"Three eggs, sunny side up! Bacon, home fries with the fixin's, and don't forget some toast and Tabasco on the side. A healthy breakfast ain't never goin' out of style."

As I walked into the lively cafe decorated in shades of too much yellow, I smiled at the plump, bright woman behind the counter. It was difficult to remember her name, but I reminded myself I liked her. She's been here a long time, though not nearly as long as me.

Time put lines and creases on her face, and even though she was never the skinny kind of lady, men used to come in merely to see her. There was something about her boisterous, friendly way that made everyone feel at home.

The woman's looks changed, but her way of making everyone feel at home stayed the same. "Mornin', Miss Lizzie. Can I get you the usual?"

It wasn't easy as I slid myself into the low booth at the aptly named Sunny-Side-Up Cafe. The seat wasn't for the old folks like me. Nevertheless, the wobbly chairs at the old bistro tables were worse.

"Thank you, ma'am," I answered the boisterous and familiar lady politely, but my brain felt scrambled with the effort of trying to remember her name. "The usual is perfect."

I didn't have the slightest idea what the usual was. I'd walked to the Sunny-Side-Up Cafe that was just around the corner from my house every day since I was eight years old. Back in those days, this sleepy little town just far enough from New Orleans was safe for kids to wander as they pleased.

Times had changed a lot over the years, but inside the cafe, I felt like a little girl of eight sitting at the counter and sharing a chocolate milkshake with a handsome young boy.

I always enjoyed being the kind of lady that found comfort in routine. It made the world feel a little smaller and a little safer knowing there were constants. Some things would never change.

I was nearly ninety and still preferred the familiar.

There was a particular time in life when the easiness of childhood faded. The familiar became unpredictable.

That was around the time milkshakes turned into lattes, and the eight-year-old boy who shared the luxury of a chocolate treat became a handsome young man. I couldn't possibly recall when it happened, but it did. Even the cafe wasn't entirely immune to change.

His name was Benjamin, and he was always at the cafe. A lovable little scamp of a boy, he alternated between working, getting into mischief, and generally charming everyone who came to visit.

It was Benjamin's daddy who owned the cafe, so it was only right that the vivacious young boy was the apple of everyone's eye. He was most definitely the cause of my starry eyes, though I knew better than ever to tell him.

I was a plain girl, the average sort who wasn't going to be a beauty queen or study something interesting. It never bothered me too much. Most people were ordinary people. I never saw much need to put on airs and ambitions. I'd never been the type to pretend to be anything better than I was.

The more time passed, and the little boy who shared his milkshake turned into the town's golden boy, I regretted being plain old Lizzie. Though Benjamin was always sweet as ever to me, I couldn't ignore the shapely girls with their chestnut locks and porcelain-white complexions.

I couldn't ignore them because Benjamin couldn't ignore them. He'd keep flowers by the cash register so that he could present them to the prettier girls. They'd always blush and giggle becomingly.

I hated those girls. I hated being plain, unremarkable Lizzie.

Benjamin was still my best friend in the world, but it never felt like enough. It should have been. The way he'd twirl me around the cafe while singing, green eyes sparkling, that should have been enough to tell me he didn't see plain old Lizzie. In his shy way, he was courting me. It was something he'd never done with any other girl in town.

Milkshakes turned to root beer floats, and the root beer floats turned to lattes. It wasn't long before lattes turned to coffee laced with pilfered Irish whiskey.

I was only eight years old when I met the love of my life. It wasn't until we were seventeen that he got down on one knee and told me how he felt about me.

Life was relaxed and full of promise in those days. It all changed the day the accident happened.

***

"One regular, just for you, our Sun Queen." A handsome man of no more than twenty-five interrupted my reverie, bringing me back to reality.

On good days, I remembered the past much more vividly than the present. On bad days, I didn't remember much at all. Today was a good day.

The young man moved into the booth. His toothy grin and boyish smile reminded me of days long gone.

"You here to see Benjamin again today? It looked like you were mumblin' something to yourself."

I picked up my latte, almost able to smell the non-existent Irish whiskey that only existed in my memory.

A flash of memory moved through my mind like a lightbulb.

Every morning, I walked to the cafe for my latte and a glimpse at him.

"I come here every morning, even though he doesn't always show up the way he used to. I won't ever stop, not until he knows I love him and he forgives me."

I studied the face of the young man, not knowing why so much sadness lurked in it. "Your eyes remind me of him a bit. Sparkling green eyes and a perfect smile are things no girl can resist."

I laughed, trying to lift him out of his melancholy expression. "What's your name?"

"I'm Theodore, ma'am. Everyone calls me Theo."

"It's a true pleasure to meet you, Theo. Everyone calls me Lizzie, though Mama always hated nicknames." My wrinkled hand rested on top of his, and I observed him with compassion. "You look like a young man with somethin' big on his mind.

He nodded slowly. "It's about love stuff, ma'am. The whole situation is complicated. I like to think about how you feel about Benjamin because it gives me hope."

I listened intently. "If you don't feel loved in your life, of course, you're bound to turn blue. What about that little blonde thing over there? She's quiet as a mouse but pretty to look at."

My finger rather rudely pointed at a girl who stood behind the cash register.

He fell over laughing. "That may be true, but that's my sister. Her name's Esme. The person for me is not Esme."

Theo's eyes look down a little. "There is someone, and we love each other. Too many people don't want us to be together."

My hand reassuringly squeezed his. "Benjamin and me, we knew all about that. Love wasn't strong enough to overcome all the whispers. You see, not only did the automobile hit that little boy, it caught on fire."

A sad sigh fell from my lips. "That's why Benjamin looked like he did. It was a tragedy. He loved people so much, but they never looked at him the same. It was hard. He had the scars from the fire, the gash from the door, and the glass eye. He wanted to hide away. All I wanted was to go with him."

Theo smiled a little. "I'm sorry, ma'am. It never bothered any of us here, you know."

I toyed with my fork, lost in a world of memory. "It never bothered me a bit. I still wonder if we hadn't had those flasks, would it have been different? Everyone knows alcohol ignites. We were all a little wild in those days."

My face moved into a half-smile, one that quickly disappeared. "Mama wouldn't accept I wasn't her perfect little angel. She blamed Benjamin for the boy almost dyin', but Benjamin was the one who suffered most."

Theodore frowned, his expression haunted. "Was the little boy okay? I never heard this part of the story, ma'am."

I held my breath as panic seized me. The boy's face flooded my memory "He was hurt real bad, his legs and spine crushed by the wheel. The police said it wasn't anyone's fault. It was an accident. Still, that's not what the talk was."

My eyes closed. They suddenly felt heavy, until Theo's gentle squeeze brought me to the present. 

"After that, marryin' him was out of the question. I'm not sure if it's that Mama and Daddy thought he was no good, or they wouldn't see their daughter with someone who looked like Benjamin."

I felt the lump in my throat. "That day was the hardest day of my life. I kept touching the scars on his face because they were beautiful. I didn't want to say no. I knew he'd be my only love."

I noticed the young man's lip quiver. "Did you ever love anyone again?"

Time stood still for a moment. My shoulders slumped with an invisible weight. "No. Instead, I come here every day to be close to him. I'd give anything to know he's forgiven me and didn't stop loving me, but seein' his face is enough."

The quiet blonde girl from the register slid into the booth. "Move over, Theo."

Esme giggled as she pushed her brother aside. "What's everyone talkin' about today?"

With a glare, the young man shoved her. "We're talkin' about personal things, Esme. You wouldn't understand."

Esme quietly twirled a blonde lock around her finger. "Oh, I understand. You're telling her about Parker."

Theo looked back up at me, pointedly ignoring Esme. "What did you do that needed an apology?"

I exhaled, my voice a tiny whisper. Both hands wrapped around my latte. "It wasn't Benjamin who was driving the car. It was me. He always kept my secret to protect me."

Tears started to hit the wrinkled lines of time. "I'm the one who gave him a face he couldn't stand and then abandoned him. He still protected me. There are not enough apologies. Nothing you've done can be as bad as that, Theo."

Theo looked at me in shock, and the words tumbled in a rush. "My father hates me because I don't have a girlfriend I love and want to marry. I have a boyfriend. He says it's an abomination."

We sat in silence, the weight of confessions released. Finally, Esme spoke up in her quiet voice. "Love means forgiveness. In the end, it always works out."

I stared at the lovely girl who was so full of hope. "Benjamin isn't coming to see me, is he? It doesn't always work out."

Esme fidgeted. "I'm sorry. He passed on almost 15 years ago. We were only kids."

She looked up at me, her green eyes sad. "Theo and me, we're his grandchildren. We lost our Mama only six months after he passed. "

Esme hugged me tightly. The tears were hot against my wrinkled skin. I wasn't sure if they were hers or mine.

Theo reached up, removing one of the many framed photos from the wall, a faded sepia-coloured memory. "You forgave each other a long, long time ago. Love was always enough."

I stared at the photograph. Benjamin stood with an arm around me. I held an infant with a disobedient tuft of blonde hair in my arms. "Annalise. My baby girl."

Every morning, I walked to the cafe for my latte and a glimpse at him.

I ran my finger over the scar on the side of his face. The glint of a diamond on my left hand illuminated the memory. "We lived happily ever after."

Theo's emerald eyes glistened with pride. "It's the best love story ever, Nana Lizzie."

Word Count: 1995

Author's Note: This story was my fourth win and Star Author week!! Because I unfortunately missed one of the prompts, I only wrote 9 of the 10 stories in the contest so far. Winning 4 out of 9 isn't really such a terrible record, after all. Thank you all so much, and here's to hoping the muse is with me this week so I can make it to the Final 2! ;)