Gloria’s car came to an idle in front of the coffee shop.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” she asked. “You don’t have to go in.”
Lola squinted her eyes and nodded. “I think I’ll be alright, it’s only an hour, right?’
“Yes, I’ll be right back to pick you up, and you can always text me if you need me sooner. I’ll be right over there at the fabric store.” she pointed in it’s direction.
Lola took a deep breath, grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car. Beautiful spring tulips were growing along the front hedge of the café, and a few bees were busy going from one to the next.
As she entered the shop, brewed coffee filled her lungs as she inhaled deeply. She hadn’t been here for months, the last time was just before Valentine’s Day.
“Lola!” Maeva called from the front counter. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages, and I hear you have a little one on the way. Well, I could tell from a mile away, you are just glowing! Oh my, well it is so good to see you. Bryon, I mean Officer Pascal,” she said with a wink. “Just came in a few minutes ago, he’s sitting right over there in the corner booth. He wasn’t sure if you would make it. But I told him that you would, that these spring airs would get you out and about, and I was right!”
“Is that our Lola?” Maeva’s husband, Lawrence, rounded the corner from the kitchen and came to stand next his wife.
Lola smiled in return.
“The one and only!” said Maeva.
“How have you been,” he asked with narrowed eyes. “I know these past few months have not been right to you. Your Dad came in just the other week. Now, don’t worry, he’s not going around spreading gossip, he just let us know you were with them, and that you’re doing okay for now.”
His kind voice was resolute, and Lola swallowed the lump that had grown in her throat.
She cleared her voice and said, “My aunt keeps telling me one day at a time.”
“I bet it’s more like one moment at a time!” Maeva called out.
“Well, let’s let her get to visiting, Maeva.” Lawrence said. “Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”
“Some peppermint tea, please” Lola said.
“I’ll be right over with it.” he said with a wink.
Lola crossed the small café to the table set in the corner, where Bryon took up most of the space.
“You made it!” he beamed.
“I did.” Lola said taking a seat across from him.
“I was a little concerned you weren’t going to make it.”
“What would’ve given you that idea?” she laughed sarcastically looking down at herself.
“Oh, you look great, it was the emotional wreck I walked in on that had me concerned.”
Lola’s eyes widened in surprise, and Byron laughed.
“To be blunt, I find, is one of my greatest talents.” he said. “Sorry if it becomes too much, but I don’t see a point in tip-toeing around anything.”
Lola toyed with the leaves on the bamboo plant in front of her.
“Ya know,” she said. “We had one of these sitting in our windowsill once. I really wanted it, and Kyle,” she took a breath, surprising herself at how easily his name had flown from her lips, “had laughed telling me I wouldn’t take care of it, but he surprised me with it anyway the next day when he came home from work.”
“Was he right?” Bryon asked. “Did you kill it?”
Lola winced at his choice of words, but Byron didn‘t seem to notice.
“Yes, I did,” she said after a moment, then smiled to herself. “I forgot to water it…more than once. Eventually the brown stocks were so pitiful that we had to throw them out. I kept the bowl it came in though.”
“Your smile looks nice.” he said.
Lola looked up at him.
“It’s ok, you know, to smile. To live. To have ridiculous amounts of fun.” Byron laughed loudly. “When I was sixteen and my Dad died, I thought that was it, that I would never enjoy another moment in my entire life. And for a long time I didn’t. I was angry, and I hated everyone. I hated everyone for living and breathing because he couldn‘t. I even hated the sun for shining and the grass for growing. But then one day, before I could catch myself, I was watching the sun come up, and I took a second to think about how beautiful it was. So, naturally, I hated myself for awhile for that too.”
“When did it stop?” Lola asked quietly looking down at her fingertips. “When did the hating stop?”
“When I decided that my Dad would hate me for hating this world, and for not living it the way he had raised me to. My Dad deserved more than that.”
They sat in silence for moment, until Lawrence interrupted bringing over a hot cup of peppermint tea.
“Bryon, would you like anymore coffee?” he asked.
“Oh, I think I’m doing great for now, but I tell you what…Lola would you like a piece of Maeva’s famous banana bread?”
“I would love some,” she said secretly hoping she’d be able to hold it down.
Thank you so much for reading! I was so excited to use Friday's prompt, but it just didn't happen, so I just did two and added today's! Also, I apologize that it's a bit longer than normal, but I had a hard time stopping!
If you would like to start from the beginning to see a fuller picture, I've linked all the parts below! And thank you to all my readers! @freedompoint, @cecicastor, @dreemsteem, @bennettitalia, @thefarmerswife, @thegreatdayne, @scribblingramma, @whatisnew, @quirky.countess, @angelacs, @canadianrenegade, @enginewitty, and @wordymouth!
If you would like to be added to the list (or taken off) please let me know in the comment!
"You have to make the prompts work for you." ~@borrowedearth
