Beyond general relativity

Chapter 1

November 2018

It all began on one typical rainy late afternoon. I was sitting alone at a corner table at the local café "Maples". Notes and books were scrambled everywhere, my mind was tired, but I clearly remember how satisfied I was with my work. My third cup of coffee was left forgotten on the edge of the table and I accidentally nudged it with my elbow. It smashed on the wooden floor and cursing under my breath, I leapt from my chair to gather the pieces.

He then came to help me, pushing my hand away.

"What are you doing, you'll cut yerself. Let me" I detected a slight Scottish accent. I've seen him before, of course. I spent almost every afternoon at this place, working on my assignments. In my mind he was labeled as just the "waiter". But I have never talked with him.

"Thanks" I finally opened my mouth, and I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I thought the cup was near my other hand. I'm so sorry for the mess"

"Is no problem"

He stood up. Holding the scattered pieces in his hand, carefully standing on both sides of the coffee puddle on the ground.

"It looks... uh... fascinating" his head was titled and looking at the formulas on my sheets. It was quite obvious he was trying his best to be polite, since the confusion in his eyes told me he had no idea what was he looking at. "What's that anyways?" he laughed nervously, looking back at me.

"Theoretical and astro physics' equations"

"Do you need some help with it? Looks like a piece of cake"

I laughed.

"Well, thank you, but no. I think I've got it covered"

"Right. I'll leave you to it then. See 'ya 'round"

The boy was charming, there was no doubt about it. Was good at this, chatting with his clients, but wasn't annoying. Not at all. He quietly came to my table one more time to mop the floor, but as he promised, left me to my thing.

The weather outside was getting worse. The cold November rain was pouring from the angry-looking indigo sky. Nightfall was around the corner too. It didn't even faze me that much. Only when the lights turned on and my eyes cried in relief, did I look up and saw that the guy was standing over me.

"Can I sit with you? It's quiet when the weather is like this and I'm lonely behind the register" he lifted a book. "I won't bother you, I'll just read this quietly"

There was just some simple charm about him that made me smile, and I motioned to the chair across from mine. He gave me a sly smile. Not too often, but noticeably more than the usual, I lifted my eyes and stole a glance or two at him. He was reading Charles Dickens' collected works paperback and looked almost as lost as I was in my equations at times. Maybe one of those times, I stared for too long, or it was probably noticeable, because he smirked.

"Stop" his eyes never left the page. "I'll blush"

It was me who blushed.

"I'm sorry"

"Nay, it's flattering really. Don't fash yerself"

"I...what? Fash?"

"It means don't worry. Sometimes I forget not everyone's grandpa is Scottish"

So I was correct about his accent. He closed the book and straightened his back, arms stretching above his head. Yawning, his head tipped back. His attention switched to the window. Most of the people I knew resented this kind of weather. Thought about it with disgust really, only seeing the wet, the cold and the mud. But, even though he didn't say so directly, I knew he was one of those rare ones that did like it. I could see it in the way his eyes softened, his breathing calm and he seemed relaxed in his seat. I've always thought it was a gift when someone could see the beauty even in the harsh, uninviting aspects of life. Maybe, just maybe, he was one of them. It was probably insane to even think like this after basically just meeting him, but there it was. An unexplainable feeling of familiarity.