had spent Black Friday shopping for some small gifts for my family and was secretly hoping Dexter was working at one of the shops I went in. Out of all the shops I went to on this block, he wasn’t there. The only store I didn’t go to was StarTwix.

The door chimed at 7:45am on the dot, and in walked Dexter, glasses on.  He stood in line behind two ladies who couldn’t decide which drink to get. They let Dexter get in front of them as they kept talking between each other.

“What can I get for you?” Jerry asked.

“A small peppermint hot chocolate with soy,” he responded pulling out his fall leaves card.

I grabbed a new cup before Jerry could. “I got it,” I said as I wrote Dexter’s order on it. I was working on it when he walked over to the pick-up table.

“By the way, the answer to the riddle is Tuesday, Thursday, today and tomorrow.” He had one hand in his pocket and the other holding onto a skateboard.

“Really now?” I asked trying to keep my nerves down as I poured the heated soy milk into the cup with peppermint and chocolate. I topped it with a light amount of whipped cream and a bit extra chocolate chips. I put the lid on the delicious concoction and passed it to him.

“Yes. Now when do you get off your shift?” he asked holding the cup with his free hand.

“In about ten minutes. Why?” I asked getting the next order started.

“So we don’t have to rely on fate anymore.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Sure why not.” I smiled at him and he smiled back before taking a sip of the drink. He gave a small wave and moved to one of the small tables by the window. He would glance at his phone, take a sip of his drink, and then look out the window.

Time moved faster as I waited and I made two peppermint hot chocolates handing Jerry a wrinkled five as I walked out of the back room. When I came back out with my stuff, Jerry handed me the five back, folded neatly in half.

“He answered the riddle correctly, Matty,” Jerry said as I pocketed the money. I grabbed the two drinks and walked towards Dexter’s table in the corner. He’d already thrown his cup away a while ago and was looking out the window, tapping his fingers in boredom.

“Here’s a small soy peppermint hot chocolate for Dexter.” I placed the cup on his table as he turned his head towards me.

“You didn’t have to buy me another drink,” he said standing up.

“It’s no big deal, plus you did answer the riddle. So what’s this about putting fate out of commission?” I took a sip of my drink.

“Well first things first,” he said as we exited the coffee shop. “I don’t know your name.”

“It’s Matty.”

“So, Matty, is that short for something?”

“Don’t laugh, but it’s Matilda.” Well he didn’t spit out his coffee or anything; most guys are revolted by my regular name. We fell in to silence, sipping on our drinks. When we got to the light, I broke the silence. “So… Do you go to Harvard?” I tossed my empty drink into the trashcan next to the light pole.

“Yeah.” He copied me by putting his cup in the trashcan too. “I’m a math major. What are you studying?”

The light turned red for traffic and the pedestrian light came on, allowing us to cross.

“Well, I wanted to be a scientist but it wasn’t what I thought it would be. So, yeah… It’s just a science major now.” I could face-palm myself. He has a light smile on his face, that’s good right?

He glanced at his watch and the smile went away. “I’m sorry, Matty, but if I don’t leave now I’ll be late for class.”

“Yeah, I better get going too. See you around, Dexter.” I gave him a simple wave.

“See you around too, Matilda.” He smiled, gave a short wave and then took off in a jog before hopping onto his skateboard.

I went to pull out my keys from my front pocket but instead the crumpled five dollar bill came out in its little square. I was about to put in it my bag for safe keeping when I noticed something odd about it. Tucked inside the folded dollar was a card.

It was blank. I flipped it over just to check if the other side was blank too.

No. Way.

Written in neat penmanship was a series of numbers and then his name.

Dexter gave me his number. Well technically Jerry handed it to me. But still, I have his number.

I tucked the card safely in my bag before starting my motorcycle. I revved my engine before pulling out onto the busy street; my mind reeling with the possibilities with this boy. I can’t mess this up.