Meet me at Aphrodite’s

Meeting people is weird. You never know what meeting that random person would lead you to.

Most of the time, I walk around hoping that no one talks to me. Just the thought of someone even looking at me gives me the ick. It could be because of my “New York” attitude, or maybe because me and people never really got along. Personally, I think it’s because humans suck.

At least the ones in real life.

My happy place is a coffee shop on 59th Street and Lex. It’s called Aphrodite’s. They sell amazing coffee and food, but I mostly come for their library section. There are bookshelves along the walls, and they have so many different genres. You can just walk up and take one. Kind of like a take-one, leave-one.

Today, I walked in with the same intent I have every Friday. Go in, place my order for my Aphrodite’s Kiss—caramel and vanilla frappé—with a toasted croissant, and get a new book for the week.

The book I got last week was Verity by Colleen Hoover. She has this insane way of making you feel everything her characters are feeling, like somehow she reaches into your chest, pulls your heart out, and makes you read it.

As I’m looking over the selections, I notice a woman looking lost in the romance section next to me.

Part of me wants to help her, but the other part of me wants to avoid her.

I think I’m going with the second option.

However, as I’m scanning the books, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

“Hey, I am so sorry to bother you. Please do not freak out, but are you able to help me pick a book for my girlfriend?”

She gives me a smile that I guess other people would find attractive. But there’s a hint of “I know I look good” confidence behind it, so she loses a few points with me.

“Um, sure. What is she into?”

“No idea. I just know she reads a lot. We’re on vacation right now, and I wanted to surprise her with breakfast, but I figured since this place also has books, I can get her one too.”

She gives me that smile again.

“Do you know the last book she read?”

She reaches down to get her phone. As she starts scrolling, I notice that she has a lot of pictures of herself in a uniform.

I don’t really care to ask.

I’m just hoping she hurries up and stops talking.

She finally stops scrolling and turns her phone toward me.

“The last book she read was The Silent Patient.”

I look at the phone and then back at her.

“Oh, so she likes mystery.”

“She does?”

“Yes. You’re in the wrong section.”

I point toward the other side of the library.

“The mystery and thriller section is over there.”

She looks over at the shelves and then back at me.

“Oh. I thought romance was over here.”

I look at her for a second.

“You’re buying it for your girlfriend. You should probably know what kind of books she likes.”

Okay, maybe that came out a little mean.

But she asked.

“That’s fair.” She laughs. “I’m still learning.”

I grab a book off the shelf and look at the cover.

“If she liked The Silent Patient, she might like this one. It has a lot of twists, but I haven’t read it yet, so I can’t promise you it’s good.”

“You haven’t read it?”

“No, I did. I just felt like lying to a complete stranger.”

She laughs again. I roll my eyes.

Why does she keep laughing? I wasn’t even trying to be funny.

“You’re not freaking out right now?” she asks.

I look at her, confused.

“Why would I be?”

“Because of who I am?”

“No.”

She just stares at me.

Okay…

“You are being serious?”

I nod my head.

“Should I?”

She smiles and shakes her head.

“No. Actually, this is kind of nice.”

I don’t know what that means, but okay.

“So are you getting this? I would like to finish my frappé.”

She takes the book from me, still smiling.

“Yeah. I’m getting it.”

“Good.”

Finally, I can go back to my coffee, my book, and most importantly, not talking to people.

I turn to leave when she speaks again.

“Wait, what’s your name?”

I stop.

Of course.

I slowly turn around.

“Why?”

She laughs.

“I’m going to need an answer when she asks me who helped me pick this out.”

I stare at her for a second.

I sigh.

“Maeve Stewart.”

She smiles.

“Maeve. That’s pretty.”

I immediately regret telling her.

“And you are?”

She holds out her hand.

“Danielle.”

I look at her hand before shaking it.

“Danielle what?”

She laughs.

“Danielle Williams.”

I wait.

She waits.

I look at her.

“Okay.”

Her eyebrows shoot up.

“Okay?”

“Yes?”

She starts laughing again.

“You really don’t know who I am.”

“Nope.”

She shakes her head, smiling.

“I like you already, Maeve.”

At that moment, a group of girls walks in and runs toward her, screaming her name. I admit, I’m a little curious as to why they’re doing it, but I’m assuming it’s also the reason she was confused about why I didn’t know her.

Either way, it’s time to move on with the rest of my day.

I pack up my stuff and head toward the door.

I leave the shop and walk toward the corner.

Sam, the homeless man, lives there. He’s the nicest guy alive, who unfortunately ended up getting the short end of the stick when it comes to life.

As I walk, I start to wonder about who that woman was.

I hate that I did because now it’s going to stay in my head until I find out.

“That’s it! You just keep walking with that look on your face and no one would even dare to speak to you.”

“Ha! Sam, if only that was true.”

He gives me a small head tilt.

“A woman walked up to me in the café today. She asked for my help picking out a book and then acted surprised that I didn’t know who she was. It was actually quite weird. Right before I left, this group of girls ran up to her screaming her name.”

Maybe telling him the story would help me understand what was going on. If anything, it would at least clarify that I wasn’t crazy.

“Hmmmm… What did you say this lady’s name was?”

“I didn’t. It’s Danielle something. Williams, I think.”

He laughs.

Why is everyone laughing today?

“Maeve, even I know who she is. Look her up. You’ll thank me.”

“Okay… Maybe later. I gotta get to work.”

I hand Sam the breakfast I got him and head toward the train station.

When I get to the community center, I go straight to my office.

I help run the center for runaway teens while also teaching an art class there. It’s a nice little nonprofit center, so I also paint murals whenever I can to help with the cost of running the place.

Today, I’m supposed to have a meeting with a potential donor, but they asked to push it back a little.

Not that I mind since I’m running late myself.

Apparently, the client is a major women’s basketball team that wants to help out a local center here in Brooklyn.

I’m excited anytime someone wants to help out here.

As I’m putting together my “Get to Know Us” binder, I hear a knock on the door.

“Hey, Maevey. You ready for this meeting? They should be here in like ten.”

It’s Kate.

She’s not only my best friend, but she’s also the only person I will ever trust in this messed-up world.

“Yeah, should be done in five. You know I have to make sure everything is perfect.”

She walks in and sits on my rolling chair.

“Yeah, I know, girl! I set up the conference room for us, and I had Isaac go on a donut, croissant, and coffee run. I figured if we’re gonna go all out, we should go all out with style.”

“I love it! The binder is all ready. The presentation on why they should donate here is set in case we need it. And I have the Q&A sheet all set. Even though they’re the ones that came to us, we should still be selling them on why they should choose us.”

She smiles.

“I agree. Let’s go.”

The next couple of minutes go by pretty fast.

By the time we get into the conference room, everything is set up perfectly, just like Kate said. The donuts and croissants are set in the middle, the coffee is nicely arranged by the entrance of the room, and the binder that I might have spent too much time on is sitting perfectly in front of my chair.

The meeting goes just how you would expect it to go.

Greetings. Handshakes. Explanations of our goals and who we are.

I learn that they’re the New York Liberty team.

I give the team’s representatives the usual rundown. I tell them how we’re a center for runaway teens. We don’t just give them a place to stay; we try to give them tools they can use on their own in the real world while also giving them a chance to have fun and take classes.

They actually pay attention.

They take notes, ask questions, and give feedback on how they could help out in certain areas.

That alone makes me feel good.

After the meeting, I give them a tour of the center. I take them to each room, show them where the kids stay, the kitchen, the gym and basketball court, and anything else they want to see.

We eventually end back in the conference room, where I ask if they have any questions.

A tall blonde woman raises her hand.

“Um, yes, I actually do. As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of artwork, murals, and photos all around. I think they’re just gorgeous, and I wanted to know who the artist was.”

That warms my heart a little.

I always love hearing comments about my work.

“Yes, of course. I did a lot of them myself. The ones that I didn’t do by myself were actually done with me and the kids. I try to let them have an input on the space since this is their home.”

She smiles.

“That’s amazing! We have a new player joining our team, and community work is really important to her. She loves working with kids. We were wondering if you’d be interested in creating a mural for her?”

“Oh wow! Of course! I would love to. That would be amazing. What’s the player’s name?”

By now, I’m sure there’s no hiding my excitement. My smile is showing ear to ear, I’m talking in my happy high voice, and I’m sure my face is red.

All I can think about is being able to pay the rent on this place and maybe getting some new art supplies.

“Her name is Danielle Williams.”

My smile fades.

My face goes cold.

Danielle.

Kate bumps my arm and mouths, Are you okay?

No wonder she was surprised that I didn’t know who she was.

And now that I think about it, the uniform she was wearing in the photos was a basketball uniform. I just kind of figured it was like a college basketball team or something.

I also kind of didn’t really care enough to ask.

I guess I spend too long reanalyzing our interaction from this morning because by the time I come back to reality, Kate has already told them we’ll do it and to just send us what their vision is. We’ll be sure to get it done.

“GIRL! Are you okay? You went ghost as soon as they said that girl’s name. I would too. She is fine as fuck!”

She laughs.

“You know, I just had a dream about her last night. Maybe that dream would come true at some point. Ha! Imagine.”

She gives me a wink.

“She has a girlfriend,” I whisper.

“Huh?”

“She has a girlfriend.”

She looks confused.

“How would you know?”

“I met her this morning.”