Bert whistled to himself as he finished washing the last of the apples under the faucet in the sink. Placing it on the board, he cut it into slices before moving the slices to a small bowl. He placed the bowl on the cart next to the other ones before washing his hands and pushing the cart toward the door. Taking a deep breath, he opened it up and pushed the cart through. It was like entering a new world as he moved from the drab, gray surroundings of the kitchen and into the brightly colored and heavily decorated main section of the day care. As soon as he appeared, several of the kids looked up from what they were doing and their eyes brightened with excitement. A dark haired woman looked up as well and smiled broadly.

“Okay children!” the woman said in a loud, cheery voice. “Do you know what time it is?”

The children excitedly got up from their chairs or the floor or from wherever they were and rushed toward Bert, chattering excitedly.

“Children, don’t rush!” the woman cried out, trying hard to gain some semblance of control over the excitable crowd. “Children please!”

“Alright Children!” Bert cried out firmly in his big booming voice. The room went quiet instantly as the kids looked up at the tall man. He smiled down at them.

“Now, for snack today,” Bert continued, “We have a few options. First, we have apple slices…”

Some of the children murmured excitedly.

“Next…we have sliced bananas…” Bert added, listening as some of the other children murmured excitedly yet again. Bert smiled.

“And finally,” he said, removing the small towel that was covering the tray beneath. Many of the children gasped.

“Chocolate chip cookies!” he said. The children cheered loudly, jumping up and down excitedly.

“Alright. Grab a fruit and take a cookie. Single-file please.”

The children chattered excitedly as they collected their snacks and rushed back to the seating area to eat.

“Can I have extra bananas?” asked one especially energetic blonde girl.

“Well…okay, but you have to promise to eat them,” Bert responded. The little girl excitedly took a second mini bowl of banana slices before grabbing her cookie and scooting away. Bert watched as the dark haired woman walked toward him and he immediately felt his mouth drying up.

“Thank goodness for snack time,” she said, smiling up at him with her large eyes. “A lot of those kids were getting pretty grumpy.”

Bert laughed awkwardly at the joke as he stared at the petite woman. Krissa was relatively new and from day one he felt weak in the knees every time the two of them spoke. She was cute, kind and friendly and he had rapidly developed a pretty strong crush on her. A crush that he tried hard every day not to let her know he had….

“Yup yup,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Bert to the rescue then, right?”

He instantly regretted the dumb comment and would have kicked himself if Krissa hadn’t been standing right there.

“My hero,” she said with a smirk. He smiled back, staring awkwardly at her as he struggled to think of something else to say.

“Any plans for the weekend?” she asked, much to his relief.

“Oh…uh…not much, really. There is this jazz festival I want to go to on Saturday.”

“Oh really?” she answered back, her eyes lighting up. “Where is that?”

Bert explained where the location was and how he was planning to get there. Krissa nodded.

“Are you going with anyone?” she asked.

“Oh…uh…no. Just myself I guess,” he said, laughing a little to dissipate his nerves. They stared at each other for a moment, the silence palpable as it seemed like Krissa was waiting for him to say something else. After a moment, she stood back a little and crossed her arms.

“Well…” she said, her tone a little duller. “That seems fun. I hope you enjoy.”

Bert just nodded, and another pause ensued between them.

“I’m going to get back to it…make sure no one chokes on an apple slice,” Krissa said after a moment. “See you tomorrow?”

“Oh yea, sure…I’d better clean this cart off. See you tomorrow,” Bert said back. Krissa smiled one last time before turning and returning to the main daycare area. Bert sighed to himself, his mind filling with regret as he pushed the cart back into the kitchen.

“Smooth Bert…real smooth…” he said, thinking about the awkward conversation. He unloaded the extra food, his mind still on Krissa and the conversation. He always got so choked up around her, trying so hard to not let her know how much he liked her. It was work, after all…maybe one day he would work up the confidence to ask her out on a date or something.

“Oh god,” Bert said, slapping his forehead hard.

“The festival! Bert…that was your chance!”

This time he actually kicked himself as he realized that the opportunity he had been waiting on for weeks had come and gone. He groaned as he washed the cutting board and knives, thinking about how he could potentially fix his massive blunder.

“This is it, Bert,” he said to himself as he dried his hands. “You’re going to march right out there and ask Krissa if she’d like to go to the festival this Saturday. In and out, one and done.”

He walked toward the door out of the kitchen, puffing out his chest for a moment before inhaling and turning the knob.

“Hello Bert,” said the woman on the other side. Bert startled, practically slamming the door in response, but he managed to control himself.

“Oh! Hello Mrs. Bernstein!”

The woman walked forward and he stepped back to let her in. Loretta Bernstein was his employer: both the owner and manager of the daycare. She was definitely older than he was, but not at all unattractive.

“The kids seem happy,” she said looking up at the taller man.

“Yea,” Bert said, smiling, “Fruit and cookies: who’s going to argue?”

“Hopefully not the parents,” she said, laughing her light, lilting laugh. “Did you get the vegetable for tomorrow?”

Bert nodded. “Carrot sticks and a bit of hummus.”

Mrs. Bernstein nodded. “Nut free, correct?”

Bert rubbed his head.

“Ahh…I’ll have to check that….”

Mrs. Bernstein sighed.

“Yes, please. Remember Bert…no nuts, no dairy…as much as I know you want to give the kids cheese.”

“Cheese is good,” Bert said with a nod. “But I understand, Mrs. Bernstein.”

She nodded. “You’re doing a good job and I like the new ideas you’ve had. But remember, we need to be very sensitive to all these new potential allergens.”

“Of course,” he said. The older woman smiled.

“Have a good night, Bert. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said before turning to leave. Bert stared out into the daycare for a moment, watching the few kids he could see as they played with some toys. He couldn’t see Krissa from his current angle and sighed as he closed the door. The impromptu meeting with his boss had spoiled his momentum.

“There’s always tomorrow,” he sighed as he turned and returned to his cleanup duties in the kitchen.