Cassidy Hamada, known as Aunt Cass to her two nephews and their group of friends, was not having what would, under any circumstances, be considered a good day. It was rough enough on a daily basis just trying to keep up with running a business while raising two boys. The fact that today alone she'd had to deal with several angry customers because the girl she'd hired on was more focused on her snapchat that taking orders, clean up the puke of a kid who had decided that the perfect place to vomit was all over the inside of the pastry case while their parents were holding them up to look at the contents, and then have her best coffee bean grinder give up the ghost on her during peak morning rush was pushing her right to the edge. To spill an entire jar of coffee beans all over the floor on top of that was the last straw.

For the most part, she was proud of herself for how she handled the situation She didn't scream. She didn't start cursing (out loud, at least) and end up traumatizing the few kids who were currently in the cafe. She just grabbed her broom and dustpan and got to work. Still, she was muttering darkly to herself when suddenly a shadow falls over her.

"Pardon me,miss, but I was wondering-" a male voice starts to say.

"SIR." Aunt Cass just barely manages to bite back a diatribe and keep herself from completely unloading on this customer, no matter how inconsiderate he was being at the moment. "I apologize, but at the moment I am very much occupied. Do you think your question could wait for just one moment or could be answered by one of my employees?"

"I apologize," the man answers in a calm voice. "I didn't meant to disturb you. But I was just wondering if you wanted some help."

"Help? Really?" Aunt Cass looks up at the stranger in surprise. It was hard enough getting customers to clean up their own messes, let alone offer to help her clean up a mess that she'd made herself!
She finds her breath catching momentarily when she actually sees the man's face. It had honestly been years and years since she'd been on a date-between her family and work commitments, she just didn't have the time. And honestly, she hadn't had much luck meeting any single guys who were close to her own age who weren't total sleazeballs or were willing to commit to a relationship where there were kids involved. Eventually she'd just given up trying, and honestly she was pretty much completely content with her life. She loved her two nephews like they were her own sons, and her fat, happy cat, Mochi, cuddled the melancholy away on those nights that she did feel a bit lonely and had to break out the sappy romcoms and a bottle of red wine. Still, just because she was out of the dating pool at the moment didn't mean she wasn't aware of when she was looking at an attractive member of the opposite sex. And right now she was looking at an extremely attractive one. Admittedly the silver hair might have thrown most women to begin with, but Cass knew from her own experience that grey hair didn't always indicate age so much as life experience. And given the still extremely youthful spark in his extremely blue eyes, she chose to assume that it was the latter. Beyond that, he was very well built, especially for a man in his middle age, and something about him just exuded an air of quiet wisdom and confidence. Frankly, had he been a character in one of those cheesy romance movies that were her guilty pleasure, she would have been totally swooning over him by now. But then it hits her like a load of bricks that this wasn't a movie and that, by most standards, she was acting like what the younger generation used to call "a creeper" by just staring at him like this.

"So, would you like some help?" the man, who was still patiently waiting for a definitive response, asks.

"Oh, um… S-Sure!" Aunt Cass finally manages to get out, trying to keep her voice from squeaking like a giddy school girl's. "You hold the dustpan and I'll sweep?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," the man agrees with a chuckle that turned out to be a deep baritone.

C'mon Cass, get ahold of yourself! Aunt Cass mentally scolds herself as she tries to focus on sweeping up all the spilled beans, but a part of her already knew that she was in deep.

It took a good seven minutes to get all of the mess cleaned up, but her mysterious helper never showed even the slightest amount of impatience, his calm smile remaining in place the entire time.

"Thank you so much for your help," Aunt Cass says when all of the spilled beans are finally in the garbage can.

"Of course! I believe a true gentleman should never leave a lady to struggle on her own if there's something he can do to help," the stranger answers.

Oh gosh, he had old fashioned chivalry on top of everything else? Where had this guy come from, straight off the pages of a Jane Austen novel?

"Here, let me get you something as a 'thank you' for your help!" Aunt Cass says, trying not to blush to much as she pushes an escaping lock of hair back behind her ear. "Anything you want, it's on the house!"

"Oh no, I couldn't!" the man protests.

"You did something kind for me, it's only fair for me to return the favor," Aunt Cass answers firmly.

"Well… If you insist, a cup of coffee would be lovely," the man finally replies. "The rain out there is making things a bit chilly today."

"Isn't it?" Aunt Cass says with a sympathetic smile, grateful that she could slip into hostess mode-it made it much easier not to get so tongue tied if she could just treat him like a regular customer. "I know that we need the rain, but today it's so cold it just cuts you right to the bone!"

"My sentiments exactly," the gentleman answers with a wry chuckle. "My daughter used to love playing in the puddles when she was younger, but she's thankfully grown out of that now. It used to worry me to pieces, I was always afraid that she'd catch pneumonia or something worse, getting as wet as she did."

"My two boys were the same," Aunt Cass says as she pours the coffee, trying not to let on her disappointment-if he had a daughter, did that mean that he was currently married? Realizing that what she'd said probably made it sound like she was currently in a relationship herself, she quickly adds, just to be safe, "My nephews, I mean. They're like my sons because I've raised them practically since they were babies, but they're not actually mine…" Oh gosh, she was rambling now, wasn't she?

The last response she expected was for the man to chuckle and say, "So I've heard. You're nephew is Tadashi, correct?"

"Y-Yes," Aunt Cass agrees, feeling slightly startled to hear the name of her nephew on a stranger's lips. "H-How did you-?"

"Tadashi is one of my students at the university-one of my best and brightest," the other man answers with a warm smile. "Actually, that's why I came here today."

He opens his bag and pulls out a familiar-looking laptop case that Aunt Cass at once recognized as her nephew's. "He left this in class today," the man explains. "Usually I would have tried to give it back to him this evening in the lab, but I believe he had… Other plans for the evening, so I thought I'd drop it by here since his address was on the outside."

"Oh, yes, I think he had a date with Fred," Aunt Cass agrees with a slight smile, thinking of Tadashi's boyfriend. It had taken her a bit by surprise when her eldest nephew had come out of the closet about a year ago, but she had fully supported him and the man he'd chosen to date. Honestly, the two were so sweet together, she couldn't help but hope that things would work out for them long term-she already almost thought of Fred as her third nephew, she would love to make it official.

"I believe you're right," the stranger chuckles. "I must say, I'm glad that there's someone who can get him out of the lab for some fresh air. I admire your nephew's work ethic, but he does need to make sure to take care of himself and have some fun as well."
"That's exactly what I tell him!" Aunt Cass agrees, glad that she wasn't the only one encouraging the young man to take breaks as needed.

It suddenly hits her that she hasn't learned the man's name yet, even though they'd been talking for a good solid five minutes by now.

"I don't think you've properly introduced yourself," she says, keeping her tone light but wondering if maybe Tadashi had mentioned the professor to her before. "You know my name, but I don't know yours!"

"Oh, do forgive me!" the older man chuckles. "Most of my students call me Professor or Dr. Callaghan, but you can just call me Robert."

"Oh my goodness!" Aunt Cass gasps, eyes going wide before letting out a laugh. "So you're Professor Callaghan! Tadashi is always talking about you whenever he's home-you're his idol!"

"Well, I'm honored to hear that," Professor Callaghan answers, chuckling and seeming slightly embarrassed by her words. "I see great things in his future, and if I can be of any assistance to him, I will be quite proud to someday say that I did even something small to help him on his way."

"He thinks the world of you, you have no idea how honored he'd be to hear that!" Aunt Cass says with a grin-anyone who knew her knew that her nephews were the dearest thing in the world to her and anyone who had something good to say about them went right to the top of her goodbooks.

"From the way he talks about you, he thinks the world of you too," Professor Callaghan answers with a warm smile. "He's forever talking about how much you've done for him and his brother."

"I-I'm just doing my job as his aunt!" It was Aunt Cass' turn to blush now.

"Most guardians wouldn't put as much care and effort into raising their charges as you've appear to have," Professor Callaghan replies firmly. "I know from experience how difficult being a single parent can be, and I only had one girl to look after. I can't even imagine trying to balance running our own business and raising two boys! You do this city and aunts everywhere credit, Ms. Hamada."

"Please, if you want me to call you Robert, you're going to have to call me Cass," Aunt Cass answers with a slightly playful tone in her voice, trying not to let on how happy she was to hear that he was single (not that she was happy that he'd apparently gone through that sort of loss-she would never wish that on anyone given she knew what it was like to lose someone like that-but there was the fact that she might have just a tiny chance with him.)

"I suppose that is fair," Professor Callaghan answers, the corners of his eyes crinkling up ever so slightly as he finishes the coffee that Aunt Cass had given him and starts to stand up. "I apologize for having to run like this, but I do have a conference I have to be leaving for in the morning and so I should be heading home to finish packing…"

"Oh, of course!" Aunt Cass answers, feeling just a tiny bit disappointed but doing her best not to let it show. "I completely understand! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you!"

"No, it was a pleasure," Professor Callaghan answers with a warm smile. He hesitates for a moment beside his seat, leaving Aunt Cass to wonder if something was wrong, before finally asking, "Might I call on you again sometime?"

"I think that could certainly be arranged," Aunt Cass answers, trying not to turn shy at the last moment. "I'm here almost all day every day, so feel free to stop by whenever you'd like!"

"I very much look forward to our next visit, then," Professor Callaghan tells her, a pleasant sparkle in his eyes. "Until then… Cass."

"See you soon...Robert," Aunt Cass answers with a playful smile, imitating his adorably nervous tone.

As soon as the man is out the door, it's all Aunt Cass can do not to immediately start jumping up and down and doing a victory dance that would probably make half her customers think that she was having a seizure of some sort. Still, she couldn't help but hum cheerfully as she goes back to work wiping down the counters. As horrible as this day had started out, she was definitely beginning to feel grateful that she'd spilled those coffee beans.