Page 21 of The Affair
But there he was … waiting for me.
“Son of a bitch,” I breathed out, having barely finished eating my bagel. Looking down, I still had the crumbs on my shirt, and of course, wouldn’t you know it, he was coming right over. Brushing them off, I looked in the rearview mirror to make sure I didn’t have anything in my teeth or on my face, and then I grabbed my purse and stepped out.
“Good morning, boss,” he greeted, handing me a cup of piping hot coffee.
“Um, good morning,” I replied, taking the coffee because, well, it was coffee, and who could say no to that?
Definitely not me.
“Why are you here?” I asked suspiciously before taking a sip and nearly groaning from the taste. It was the perfect combination of cream and sugar.How did he do that?
“I’m ready to start. You didn’t tell me when you needed me, so I took it upon myself to show up bright and early. It’s a good show of initiative, wouldn’t you say?”
I had no words.
None.
“So, let’s get started!” he announced with a wink, walking on ahead of me, giving me no chance to tell him that insanely good speech I’d come up with in the car.
Instead, I just followed him like a little puppy, my mouth slightly ajar but still completely speechless.What was I supposed to do now? He was so excited!
And he’d brought me coffee. I could get used to—
No! Don’t go getting soft over a good cup of coffee, I scolded myself.
Jogging to catch up to him, I pulled out my keys and tried to juggle my coffee in one hand while unlocking the door with the other. The least I could do was fire him inside rather than on the street.Am I actually firing him though since he hasn’t even started and isn’t being paid?
“Here, let me hold that for you,” he offered, taking my coffee and purse.
“Thanks,” I said, trying not to let his kindness sway me.
Unlocking the door, I flipped the lights on and took a giant inhale. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything.
It was something I’d done since I was a kid. Every time I entered this place, I’d always briefly close my eyes and breathe it in. There was something about it—the smell of old books, once-cherished photographs, and family mementos—that spoke to me.
Lives frozen in time.
“Wow, this is a pretty fancy cash register system you’ve got here. It’s similar to the one we use at the construction company. And here I thought you were against new things.”
I gave him a sideways glance. “Not all things,” I replied. “And that was my mom’s upgrade. She put it in when she decided to start renting out spaces to locals.”
He nodded his head knowingly. “Yeah, it would work well for that,” he answered before adding, “Well, at least that’s one thing I don’t need to be trained on!”
I opened my mouth to finally tell him the news that he wouldn’t actually be using that piece of equipment—or anything else in the shop—but once again, he cut me off, “How’s your coffee? I got it from the café down the street, the one right by—”
I held up my hand to stop him. “I know where it is.”
“Sorry,” he said. A long pause fell between us, and as if he could read my mind, he followed it up with, “So, you know then?”
I simply nodded as his sympathetic glance met mine.
He let out a sigh as his back settled against the counter. “Not that it’ll make you feel any better, but it didn’t start up right away. As far as I know, he didn’t see her again for months after that night—”
“Again?” My eyes narrowed as I tried to make sense of what he was saying, and then it hit me.
Blonde hair and young … just like the girl from—
“He’s seeing the girl from the bar? The one he cheated on me with?”
