"Sorry, I’ll shut up," Cate said, picking up her squirt bottle.  "I’ll let you get back to work."

Ashley felt her cheeks turn red.  Got lost in thoughts of her…again.  "No, I’m sorry.  Just got distracted.  I, um, I’m from around here.  I’m in grad school at the college; home is just up the road.  Plus, my girlfriend is–."  She stopped herself, but she noticed Cate didn’t blink, so she continued.  "She’s at St. Steven’s, so…yeah."  Ashley forced herself to stop talking by taking a sip of her drink.  As the chocolate slid down her throat and the peppermint rested on her tongue, she could only think, Spencer would love this.  She wiped the whipped cream off the tip of her nose and a quiet "mmm" slipped past her lips.

"Told you you needed a change.  I’ll get one for your girlfriend, too."  Cate smiled and disappeared behind the counter.

*******

Two hours later, Ashley pulled her headphones out and rubbed her ears.  New Found Glory’s new album received a high rating from Ash — she was proud that the first "punk" band she had ever seen in concert was maturing without losing their edge.  She hit "send" to her editor, waited for the confirmation, and Cate approached her again with another drink, this one to-go.

"Was it good?" she asked, tapping the CD cover and setting the drink down.

"Yeah, really good.  Definitely."  The email sent, Ashley began to log off.  It took twenty minutes to get to the hospital and if she left now, she’d arrive five minutes before dinner was served.

"As good as Sugarcult’s new one?  Or Billy Talent?" Cate asked, curiousity dancing in her eyes.  Ashley was baffled — those were the last two albums she’d reviewed.  Before she could reply, Cate said, "Alternative Press is twenty times better than Rolling Stone.  I’ve had a subscription for years.  You should get going.  Coffee’s on me."  And with that, Cate turned to help the only other customer who had come in while Ashley had been writing.  She watched her as she smiled and made a drink, chit-chatting with the gentleman.  When the alarm on her cell buzzed, signaling she absolutely had to leave, Ashley stuffed her laptop into her bag, carefully grabbed her drink, and called Spencer to tell her she was on her way.