The rustic look of the coffee shop where Theresa was sitting reminded her of home. The dusty, red brick walls made her remember the late-night conversations she used to have with her sister. That was the time when they used to get along, the time when everything was perfectly fine. All the things she used to worry about made her laugh: finding the perfect dress, the hairdresser cutting her hair too short. If only she had known.
If only I had known. She chuckled like a parent does after seeing their child with their face covered in chocolate. "Oh sweetie—" her chuckle said.
The smell of freshly baked pastries filled the small coffee shop. She closed her eyes and inhaled the exquisite scent of melted butter, honey, and sugar. She licked her lips and slowly opened her eyes. The considerable size of her coffee made her smile. In her head, she was reliving the memory of her and Dante visiting that very coffee shop.
"What can I get you?" said the young barista.
"I would like a—" Dante scanned the menu at the wall behind the counter. "small coffee, black, no sugar."
After he wrote it down in Dante's cup, he turned to Theresa.
"Iced coffee, extra-large with soy lactose free milk, please."
"Perfect" he said after writing her order down
Dante payed— He always did.
"Are you really finishing that?" he said motioning to her large coffee cup. "It's huge!"
"Well yes, that's the point."
She smiled like she did on that day. Her computer was open, and a blank document with the word "draft" stared at her from the screen, mocking her. The minutes passed, and she could feel the due date of the article rushing toward her, like a cannon ball at a wooden ship. After sighing in desperation, she pushed her big curly hair back into a pony tail.
"Don't worry darling, I'm positive that you'll nail this, the only thing you gotta do is find me a story, any story. It must be real, raw, pure... am I making myself clear?" her editor said.
"Perfectly clear, Fran. But, what happens if I can't find a person interesting enough? Like, what would happen if he or she is not what you're looking for?" she said, hoping Fran's answer was different from what she expected. Under the table, her hands were shaky and cold.
Fran became quiet, her always kind and cheerful smile wavered as she said, "Well, I'm sure you already know the answer to that." She simply placed her gold framed glasses back on her face and started typing something on her computer.
She sighed and closed the computer, defeated.
Her phone started to ring: The name Dante read on the screen. With a smile, she picked up.
"Hey!" she said with her first genuine smile that afternoon. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. I just called to tell you that I'll get home later than anticipated, my flight got delayed for like an hour. I'm sorry. You want me to pick something up on the way back?"
"Its's okay, it happens—" A girl walked out of the kitchen with a plate filled with brownies. Theresa stared at them for a moment, "get me something with chocolate"
"Fran gave you another one of her impossible assignments?" Theresa let out a grunt of desperation.
"Come on, the last one wasn't so bad," Dante said.
"Wasn't so bad? I had to spend four nights sleeping on the floor of the public library. For a whole week, I ate nothing more than sandwiches from the vending machine, and that was all just because Fran wanted an extravagant piece for the 20-year anniversary of the magazine."
Dante's husky laugh made her heart ache with longing.
"I know that I'm overreacting. It's just that after working with her for three years, I was hoping for a serious assignment," she said taking a sip of her coffee.
"Hang in there, I'm sure that she'll eventually notice the incredible genius that you are— I know I did. For now, there's nothing more to do but give her what she asked for."
"Will do. Thank for calling, I needed it."
"Not a problem." She heard Dante's assistant on the background. "I have to go but I'll see you soon, I love you."
"Love you too."
She stayed with her phone to her ear until Dante hung up. She had been doing that often. Like if she stayed a little longer next to the phone, the loneliness wouldn't creep in and stick to her like a damp sweater after walking on the rain.
She closed the computer and packed it away in her bag. As she got up, a guy who entered the shop a few minutes ago bumped into her, almost throwing her to the floor. The stranger shot her an annoyed look and walked out the door.
What's his problem?
A breeze of frozen air stabbed Theresa's skin like a dozen razor blades. She wrapped her scarf around her neck and closed her coat. On her way to the train station, she walked past a violin player, two dancers, and a singer. When she finally got to sit, she took out her iPod and plugged in her headphones.
The urban view of the city slowly stared to turn into houses on the beachside. In the distance, the sun was starting to set. When they finally reached the stop, she got off the train and went to the parking lot to get out her car, a bright yellow VW Beetle. Oh, how Dante hates me driving this thing.
Theresa entered her house and stood frozen at the door. Her brother Enzo had a bowl of popcorn on his lap and was scanning through the T.V. series in Netflix. The whole living room smelled like melted butter.
"Who let you in?" asked Theresa, leaving her bag and coat at the hangers by the door.
"Me," he said with his mouth stuffed with popcorn. "I made myself a key remember?" he swallowed. "You're out of cereal, milk, and chips, by the way." He played How I Met Your Mother and sank deeper between the pillows.
"You come to my house unannounced, eat my food, and don't apologize for doing so." Theresa was standing in front of him, blocking his view of the T.V. with her hands on her hips.
"Well yes, I'm your brother, Tessa. That's what I do."
"What are you doing here Enzo?" She walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. The cold liquid slid down her dry throat, washing away the raspy feeling the coffee had left her with.
"Well, now that you mention it—" he shot her an innocent look. "I need a place to stay, Jess kicked me out— again."
Tessa took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out, "What did you do Enzo?"
"I kind of mentioned her gaining some weight, and commented on her relationship status, and age." Just before he got any reply from her part he said, "And I kind of need it to be for free."
She sighed, then chuckled. She felt thankful when she heard a car pulling up the driveway. For a split-second butterflies started to flutter in her stomach. You would think that after being together for two years, she would get used to Dante's presence, that the sensation of nervousness you get when you just start dating would disappear with time. Not for her.
He opened the door with two bags of luggage in one hand. When he saw her, standing there looking beautiful, his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't suppress the growing smile that was taking over his face.
"Dante! Wonderful!" Enzo's crude tone pulled both out of their bubble. "As I was telling Tessa, I need a place to stay."
Dante dropped the bags, looking at his girlfriend's guest in disbelief. He looked at Theresa looking for answers but she shrugged her shoulders.
"Please? You guys I have nowhere to go. Literally."
"Enzo, you can't—" Dante began
"One week," she interrupted.
"Tessa! That's all I need! Guys I knew I could always count on you!" he jumped from the couch to hug the couple, but the popcorn flew out of the bowl and spilled all over the couch, coffee table, and floor. Dante glared at him. "I— I'm so sorry. I'll clean it up immediately," he said running to the laundry room.
"Seriously?" said Dante. "We are supposed to be a team, Theresa."
"I'm sorry but—" her voice cracked. "Enzo doesn't have anyone else, Jess kicked him out, and he's always been there for me."
"Forget it," he said picking his things up from the ground and walked to their room. "I just wish you would ask me before doing things like this, you know?" Dante would always find a way to make her feel like the bad guy.
Theresa sat on the couch and kept watching the T.V. show. Enzo said goodnight and went to the guest room after he finished cleaning up the popcorn. She stayed there for a little longer but when she was about to get up, Dane was standing in front of her, blocking the T.V.
"I'm sorry," he said. "My dad's pressuring me a lot, and he expects me to take over the company once he retires, and I was expecting to have the house all by ourselves, but Enzo was here, and I don't know—" he looked at his feet. "I'm sorry," he repeated.
She stood and looked up to see his face.
"I know how terrifying your dad can be. So we're good."
He chuckled, and leaned closer to her face.
"Do I get a kiss?" she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a small kiss. Then wrapped her arms around his torso.
"God I've missed you" he drew in the sweet smell of her shampoo, and hugged her tight.
"You better have," she said with her head buried in his chest. "I missed you too."
"You are the cutest," Enzo said. He was standing behind them with a cup of water in his hand. "Oh sorry, you guys do your thing—" he winked at them. "I'll be in my room, uh yeah. Goodnight."
Once they were alone, Dante pulled out a white paper bag with brownies. He held it over Theresa's head. When she proceeded to take it, he gave her a small kiss on the lips.
The next morning, they woke up to find Enzo making scrambled eggs. The smell of freshly made coffee and waffles welcomed them to the kitchen. Both of their stomachs growled.
"Good morning you guys!" cheered Enzo. "Sit, sit." He gestured to the kitchen table that had three plates and a big jug with huge white flowers in the middle. Then he turned around and proceeded to serve the scrambled eggs onto a big plate.
Dante stared at Theresa.
"Be nice," she whispered at him. "Come on." She walked to the table and sat. Dante did the same and sat in the chair in front of her. The flowers were so big she couldn't see his face. In front of them, there were the waffles, bacon, and wild berries. Next to them, Enzo placed the scrambled eggs with cheese and the bottle of maple syrup.
"Well go ahead," he said gesturing to the food with both his palms open.
If Enzo was good at something, it was cooking. Every time you saw him in the kitchen between plates and iron pans, you knew you were about to get the best meal you'd ever tasted.
And this breakfast wasn't the exception; the waffles were fluffy and sweet, the berries exploded on your taste buds with their sweet juice, and the cheese was perfectly melted on the scrambled eggs. The three of them joked around about the size of the flowers and Enzo going all out on breakfast.
"But it is an amazing gesture Enzo, thank you," said Theresa.
"It's nothing," he replied with a humble smile. "I just really want to thank you. I have no idea as to what I am going to do with my life and—" he sighed, rubbed his eyes and laughed. "I don't know."
"You could open a restaurant," said Dante. Enzo looked at him. He never quite got along with Dante, they were very different people. Dante could have all the money in the world but that couldn't compensate for his anger issues. And even if it did, nobody would ever be worthy of Theresa.
They'd known each other since childhood. He always took care of her and vice versa. She stood by his side when he came out to his family, and wiped his tears when his father disowned him. She was more to him than a friend and confidant— she was a part of his own identity.
"Yeah right," he replied to Dante's comment.
"I'm serious."
Theresa looked at her boyfriend. This was the first time he said something directly to Enzo, usually he would avoid him and seek refuge behind her. She smiled and backed his idea.
"I think it's a great idea! Remember you told me you wanted to be a chef?" she looked at Enzo but he was looking down at his plate. "You have a gift." Then she stood up with her plate and left it in the sink.
Enzo stayed at the table, staring at the flowers. He stayed there even after Tessa and Dante were gone. Restaurant he thought. It's not a bad idea. He stood, drank the rest of his coffee, and walked out the door.