For Challenge #2
Using the lines:
- I'm just trying to make some sense out of these girls
- I'm just waiting on a friend
- Remember what I said
- I'm not waiting on a lady
Waiting on a Friend
by Mandy
Katie’s Kafe was a small café located just outside of Falls Church. The outside patio had picnic tables and brightly colored umbrellas; all the kids loved it. There was even a spot where they could color pictures and hang them in the window. The inside, however, was classy and elegant. There were the best tables and furniture that money could buy, and the countertop of the bar was made out of the best marble known to man. The owner, Katie, a very sweet and bubbly woman in her sixties, had certainly spent a fortune on making sure her café was the finest there was.
Like most cafés, Katie’s Kafe was noted for their excellent coffee and cappuccinos. But it didn’t end there. She had sensational Italian entrees, such as homemade pasta, sauce, meatballs, calzones, hot sandwiches, and the best homemade bread in the tri-state area. Katie’s homemade ice-cream, with flavors such as Cherry-Berry, was another reason why she was so popular with children.
Harm sighed as he walked up the small pathway that led to that patio of Katie’s Kafe. He had just returned from a long TAD assignment overseas and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. But he made a promise to someone very important that, as soon as he returned, he would take them out for ice cream. And everyone knows - Commander Rabb does not make a promise he cannot keep. Harm sat down at one of the brightly colored picnic tables and waited for that very important person to arrive.
He couldn’t have been waiting for more than five minutes when a woman walked over to where he was sitting. Her shoulder length, blonde, curly hair blew in the light summer breeze, and the diamond earrings she wore sparkled in the sun. “Are you alone?” she asked.
“Uh, actually, no,” Harm answered. “I’m just waiting on a friend.”
“A friend, huh?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “We’ve had this planned for a very long time. I’m just waiting for them to arrive.”
Her disappointment that the handsome Naval officer was taken was evident.
“Oh, I see.” Then, she turned on her heel and continued her way into the café.
A few moments later, Harm heard the tap of shoes on the stone walkway and turned around to see who it was. He smiled when he saw Katie.
Katie crossed her arms. “I almost didn’t believe one of my waitresses when she said you were here. I was beginning to wonder if you forgot all about me.”
“I could never forget about you, Ms. Amero. I was overseas for the past month and a half.”
Katie’s face broke into a smile. “I know. Your mother told me when we talked a few weeks ago.”
“You and mom still talk about me?”
She chuckled. “Of course we do. After all, I have known your mother since grade school, and I was there the day you were born, young man. I have every right to talk to your mother about you.”
Harm smiled back. Katie pinched his cheeks the same way grandmas do to little toddlers. “Aww. There’s that smile I’ve been missing for so long! So, what can I get you today, Harmon?”
“I’m not sure, yet. I’ll let you know when the rest of my party arrives.”
“Very well. You just give me a holler if you need anything.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As Katie reentered the café, the blonde woman exited. “Still alone?” she asked.
“You remember what I said.”
“Maybe your lady is a no-show,” she offered.
“Oh, I’m not waiting on a lady.”
The blonde couldn’t seem to find any words and fell silent for a few minutes. “Wh-what?”
Harm crossed his arms. This was way too much fun. “I’m waiting on my godson. I was out of town on his fifth birthday, and I promised him that as soon as I returned I would take him out for ice cream.”
As if on cue, Little AJ appeared with Mac following closely behind. “Uncle Harm! Aunt Mac and I missed you!” he exclaimed as he ran to Harm.
Harm recounted some of the past month is his mind. Two days before AJ’s birthday, Harm was sent to the Seahawk. Then, three days before he came home, he received a phone call from his wife informing him that Harriet’s father was in the hospital, and Harriet and Bud had to go down to Naples, so AJ would be at their house for the time being. He shook his thoughts away just in time to pick up his godson.
“I missed you and Aunt Mac, too!” Harm stepped around the blonde and gave his wife a kiss.
“Mm. Welcome home, sailor,” Mac said. She watched as the other woman, once again, turned on her heel and marched down the cobblestone path. “What was that all about?”
Harm grinned. “I’ll explain later.” Then he returned his attention to AJ. “So, buddy, how does it feel to be five years old?”
AJ held out his hand and proudly said, “I’m a whole hand now!”
Harm ruffled his hair. “That’s right.”
Mac smiled also. “AJ, if you tell me what kind of ice cream you want, I’ll go get it while you talk to Uncle Harm.”
“Cherry-Berry, please!”
“Cherry-Berry it is. Harm?”
“Whatever you’re having.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
AJ sat down at the picnic table with his back to the window, and Harm sat across from him. “So, AJ, how was it staying with Aunt Mac?”
“Fun! But I miss Mommy and Daddy.”
“I know you miss your mom and dad. They’ll be home as soon as they know your grandpa is better.”
“I know. That’s what daddy said.”
“What did you and Aunt Mac do while I was gone?”
“We went to the park, and the space museum, and the zoo, and we made S’mores last night!”
Harm loved to see AJ so happy when he talked about the things he did with Mac. She was going to be a great mother when their baby arrived in six months. He unconsciously grinned. Another promise kept, he thought.
He glanced up at the window, still with a smile on his face, and shook his head. Katie and Mac were looking out the window at him. Katie was talking, and Mac was laughing. He was positive Katie was telling Mac about something he did when he was a kid.
“What are you doing, Uncle Harm?” asked AJ, his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.
Harm gestured to the window. “I’m just trying to make some sense out of these girls,” he pointed to Katie and Mac.
AJ looked curiously at his uncle. “What girls?”
Once again, Harm pointed to the window. “Your Aunt Mac and Ms. Amero, the owner of this place. They were talking and laughing,” Harm explained.
AJ turned around and looked in the window. His aunt was still laughing and smiling. “Why are they laughing? Aunt Mac’s been doing that a lot, …but not last night. She got sad when we watched The Lion King.”
“Well,” Harm shifted in his seat – an attempt to become more comfortable at the small table. “Ms. Amero has known me for a very long time. She’s known me ever since the day I was born, actually, and I think that she was probably telling Aunt Mac about something silly I did when I was little.”
“Oh,” AJ accepted the answer. Then, seconds later, he exclaimed, “I know why Aunt Mac is happy a lot!”
“You do?” Harm smiled. “Why is Aunt Mac happy so often?”
AJ crossed his arms, and an exasperated look played across his face. “Because of the baby, silly!”
“Oh,” Harm’s smiled grew even wider, and he nodded. “You are correct. Aunt Mac and I are very happy because of the baby.”
“Me, too!” AJ clapped his hands together and smiled. “Me and the baby are gonna be friends. I’m gonna be a very good friend!”
“Of course you will be a very good friend,” Harm stated. “Our baby will be very lucky to have a friend as nice as you.” Harm tapped AJ’s nose.
The five-year-old giggled and then stopped when he noticed Mac walk out of the café with his ice cream. “Okay,” she said as she handed AJ the cone. “Here you go, honey. Just be careful. We don’t want you to get all sticky now, do we?”
AJ wrinkled his nose. “That wouldn’t be good!”
“It wouldn’t.” Mac ruffled the little boy’s hair. “I have to go get the other ice cream cones, okay?”
“Okay.” After Mac went back into the café, AJ was silent while he focused all of his attention on eating his ice cream as neatly as possible. Once he evened it out to the best of his ability, he looked up at Harm. “Uncle Harm, when will the baby come?”
Harm quickly debated on how to answer the question. Six months would surely seem like six years to a five-year-old. “It won’t be much longer,” he decided was a reasonable answer.
“Yay!” AJ announced, “Then I’ll be done waiting on a friend!”
The End
