Relationship For Convenience

Chapter 7

        The phone rang again, cutting the girls from their stupor.

      "Mom?" She questioned apprehension pooling in the pit of her stomach, maybe something was wrong? Was her dad okay? Those were the questions running through her mind.

      "Is everything okay?"

      "Yes, nothing is wrong." Just like that, all her worries disappeared and she let out a sigh of relief.

     "Did I catch you at a bad time, honey?"

      "No, no, I'm surprised that's all." Last time she checked, it wasn't Thanksgiving or new year so she wondered the purpose of her mother's call.

      "I haven't heard from you for a while, so I thought to call." Her mom sounded almost hesitant.

     "I'm doing well mom, what about dad?" Nicole gestured for her to put the phone on loudspeaker. It was distracting.

      "He's fine, how is work?"

      "Work is fine, although right now I'm in Chicago," she put the phone on loudspeaker, "visiting Nicole."

    "Oh, say hi to her for me and your dad and I wanted to visit you but never mind. Maybe next week?" Her mother sounded strangely disappointed. It was odd.

    She didn't know what to say to that; the silence was becoming uncomfortable.

   It seemed like her mom wanted to say something, but she changed her mind at the last moment. And she was gone, not even giving her a chance to say goodbye.

    She kept on thinking about her mom's cryptic call till she slept and even then; she dreamt of fortunate families, what used to be, what is, and what wasn't.

    The next day, Nicole had gone out earlier, she said something about the bride throwing a fit about the venue, but Anna was kind of grateful that she wasn't there because knowing her friend, Nicole would most likely joke about her coffee date and she wasn't in the mood for that.

   She was dressing up for her date, just jeans and a cute top, nothing special. But she noticed her slight weight gain, and the gym was sounding more appealing right now.

    Her jeans were tight and her face was getting rounder, giving her a more child-like appearance. All the food she's been eating was finally catching up on her.

    The bell chimed as she entered the cafe. The quaint little cafe wasn't very crowded. The smell of coffee and baked goods wafted into her nose reminding her that she had missed breakfast. She quickly searched the cafe for Luke and when she didn't see him, she settled into a chair close to the window.

    She was gently tapping the table and looking out the window when Luke arrived. She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice him, so he coughed to get her attention.

     "I made you wait, I'm sorry." He looked contrite.

    Blue eyes glinting. "It's fine, besides I came early to enjoy the scenery, you know? I love cafes like this, not too crowded, not empty either, and the aromas just get to you."

    He noticed her obvious satisfaction. She clearly had a soft spot for cafes, who knew. He motioned for the waiter while steadily gazing at his companion.

  "So let's say, if you were to own your own cafe, it would look just like this?" He just wanted to keep her talking, her passion amused and at the same time intrigued him.

   "I feel like you're laughing at me." At that, both of them laughed as the server came for their order. He could see her internal debate as she looked through the menu. In the end, she decided to just get coffee.