Tonight he looked over at me with a smile and a nod signaling permission to approach the counter. Usually he works in the cafe area near the magazines, but today his duty was scanning purchases at the front of the bookstore. I walked up to the Barnes & Noble cashier clutching the most recent issues of “Allure” and “Glamour“. He already knew me.
“Green tea latte?”
It’s the same way he greets me every time I walk back to the cafe to order my nonfat, no foam, two-pump green tea latte before browsing among the books. I smiled. “Haha. No, not today. I went for the shaken green tea instead.”
“Oh, trying something different. How was it?”
“Delicious.”
“Great!” He rips off the receipt and asked, “Did you need a bag?”
“No, thank you.”
“Well, have a great night.”
“Thanks. You, too, man.”
Next time I see him I plan on actually introducing myself. It will probably go a little something like, “Hi, I’m Jessica, but you can call me ‘green tea latte’ for short.”
