Café des hérons
"Why is my boss such an idiot?", that was what Jill was thinking.
She was at the main square of the city, waiting for her boss to arrive.
She had tried to call him so many times, but nothing, he hadn't picked up not even once. He was probably still sleeping at the hotel, and there was no way Jill was going to go there to wake him up.
She dialed his number again and, as always, he didn't reply, so she decided to leave a message.
- Haar, it's me, Jill. You're gonna be late to the appointment if you don't hurry up! I don't want to lose this deal because of you! -, she almost shouted, angry.
Ugh, she still couldn't believe he hadn't been fired yet but, whenever she liked it or not, he was very good at his job and the company couldn't afford to lose him, even despite his… quirk.
Great, it had started to rain too, and she hadn't brought an umbrella with her; it was like the entire world wanted her to understand that that was going to be an awful day.
She didn't want to get much wet, considering that soon she had a meeting, so she decided to take refuge at the coffee shop she had passed right before arriving to the square.
She was a bit preoccupied because she didn't understand French that well without an interpreter, but she felt like she could manage; maybe someone there was able to speak English, or at least she really hoped so.
When she opened the door she was immediately greeted by the barista.
- Bonjour! -, she said with such a happy voice that made Jill wonder how could some people be so cheerful at that time of the day.
- Oui, um, bonjour -, Jill replied.
When she heard herself, though, she wanted to bury herself in the ground; her pronunciation was so crappy! Thank goodness the girl was the only one who could hear her, since there wasn't any other customer yet.
Despite her fears, the girl didn't mock her, but she smiled and she asked her with a gentle tone:
- Vous désirez? -.
There it was. Jill had no idea of want she said.
- Um, do you speak English? -, she asked her, hoping for a positive response.
- …English? -, the girl asked, a bit uncertain.
Jill nodded.
- A little -, she said, and then she asked again.
- You want? -.
- Just some coffee, please -, Jill replied, careful to speak clearly.
The girl nodded and she pointed to one of the two tables that were exactly in front of them.
- Sit down? -, she asked and Jill decided to take that offer.
It wasn't like she could stay outside, so why not spend as much time as possible there?
She tried to call her boss again, but to no avail.
She sighed, resting her head on her hand; she couldn't believe she had to put up with that.
If that oaf didn't wake up, she was ruined.
She could have attended the meeting alone; that wasn't the actual problem, but she doubted she could a good job without him.
She was too absorbed by her worries that she didn't notice the girl bringing her coffee.
- Tu es en train de dormir, comme c'est mignon! -, she said, and that brought Jill back to reality.
She quickly assumed a proper position, looking at the girl with an apologetic face, but she didn't seem to mind, so she took her coffee, thanking the girl, and took a sip.
When it was that early she usually took her coffee without any sugar; it kept her more awake that way.
The girl didn't go away; instead she sat in front of her.
For a moment they both remained silent; Jill started to wonder what the girl was thinking, but she didn't mind her presence as much as she liked to think.
Still, having her looking at her with those big, green eyes was starting to become creepy, so she said, raising an eyebrow:
- What is it? -.
- You are… -, the other started, taking a moment to think about the right word to say, - … Sad -.
Oh. Wow.
Was she that easy to read?
- No, I'm fine -, she denied, hoping that that would have been the end of the conversation.
Technically that was the end of the conversation, but there was something in the way the girl was looking at her – like she knew she was lying – that made Jill feel guilty.
- Ok, not very fine -, she said, in fact, but the girl still didn't speak.
- I'm just… worried -, she continued, then.
- Wor…ried? -, the girl said, perplexed, so Jill had to explain her what it meant in the simplest way possible.
- Oh, j'ai compris -, she said, whatever that meant, and then she smiled again.
- Um… don't be worried -, she continued, - It will be ok -.
Even though she was just a stranger, her candid expression and the way she said those words actually succeeded in making Jill feel a bit better.
- Merci -, she said, showing off that little French she knew.
- What's your name? -, she asked then, curious.
- Leanne -, the girl replied.
Leanne. A pretty name for a pretty person.
Wait, what the hell was she thinking?
- I'm Jill -, she just said, fearing to say something she would have regretted later.
- Jill -, Leanne repeated, taking her hands between hers, - Be happy, now, ok? -.
Her hands were warm, just as her smile, and Jill couldn't help but to smile back.
- Ok, thank you -, she said.
Suddenly her phone started to ring and the spell broke.
Jill had to break the contact with Leanne to take it and answer to the call; it was her boss, finally, but despite that, she felt a bit disappointed.
- I'm coming -, he said, - Stay at the square so I can see you, ok? -.
- Yeah, ok -, Jill replied, - Hurry up -.
- Yeah, whatever -.
As soon as the phone call ended, Jill quickly got up from her seat.
- I have to go -, she explained to Leanne.
She was about to reach for her purse to pay the coffee but Leanne stopped her.
- No need -, she said.
- But… -, Jill tried to protest, but Leanne interrupted her.
- It's a gift -, she said, and Jill couldn't manage to change her mind, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't have paid back somehow.
Maybe she could bring her a present of some kind; she didn't know Leanne well – she didn't know her at all, actually – but she felt like she would have been happy with any kind of gift.
- I'll be back- , she promised, and Leanne smiled as she got closer to her.
She didn't give Jill any time to say anything as she kissed both of her cheeks.
Oh, yeah, that was a thing French people did.
- Goodbye -, she said, then.
Jill didn't reply immediately; she was too busy looking at her to think about anything else. Then, she came back to reality, and she replied with:
- Goodbye, see you soon -.
When she arrived to the square, she immediately found her boss. At least now they could just go without any more waiting.
- You're face is red -, he commented when he saw Jill.
- Think about the meeting, instead -, she replied, defensive, and she started to scold him for his behaviour, like she always did.
Still, she couldn't help but to think about Leanne and, at that point, she came to the realisation that she might have gotten a little crush on her.
She knew it was stupid, first of all because she didn't know French and she didn't know English that well, and also because they didn't even live in the same place, but what could she do?
Maybe she could have asked Haar; maybe he could give her some advices. Wait why was she thinking that? Haar, seriously?
He was the last person in the planet she should ask for relationship advice.
She still had a few days before leaving France, and that meant she was definitely going to see Leanne again.
She didn't want to do much; just taking a coffee and talking a bit. She knew she couldn't do more.
Maybe if she had more time, and the situation was different…
No, she had to stop. Making assumptions about what could have been wasn't her style, and she wasn't going to start doing it now.
After the meeting she would have searched for a gift to give to Leanne – maybe something she could put inside the shop – and the next day she would have given it to her and, if she wanted, she would have stopped for a chat.
Yes, that was what she was going to do and, well, if things went a certain way, she was definitely not going to complain.
Author's notes: I'm studying French but I'm still not great at it, so I've probably written something wrong. If I did please let me know!