Another Love Story 4

The next day, was a rainy day. No surprise there. The alarm was going on, pressing her to wake up at six. She turned it off and started wondering if it was worth it. She heard the rain knocking at the window and decided to ignore everything and go back to sleep. At least the rain was a good setting to finish reading Great Expectations. There were only a few chapters left to read and she was looking forward to see the mysterious benefactor of Mr. Pip. But the motivation to keep reading was fading away. Pip was not a very likable character. The only reason she kept reading was because of the love story and her curiosity of course. Still it was hard and at the same time easy to understand his love for a woman so mean. So much wasted time. Maybe they had things in common after all. Maybe that was the reason she hated him so much.

The rain kept knocking and it was impossible to ignore the full bladder. She hurried to the bathroom thinking of coffee and a book. The perfect day to escape reality and dive into another sad loving story. With only half her brain working, she managed to make coffee and sat with the first cup in her hands staring at the water falling down the sky. After her first cup she decided she was fit enough to get the book out of her bag while pondering about Miss Havisham.

People downstairs started talking and it felt like they were standing beside her window on the fourth floor. Why do they always have to do that? She started fumbling in her bag, getting the new books and the library books out of it. There was nothing left in it. She went pale. Never before had she forgotten a book somewhere and the worst part was that it was one, she had not even finished yet. How could she wait to discover if Estella would finally give in and choose him? The main character. Was that not how love stories are supposed to be? Her brain started working while she sat back at the table. Drinking her second cup of coffee. She clearly remembered putting the Charles dickens in her bag and pulling it out after meeting Marcus. She clearly remembered putting it back into the… Oh no. Her eye widening. She remembered she had to carrying so many books with her, she had to get a second bag at the book shop. A bag which was still lying on the bench in the rain at the plaza. She closed her eyes putting her head in her hands. She shook her head. It was one of the safest countries in Europe. Nobody would have stolen the book. But the rain. So much for not using plastic bags.

Nevertheless, she wanted to give it a try. After a quick shower, J was on her way to the city center waring the same clothes she had worn the day before. She arrived at the bench only to find it empty. She sat down staring into the abyss. The rain had scared most people into museums and coffee houses leaving the square almost empty. The air was fresh and moisty. The sound of children playing in puddles and the water of the big fountain were echoing in the vast space. J leant back, wondering what to do.

After a few minutes it became too cold to sit outside. She stood up and headed towards her favorite coffee house. After a few minutes she reached a small glass door which was almost invisible for the untrained eye. A small sign hanging on the inside: Closed. She could not believe the week could have gotten worse than that. She turned around, her eyes tightening in anger.

All of a sudden, she was standing in front of an automatic glass door; a branch store of a big coffee house. She hated it but there was no other way to avoid the cold. She ordered a big cup of coffee and began reading far from madding crowd. She was so captivated by the description of Farmer Oak, that she did not notice a guy asking her for permission to sit with her. He smirked and sat across the table staring at her with a half-smile on his face.

Finally, the waitress came with the coffee giving J the opportunity to acknowledge she had company. Her eyes widening as she recognized the man she almost ran into yesterday. He was still wearing sunglasses and a cap. The gray rain jacket was the same as J’s. Raindrops falling onto the dark floor.

-Hi.

His voice sounded like a warm embrace, charming with a hit of amusement in the background. J’s jaw dropped slightly as she was attempting to remember to complain about his rudeness. He waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. It was as if time was waiting for his command to go on.

Eventually she got hold of her facial expression responding with a simple

–Hi.

That was definitely not the answer she wanted to give but her brain seemed to be intent on giving him everything he wanted, which did not make sense at all. She had not even seen his face, for all she knew, he could be an ugly murderer.