The Meeting Place

I have the privilege to work at a place where people come to meet. They meet business partners, future clients, study partners, friends, relatives, blind dates, and sometimes they come hoping to meet their perfect "someone". Just today, a regular customer who was meeting a client in the cafe bought me a cup of coffee. Later in the evening I saw 2 women sitting in the corner of the cafe. One had a tissue in her hand and was crying on and off for several hours. I saw groups of students rearranging our furniture to suit their cramming needs. An employee came in on her day off to meet a friend. She said her friends only want to meet at Barnes & Noble, so even on her day off, she has to come in. We are the place that people come to splurge, after a movie or after dinner, with a piece of cheesecake and a yummy drink.

Of course, some people make themselves a little too comfortable! It is a rare day when there isn't someone sleeping (and snoring!) in a cushy chair. We have had to ask couples to stop making out (awkward!) And a day that will live in bookstore infamy is the day that a manager walked in on a naked man sitting on the countertop in the bathroom with his heiny in one sink and his feet in the other. Too. Comfortable.

I feel proud to have helped create a place in our community that people want to visit and hang out. But just for future reference, never at any point during your visit to my store, should you EVER be naked. Just make it a rule, ok?