"I'll take every single piece of the blame if you want me to
But you know that there is no innocent one in this game for two…
Can we both say the words and forget this?"
- Justin Bieber (Sorry)
Chapter 12
July 2nd 6:15 pm
Shaina placed her hand on the doorknob and then removed it. She didn't feel like going inside having to play house and crossing words with Shaka. There was still that feeling inside of her, of being on her own without having to see him. This marriage wasn't the relationship she had chosen to be in; her drunken self-had been the one who decided it for her. Her drunken self-had been the one to pick Shaka as a one-night stand candidate. The more she thought, the more she was convincing herself of not to go inside and head to a hotel. She was practically used to living in one from time to time, so going to one at the moment wasn't sounding too bad. As she completely let go of the doorknob once more, she heard a car horn honk behind her, and turned around right away.
"What are you waiting for, just go in already?" Geist called out from the driver seat of her car. "I thought you said you were tired?"
"I thought you had left already?" Shaina asked purposely avoiding the first question.
"I won't leave until you're inside the house." Geist had placed the car in parking gear and was patiently waiting for her sister to go inside, but she had seen her hesitate. It was something odd to see coming from the type woman her sister usually was.
"I just thought that maybe I should go to a hotel for the night, you know so that I could rest." Shaina wanted to slap herself as soon as the words left her mouth. It was the weakest excuse she had come up with at the moment.
"Chicken!" Geist said before laughing at her sister. "Just go inside, ignore everything and head straight to your bedroom. Easy peasy…"
"I really don't want to…." Shaina sounded whinier by the second and the more she did it, the more she felt like slapping herself.
"Shaina Mahajan! You are making me late, and I won't have time to get ready for my not a date, date." Geist was losing patience with herself, but mostly with her sister. She hated when her sister would start getting all pouty and whiny, just as much as how Shaina did when she would get into those moods. "Go inside before I get out of this car and drag you in myself."
"Geez… Okay, fine, I'll go inside." Shaina said feeling the testiness in her sister's voice. She turned and placed her hand once again on the doorknob and opened the door.
"Thank you. I love you." Geist said as she started her car.
"Yeah, yeah…." Shaina said as she entered the house slowly and listened to her sister drive away.
Shaina closed the door slowly and stared at the door for a second or two before removing her hand from the knob and the door itself. There was a small moment when she had liked the house she was currently living in, sadly it wasn't the case anymore. She had called her lawyer the day after the night of the fight and asked if he had found a way around the probation period. Aiacos had been very clear with her that there was no way around the probation period. The best advice he gave her from his point of view was for her to behave and just go with it. Words that she hated to hear from her lawyer/cousin's husband.
Shaina turned on her heel and moved away from the door. The few steps from the entrance to the living room were done slowly and cautiously. She would avoid Shaka as much as she could and lock herself inside the master bedroom. She didn't want to fight that day or even the next few days. As Shaina stepped into the living and was greeted with a scene, she never thought she would ever see in her life, other than a YouTube video or even Facebook. The living room was full of all types of balloon arrangements she had ever seen. They were a lovely tone of pearl white, light pink and gold. There was a massive arrangement of pink peonies sitting on the coffee table. Everything around her made her question what was going on. As she looked at her surroundings, she noticed that some of the light pink and pearl balloons had the words 'I'm sorry' written on them. The entire thing was a little over the top for her liking, but she enjoyed the detail and thought placed on the things she was seeing.
Shaina left her weekend bag on the floor, next to the small carry-on luggage and placed the shopping bag on one of the chairs. She looked around to find the responsible party for the living room filled with balloons and a beautiful peony flower arrangement. She noticed a trail of small balloon bouquets that led to the dining room. Shaina walked towards the more modest balloon bouquets to see where it would lead her to, only to see so-called husband at the end of the trail. She stopped walking as soon as she saw him. The entire apologetic setup was a little too much, but the thought of being him was even a bigger surprise. Shaka and Shaina stood there looking at one another between the living room and dining room. Silence, it filled the area more than the balloons and flower surrounding them. Shaina remained quiet as she wasn't going to be the one to speak first. She hadn't started the fight that night, her plans that night, after Madhuri would leave, would be to start his engine and getting him to fuck her, that had been the plan. Shaina had no one else to blame but herself for the mess that her life was in at the moment. She blamed her pregnancy hormones as well for wanting to have sex with him the moment she laid eyes on him.
Shaka had seen his wife since the moment she had stepped into the house. He had observed from afar and noticed the surprised look on her face as she took in the scene. That night after their fight and after the conversation he had with his grandmother, he knew that he had gone a little too far. It was bad enough he had been the one to pick a fight; it had been even worse that he had practically referred to her as a slut. He hadn't said anything that wasn't true regarding her sex life, yet he still had indirectly called her as a slut. He had also meddled in something that had already resolved itself. Shaka had messed up to such a degree that she hadn't answered any of his attempts to talk to her. He had lost count of how many times he had texted her over the course of three days. She never answered his messages were he had asked her when she would be back or at what time. So, in his attempt to apologize, he had called his sister-in-law and asked her for information that would help him learn little things that he didn't know about his wife. He had hesitated at first, as he was never the type of person that would ask for advice, but had given in and called the one person that could give him the information that he needed as well as keep the entire thing under wrap. Geist had jumped right at the chance of helping him in his attempt to apologize to her sister. She had told him about her sister's favorite flower, the things she liked. Geist had also been his only way of knowing when his wife would be coming back as Shaina continued to ignore his text messages. Shaka had planned everything for her arrival; unfortunately, Shaina had made a detour to some clothing store and had hesitated in coming home right away. So he had texted his sister-in-law to check in as to when they would be heading to the house.
There they stood, one in front of the other, as neither one of them said a single word. Shaina continued telling herself that she would not be the first one to speak. Shaka, on the other hand, didn't know how to start. This was the woman that would tolerate him for the next year and the same would go for him. Shaina could see from where she stood, that he had decorated the dining room with balloons and another beautiful bouquet of pink peonies. Since there would be no talking on his part and she wasn't giving in, Shaina did the best thing she could do at the moment. She turned on her heel and made her way back to where she had left her things. The moment that Shaka saw her turn on her heel had not been something he had expected. Without thinking he took a couple of steps to catch up to her.
"Shaina!" Shaka spoke up. It was now or never. His wife stopped mid-step and waited a few seconds before turning to look at him.
"Yes…" Shaina gave him the simple short answer. In all reality, she was three seconds away from laughing at the grand gesture he had set up. Not because it was hilarious, it was more because she just couldn't believe that a man who seemed to be a stick in the mud would do something like this. It was a lovely gesture, but a little on the sappy side. He didn't look like that type of man, and it surprised her a little.
"I'm sorry," Shaka said as sincere as possible. The look on her face when he finished saying those words told him that she was expecting to hear more as to why he was apologizing. He had made a mistake and apologizing for mistakes wasn't something he enjoyed doing. He took a step closer before continuing. "I apologize for the things I said to you the other day. I apologize if I offended you for what I insinuated about you."
Shaina noticed that he had taken a step each time he had apologized and for a short second she felt a bit insecure. She had been wearing her comfortable three-inch heels that she usually used for traveling. The height difference was noticeable, and she did everything possible to stand up as straight as she could. The anticipation of having him getting closer to her was becoming hard for her to control herself. She bit her lip as she mentally tried to stop herself from doing something she wanted to do.
"I apologize for what I am about to do next." As Shaka finished saying those last few words, he took the final step that separated them from one another, placed his hands around her waist and kissed her.
Shaina didn't hold back, as she returned the kiss almost immediately. It was funny how they were acting with only being a few days apart, but at that moment Shaina could care less. She had taken her vibrator with her on her business trip, and as many times as it had gotten her off, it still wasn't the same. Shaina shut off all train of thought and enjoyed the feeling she was experiencing at that moment. His hands on her waist and how slowly he moved them to the small of her back, made her stomach flip. It had been a long time since she had felt her stomach flip and it was something that made her feel a little giddy. She deepened the kiss as a sign of loving the way he made her feel.
Shaka had missed her, and he would only admit that to himself. He wouldn't be the type to say it, but he was letting her know by demonstrating with his actions. He had also missed having her in bed sleeping next to him. The bed had felt empty in just those couple of days she hadn't been there. He ran one hand through her hair and with the other he brought her even closer to him. Shaka made sure Shaina could feel what she was doing to him. He felt her hands move from his neck and going their way down his chest, to his waist and rested them on his back. She ran her hands up and down his back until he felt her pulling his shirt up and placed her hands on his bare back. She gently ran her newly manicured nails down his back making Shaka painfully pulled away from her. He stood in front of her, looking at the lust and desire he had created in her. Shaka removed his hand from her hair and touched Shaina's lips with his thumb, and they had swelled from his kisses. Their eyes met one another as Shaina leaned into his hand.
"Don't do it again," Shaina whispered. She wasn't asking for much, yet she knew the insults would come up from time to time. For the moment, all she wanted was for him to be inside while she would come over and over.
Shaka didn't add anything to what she had said to him. He took her mouth in his and showed her what he was going to do to the rest of her body. He murmured her name against her mouth between kisses. Shaka moved the kisses down to her throat, to the hollow between her neck and shoulder, making her moan in the process. Her head fell back as she gave him access to that particular part of her body. Their clothes quickly began to come off one item at a time, as one helped the other out in an attempt to get closer to what they wanted. As his mouth found hers once again, and he kissed her hard, their bodies soon found themselves on the floor of the living room.
Shaka showed Shaina how apologetic he could be. He would take his time and apologize all night long if he had to.
For most of the day, in that living room floor, Shaka had apologized to his wife time and time again. He had lost himself in the euphoric orgasm that they had experienced in the clean recently vacuumed rug. As Shaka laid on the floor with Shaina nestled on his side, he reminded himself that there had been more to his apology than the balloons, flowers and spoken apology. The second and third part of his apologetic evening was forgotten. The second part sat on the stove of their kitchen and the third and last item he had added, courtesy of the last minute information, sat on the kitchen island inside a pink box. There was always a chance that they would get to that part of the apology later on in the evening, but at that moment it wasn't as important. The dinner he had prepared earlier, he could warm up. The dessert in the pink box could they could eat later, but right now the unplanned part of his apology was important. Shaka soon felt how Shaina softly ran her nails down his chest; his lower self quickly reacted to her attention. All Shaka could tell himself was that dinner could wait.
July 3rd 1 pm
Marin sat in the back seat of the cab she had hailed twenty minutes ago. It only had taken the driver fifteen minutes to get to its destination, which meant that Marin had let the meter run for an additional five minutes. As the meter continued to run, so were Marin's thoughts. She questioned herself whether she had rushed to her friend's house too soon or not. Especially since the house she had rushed to was of her recently married friend. Not wanting to spend more on car fair, Marin took out money from her purse and paid the driver. She made her way to the front door of the house once she had exited the cab. The walk from the taxi to the house proved to be too long for Marin and tried to hurry her step. Marin rang the doorbell countless of times as she waited impatiently for her friend to open the door.
"He stood me up!" Those were Marin's words as soon as her best friend had opened the door and stepped inside.
"Sure come in, make yourself at home," Shaina said as she closed the door after her friend had walked past her.
"He won't even answer my calls or text me back. I honestly don't..." Marin rendered herself speechless as she saw Misty and Shaka clearing the balloon arrangement from the living room. "What's going on here?"
"I'll tell you after you finish telling me what happened to you. Come on; I set up something for us on the patio." Shaina said as she met her friend at the foot of the living room.
"Shaina, this is…" Marin couldn't find the words to express what she was seeing.
"...over the top? Yes, I know. You should have seen it yesterday when I got home." Shaina said as they both passed through the living room and headed to where the glass doors were. "The dining room was the first one they cleared out."
"What exactly happened?" Marin asked as both women stepped out into the patio, where Shaina had set cold drinks for them and some snacks.
"Nope, we will start with you, and then we'll continue with me." Shaina took a seat in one of the chairs and opened one of the water bottles. "So you mentioned that he stood you up?"
"Yeah, we had talked about having brunch several times this week, and then he doesn't show up. I sat there at the restaurant for two hours, two hours Shaina. It can't be work; I just know it can't be work." Marin went straight for the bowl filled with chips as soon as she took a seat. She ate a couple of chips before saying out loud the thoughts that were invading her mind. "What if he is cheating on me?"
"What if he isn't?" Shaina responded with a question of her own. It's evident that Marin had already entertained that idea from her trip from the restaurant to the moment she had said it out loud.
"Shaina, I don't think I could handle him cheating on me, not after what he put me through the last time." Marin took a handful of chips and munched on a couple.
"What if something came up and he's busy? Didn't you once mentioned Aioria has a brother or sister?" Shaina asked trying to put another spin on her best friend's way of thinking. She didn't have the heart to tell her friend that her hunch might be right.
"Brother. Aioros, he has a brother named Aioros." Marin said as she opened the bottled water and took a long drink from it.
"Wait… His brother's name is Aioros, as in Aioros Drivas?" Shaina asked surprised as she placed her bottle back on the table.
"Yes. Why?" Marin asked a little curious at her friend's reaction to the man's name.
"Aioros Drivas is Shaka's lawyer." Shaina leaned back in her chair and shook her head. "I can't believe it just dawned on me that the two men could be related. What a small world?"
"It is a small world. How do you think those two know each other?" Marin asked as she looked out into the scenery that was in front of them.
"I don't know, and before you ask, no, I'm not curious in finding out." Shaina grabbed a chip from the bowl and placed it in her mouth. The only thing she cared for at the moment was if Aioria was cheating on her friend. The possibility was there, but to tell that to Marin would be a huge mistake. So she did the best thing she could think of, and that was to give her simple advice. "Don't text him anymore today and if you do, which we both know you will - wait until later on in the evening."
"I'll try," Marin said as she took a couple of more chips in her hand. A month of dating her ex again and here she was dealing with his drama, again. Marin turned her head back to the house and saw Misty holding several balloons in his hand. She smiled to herself and asked her friend what she wanted to know since she had seen the arrangements in the living room. "So what's with the balloons?"
"Shaka apologized for the fight we had this past Tuesday. Scratch that, for the fight, he started on Tuesday." Shaina corrected herself as she looked towards the house. She wasn't going to be the one to say that she had started that fight, she would accredit all to him. "He made dinner and even brought dessert, which was chocolate croissants. I have a strong suspicion that my lovely twin had something to do with all this."
"I think if Geist had a hand in this apology, then she would have suggested something completely different." Marin looked away and back towards the beach. She laughed to herself at the thought of Geist suggesting balloon bouquets and arrangements. "What makes you think that Geist is in all this?"
"Please, the man hardly knows what food I like, let alone what flower I like. I thought it might have been Junet the one that had told him but then late at night when we finished fucking each other senseless, we had dessert." Shaina gained a look from her friend as if urging her to continue her deduction. "The chocolate croissants gave it away. After I arrived yesterday, Geist and I went shopping. I mentioned that I had been craving chocolate croissants from that place we like and lo and behold."
"You got to give him credit, at least he apologized." Marin smiled at her friend and then caught what her friend had said previously. She wasn't going to let it just slip away into other subjects of conversation. "So, you two had crazy make-up sex or was it romantic lovemaking?"
Shaina had to stop herself from shocking on her drink of water. She looked at Marin as she coughed away what little water had managed to go down the wrong way. She hadn't expected for Marin to bring up that part out of everything was said. Once the coughing had subsided, and she had calmed herself, she decided to prolong the answer to her friend's question. Shaina smirked at her friend and made her wait just a few more seconds.
"When have you known me to refer sex as making love? The thought of those words coming out of my mouth makes me sick to my stomach." Shaina leaned back in her chair and looked out towards the ocean. "It was crazy make-up sex, plain and simple. There is no romance in this so-called marriage we know that the majority knows that."
"If anyone saw what I've seen, they would think otherwise," Marin said as she took her bottle of water from the table. She knew that later rather than sooner, those two would end up falling for one another. For this time only, she would not say a word about it. "So I shouldn't text him until later on in the evening?"
"That should be the plan," Shaina answered and was grateful that her friend hadn't continued the subject of her and Shaka having sex. She had to give Marin credit for dropping the subject and returning to the subject that had brought her to her house. "Just wait and be patient. There is always a perfectly good explanation, and we always tend to ruin it by worrying about the hundreds of case scenarios in our head."
"I know…" Marin agreed with what Shaina had just said. Her head was running into conclusions, and that was no way to spend her entire day.
The sound of the waves crashing relaxed both women. They both stood up and went to sit each in one of the lounge chairs set on the patio. Every so often the sound of balloons popping could be heard coming from the house. Every single time that would happen, Shaina and Marin would start laughing. Neither one could believe that Shaka Mahajan would be the type of man that would set up such an elaborate display for an apology. Marin looked at her friend and then back at the ocean. Regardless of how her friend had ended up in a marriage with the most unlikely man on the planet, she knew deep inside that Shaka would end up falling in love with Shaina and the same would be said for Shaina. Marin was sure that his actions had touched Shaina and not just only in the physical sense. Time, only time would tell how long it would take for those two to fall in love with one another. Marin had to smile at herself at the thought; there was no doubt in her mind that she was indeed a hopeless romantic.
July 4th 4 pm
Junet took the last picture of Shaina and her baby bump. As the proud aunty-to-be, she showed off the images to all the family and friends that had gathered in the living room. Her grandmother had gone on and on about how beautiful Shaina looked pregnant. Aishwarya was completely surprised as she hadn't thought that her daughter-in-law was thirteen weeks pregnant already. Geist took the opportunity and was gushing all over her sister; it was her only way of being able to without Shaina getting upset that she was making a huge deal. The rest of the group which consisted of Marin, Mu, Shaka and Asmita watched from their seats. Kiki had left his father's side and was now hugging Shaina, which came to no surprise to some of the members of the current group. Shaina caressed the head of the little boy and looked down at him with a smile on her lips. The little boy looked up at her smiling brightly at her while he hugged her as tight as he could. For the first time, Shaina felt a strange emotion arise in her. She had begun caring for the little boy and enjoyed the time they had watched a movie together and had even fallen asleep on the sofa. There was no way to describe or put into words, the feeling she was experiencing. Shaina looked up from the little boy and noticed that she had been the attraction of a couple of members of the entire group. Never the one to like being the center of attention, Shaina excused herself and went up to the bedroom to change clothes.
Shaina made it to her bedroom while trying to ignore the comments that her friends and in-laws were making. She closed the door behind her and headed straight for her closet. The dress she wore for the picture were making her feel too warm. The air conditioner was on, and the house had felt cool earlier, but now she felt warm. Shaina took the dress off and hung it back where it was hanging before. As she grabbed the jean shorts she had been wearing before the pictures, she couldn't help but glance at the full-length mirror. She looked at herself wearing only one of the new bras she had recently purchased and color matching underwear. The scale in the bathroom and the one at her gynecologist office had told her that she had lost another three pounds since they had moved in together, but her body was showing her something completely different. From the front, she could see a small difference, besides that her breast had grown a full cup. Shaina moved to a profile position, and that is where she could see the change in her body. She had been caught up with work and trying to hide the baby bump that she hadn't taken the time to stop and notice what was going on. She couldn't believe how easy it had been to ignore her midsection while she had stood all those times in front of a mirror. It was a hit to her self-esteem at the thought that she had had sex over and over with a man she tolerated. She had been on top of him many times, and that alone, almost made her feel embarrassed. Shaina hadn't had self-esteem issues since the end of her last serious relationship.
Trying to ignore the self-esteem issues her mind was bringing up, Shaina breathed in deeply and took a moment to see herself from another angle. She tried to quiet all her thoughts and just look at herself and the woman she was becoming before her eyes. For the very first time, Shaina did something that would have never crossed her mind. Slowly, she placed one hand on the very top of her growing pregnant bump, and with her other hand placed on her hip. There were no thoughts, no words that could describe those feelings. She ran her hand up and down her midsection while she looked herself in the mirror. Not only had that moment been something entirely different for her, but it had also been unusual for the person that had witnessed it. Shaka had made his way to the bedroom when he had noticed that Shaina had taken long getting back downstairs. Whether he admitted it to himself or not, he had worried. Relief had washed over him once he had seen her standing in the middle of the closet. He had been surprised for what he had walked into. Shaka hadn't noticed the change in her midsection as of late. He had been too busy apologizing on Saturday and Sunday to even take notice of that part of her body. As he had watched her pose for the pictures in front of family and friends, he had finally noticed. He felt a bit of shame that he hadn't seen it before. She looked beautiful downstairs in that dress she had been wearing, and she looked even more beautiful standing there with hardly anything on.
Shaina looked up from looking at her belly and finally noticed that she had an audience of one. She felt embarrassed as she had been caught doing something that was so normal to women in her state. Shaina quickly removed her hands from her belly and grabbed her shorts from where they were lying. Shaka took those few steps from the door frame to where she stood and stopped her from picking up her clothes. He took her hand in his and moved it away from where it was. Shaka placed his hand on her cheek and caressed the smooth skin of her face with his thumb. He cautiously traced his finger down her neck and moved his hand to her shoulder sliding one thin strap off. Shaka held her full breast in his hand as if it were the first time he'd ever done so. Shaina enjoyed the way he touched her body; she met his eyes and silently asked what he was planning to do. Shaka brushed her nipple that stood out more prominently, with his thumb. He had noticed that her breasts looked fuller when he had undressed her on Saturday and had been amazed by it. He had never considered himself to be the type of man that would admire women's breast, but these in front of him were hard not to do so. Shaka began to place her bra back as it was before, the temptation was too high, and he had to show some self-control. Shaka moved his hand from her shoulder and ran them down her side, slowly taking his time, and stopping them at her waist. Shaka couldn't stop exploring this found new change in her body, something that they both had neglected to do when they had been by themselves.
"May I?" Shaka asked with sincerity as he looked her in the eye.
"Yes," Shaina responded as there was no need for an explanation to something they both had understood.
Shaka ran his hand across his wife's rounded midsection which contained their child. It was amazingly soft, yet firm. This was officially the first time he'd gotten to touch her belly in this manner. It made him feel reverent and grateful that she'd opened herself to him and gave him the opportunity.
'If only you knew how beautiful you are and look carrying our child, even more, beautiful than before.' He thought to himself. A part of him wished he would be able to say those words out loud, but the uncertainty of her reaction and his feelings for her were much higher.
Shaka bent down just far enough to be at eye level with his wife's belly and kissed it softly. Shaina placed her hand on his shoulder and ran her other hand through his hair. There were no words to describe what they were both feeling at that moment and there were no words that needed to be said.
There, in the middle of their walk-in closet, Shaina and Shaka were sharing their first moment as soon-to-be parents.
July 5th 7:30 am
Junet stood near the pick-up counter where they would place her finished coffee order. She had tried to make it early to get her coffee before heading to work. She had left her brother's house late the previous night, just like the rest of the guest, and it seemed she was now paying the consequences. The only two that had called it a night early was Shaina and Kiki. Kiki had fallen asleep on the sofa watching a kids movie that Shaina had purchased online for him. Shaina, on the other hand, had started dozing off while they were all in the living room talking. Shaina had found her spot on the sofa next to Marin and had dozed off with no one noticing at first. It had been Madhuri who had seen the way Shaina had snuggled on the couch at first; later she had been the only one to notice that the soon-to-be mom had fallen asleep. Marin had nudged her awake and had suggested that maybe she should go to bed. The rest of the group stayed longer after Shaina had said her goodbyes and went up to the bedroom.
Now she was paying the consequences for staying up too late. She prayed that the next coffee cup the barista would place on the counter was for her. Three coffee cups later, the barista finally called her name. Junet didn't take long, and as soon as the cup of coffee was set on the counter, she picked it up. She made her way to where she could grab a cup sleeve before heading out. Once the sleeve on her cup was in place, she grabbed her cup and was ready to go, until an attractive man in nice looking casual business attire, stood in front of her. Junet didn't mean to stare, but the man was really good looking.
"I think I might have your coffee and you might have mine." The gorgeous man in the slim fit charcoal colored chinos said.
"Uhmm…" It was the smartest thing Junet could say as she was completely stunned by how handsome the man in front of her was. She had seen this man every so often at the coffee shop, but she had never thought she would see him up close. Junet had to compose herself as she realized the word that had come out of her mouth was more of a sound than a word. "Excuse me."
"I grabbed your cup by mistake instead of mine." The man said as he showed her the name written in the cup he was holding.
Junet looked at the cup he was holding and read her name written on his cup. She looked at the cup in her hand and removed the sleeve. In her rush to get to grab her coffee and head to work, she hadn't spotted the name written in the cup. She felt stupid for not noticing it.
"Oh.. I'm sorry." She blurted out. Junet wanted to slap herself both physically and mentally.
"No, I should apologize really. I just grabbed the first coffee to go cup without checking to see if it was mine. I would give this to you, but I already drank from it." The man said with a sheepish smile on his lips. "I'm Hyoga."
"I'm Junet." Junet introduced herself as she smiled back. She couldn't help but think that he had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Acting like a schoolgirl was never her style, so at that moment Junet summoned her usual fantastic self and did something she usually didn't do. She pulled a pen from her purse and took the cup from his hand. Junet wrote down her number just below where her name had been written down. She gave him back the cup and gave him the nicest smile. "Give me a call sometime."
Junet walked away from him with a smile on her face. She decided not to look back and continued to step out of the coffee shop and into the busy city sidewalk. It wasn't every day that she would give out her number to a complete stranger, but the man was gorgeous. She had a feeling that she would hear from him soon and would be okay if she didn't. There was one thing that Junet knew, and that was that she had to put herself out there. It was the only way she would be able to move on from her crush with Mu. She had to move on, Mu was doing so, and he didn't even know she had a crush on him. Junet walked to work with a smile on her lips while thinking of her next prospect.
July 5th 6 pm
Occupying one of the nearest tables to the bar of Caffe Vita was Geist, waiting for her six o'clock appointment. She had arrived ten minutes early to set up the table with what she would need. Her iPad, her phone and a notebook with a pen placed on top of it, were all placed on the table, with her cup of coffee strategically placed to her left, away from her electronics. Geist was a bit OCD when it came to having her thing in their proper place; only when it came to her work things. Geist waited, and she made sure the cashier knew that she was waiting for a possible client. So there she sat, close to the bar, waiting. As Geist checked her phone for any missed calls or text, even emails, she didn't notice that her six o'clock appointment was now standing near her table. Geist placed her phone back on the table, and as she looked up, she really needed to look up. Out of all the coffee shop in the entire city, Geist's fireman was standing right in front of her table. Naturally and without any effort on her part, she smiled brightly. Geist stood up and greeted the man, who she had forgotten was taller than she remembered. Aldebaran leaned forward and hugged her. He hadn't seen her since the wedding and couldn't help but notice that she was more beautiful than he remembered. He could tell that she was a bit surprised to see him at first, but it didn't seem as if it were in a wrong way. Her smile seemed sincere and genuine, and her lips looked exquisite.
"This is a small world, I mean, what are the odds of bumping into you here?" Geist was delighted to see the man. She played it off as casual and friendly as she could. "How are you?"
"I'm doing well, how about you?" Aldebaran asked as he realized that she still didn't know that he was her six o'clock appointment.
"Doing good..." Geist wanted to talk to him, but once again she was busy with work. It was fate, she was certain. Somehow the universe didn't want her to sleep with that wonderful tall drink of water. "I wish I had time to talk to you more, but I have a potential client coming anytime soon."
Aldebaran smiled to himself and her. He had been right in thinking that the woman in front of him had no clue that he was her six o'clock appointment. The woman seemed to be trying to look around, but at the same time trying to be polite and keep talking to him.
"I'm your six o'clock appointment," Aldebaran stated as she looked at him a little incredulous.
"What?" Geist looked at him while being thrown off completely. She reached for her cell phone and checked the name of the person she would see at six. "Sousa, your last name is Sousa?"
"That would be me. Aldebaran Sousa, at your service." Aldebaran said giving her his best smile.
"Oh…" Geist's demeanor faltered as she just realized that the man she had thought of while she masturbated for the last week, was getting married. She cursed herself mentally for not thinking that the man could be attached to someone. She usually had a good radar for detecting attached men. "In that case, please, take a seat. Now, will your fiancé be joining us at this appointment or until the next time? It's alright if she won't, but I will still need to talk to you about the ideas you might have for the wedding."
Aldebaran noticed as if a switched had been turned off on her. She had gone into wedding planner mode and wasn't leaving him much opportunity to speak. He kicked himself mentally for not being upfront with her the day he had called. In whichever way he looked at it, he should have been clear from the start.
"Geist, I'm not getting married." He took a seat on the chair across from her. She had dropped the pencil back on the notebook as she looked up at him.
"You're not? I thought... Isn't this…" Geist had to clear her throat and gather her composure. She wasn't sure what game he was playing or if he was playing one at all. "You called me and set an appointment with me for a consult."
"You gave me your card to call you. The day we spoke, well, you were busy, and I thought it would be a great surprise." Aldebaran said sheepishly. "I miss led you, and I'm sorry for that."
Geist read the sincerity in the man's words and couldn't help but feel touched by his gesture. He had gone above the norm to talk to her and have her for himself. Geist grabbed her tablet and her notebook and placed them back in her purse. She noticed how the man looked at her and for a moment she knew what she was doing could be interpreted as something else. Geist smiled at him while she moved her coffee in front of her, where her notebook used to be.
"How about we start by you grabbing a drink and we'll go from there?" Geist smiled once more and received a nod as an answer from him.
For the next hour and a half, in Caffe Vita, Geist gave Aldebaran her full attention. They talked about everything and anything. It was something that Geist hadn't done in a while with a man. By the end of their night, Aldebaran had walked Geist home, several blocks down from the coffee shop. They had walked in complete silence, only enjoying each other's company. At the entrance doors of Geist apartment, Aldebaran had kissed her forehead lightly and had said goodnight. Geist stood there completely baffled at the action that had just taken place. She didn't know whether to write it down as a fluke or a misconnection on his part. She had been funny, cute and flirtatious and there was no way he could have missed that. Geist let out a small curse as she entered the elevator. She had a great night and ending the way it just had made no sense to her. She was not the type of woman to put herself out there if that man wasn't going to be the one coming inside her.
July 7th, 3:30 pm
Thirty minutes that was all Marin needed to wait before she could finally call it a day. She had already finished cleaning and clearing out her workspace. Asterion had already taken a seat in one of the many chairs around the break room and was now busy on his phone. Marin decided to follow him when one of the girls in the shop told her that she had a walk-in consult for a cake. Asterion looked away from his phone and watched as Marin pushed the chair back unto the table. As a good friend and coworker, he had offered to do the consult instead. There was still thirty minutes remaining and highly doubtful it would take more than that. Marin thanked him and made her way to the front of the shop. Cathy, the shop girl, informed her that the walk-in consult was sitting at the store's usual consult table. She even went on to telling Marin that she was sure the consult would be for a birthday cake. Marin smiled at the girl as she was sure that Cathy's guess was correct. Marin made her way to the small table that was set up in the corner of the shop. She made a quick assessment of how she looked before continuing. She now carried in her hand a pen and a clipboard with an order form clipped to it; courtesy of Cathy. Marin made it up to the table and introduced herself to the woman that was peeling off the paper of the recently purchased cupcake. As soon as the woman placed the treat on the table in front of the little boy, she wiped her hand with a napkin and greeted Marin.
"I'm sorry. I think I might have gotten icing on your hand." The woman said while handing Marin a napkin. She continued to smile politely, as Marin placed her clipboard on the table and smiled politely
"Don't worry about it; it happens all the time," Marin said taking the napkin in her hand and wiped the smudge of icing off. "So? What brings you into the shop today?"
"My son's birthday is in a month, and I would like to order it ahead of time." The woman went on as she kept eying at the little boy who was busy eating his cupcake. "I just moved to the city, and my brother-in-law raves about this shop all the time. He brought us eclairs and those little bread-like cookies that look like shells."
"Madeleines." Marin chimed knowing well what the woman was describing.
"Yes, I believe that's the name of those cookies. He also buys the pan and rye bread here. They are delicious." The woman raved about the things she had eaten from that bakery. "So, since I'm new here and this is the only place I knew and liked so far. I decided to come in and order the birthday cake. I just didn't know that you had to make an appointment to place an order."
"Don't worry about it; it's quite alright. We do consultations by appointment, but walk-ins as well." Marin clarified as she looked at the woman and then at the little boy who was busy eating his cupcake. She had never seen a little boy behaving so well while eating a chocolate cups cake. "What style of cake do you have in mind and for how many people?"
"He likes the movie Cars, and Lightning McQueen is his favorite character. How many people would a cake like that feed and how big would it be?" The woman asked as she took out a small package of wipes to clean her son.
Marin took out her phone and began to look for one photo album where she had made a Cars character cake. She wrote down the size of it and style on the order form. Marin placed her phone on the table and waited for the woman to finish cleaning up her son. Marin couldn't help but look at the little boy. He was cute and well behaved. He looked a little like his mother, but the eye color Marin assumed was the father's same eye color. Looking at the scene taking place in front of her, made her wonder if one day that would be her. Marin snapped out of her thoughts once she saw the woman take the phone off the table and looked at the picture.
"Yes, that is what I am looking for." The woman smiled brightly and showed her little boy the picture before handing the phone back to Marin.
"The cake in the picture is made to feed thirty people. Is that something you are looking into or does it need to be bigger?" Marin asked as she took her phone back and placed it on the side of the clipboard.
"That seems to be too much cake, but it is cake after all. I doubt it would go to waste. Like I said before, I just moved here, and the party would just consist of us two, my husband and his family." The woman took out her phone and looked for her calendar app. "I will need the cake on August the tenth. I wish that his birthday would have been on the sixteenth just like his father, but this little boy couldn't wait any longer."
"Will you be ordering a cake for your husband, seeing that his birthday is on the sixteenth?" Marin asked not thinking much of it. She unclipped the order sheet and placed it where her phone was so she could start a new one.
"Oh no, that won't be necessary. My husband insisted that I shouldn't get him any cake this year." The woman smiled as she looked at the woman in front of her. "At what time would I be able to pick up the cake?"
"Pick-ups are usually done from twelve until closing hours unless you would prefer to pick it up earlier. We also offer our delivery service." Marin suggested as she placed the form back to the clipboard and began to write down what she needed. "Do you want us to write your son's name on the cake or the side?"
"I think that on the board would be better, and if you could add happy birthday as well." The woman looked at her little boy and smiled. She was excited and couldn't wait to see the look on her little boy's face when he would see the cake. "His name is Håkon, I'm sorry; I completely forgot to give it to you."
"That's alright. I would have asked as well." Marin smiled as she continued to write on her order form. She was about to finish, and it was almost time to leave as well. "Alright, the cake will be ready on August the tenth. Like I said before, you can pick it up as early as twelve. All I need is your name and for you to fill out the rest."
"It's Lyfia, Lyfia Drivas." She said as she saw Marin had stopped writing on the clipboard and looked at her. "Is something the matter? It's the last name, I know, people always have a hard time spelling it. Here let me."
Marin gave Lyfia the pen and watched as the woman began to write down all the needed information. She played out the bits of information that the woman had given her, and she just couldn't bring herself to think. It was too much of a coincidence. Marin looked at the little boy that was sitting quietly, waiting for his mother to finish. She couldn't make out any resembles to the person she was thinking about that very moment. Except for the eyes, that is all.
"Here you go and thank you so much for the consultation." Marin snapped out of her thoughts as the woman in front of her spoke. "I filled in the part of the flavor of cake as well as the filling. He loves chocolate as you can very well see."
Marin nodded as a response and took the clipboard from the table. Soon they said their goodbyes and Marin followed them up to the door of the shop. As soon as Lyfia was out of sight, Marin checked the information the woman had written. Marin saw the combination of chocolate cake with cherry filling and thought of it as another coincidence. As she read the entire order form, she found the one thing she no longer could deny. There, in black ink, in the reference box was Aioros Drivas's name written as the person who had referred the customer. Marin wanted to fall on her knees and cry, but instead held herself together and gave the clipboard back to Cathy. She made sure to write down the name of one of the afternoon bakers so they could take care of that order. Marin felt a little proud of herself for not falling apart in public. She managed to make it all the way up to her apartment, and as soon as she closed the door, she began to cry. Aioria Drivas had managed to break her heart once again.
