‘Do we?’
‘Yes. Please come and have a coffee with me and listen to what I have to say.’
‘It’s best we don’t.’
‘I’ll treat you to a hot chocolate instead… with cream? I know a great place.’
‘I really don’t think we should discuss anything. Hot chocolate or not. Your poor girlfriend!’
A couple walking past look at us and, rightly so, stare at Tomas.
‘Please, I have to explain. Don’t make me beg you out here in front of everyone.’
‘What is there to say? I’ve been taken for a right fool.’
‘Just one hot chocolate, and you don’t ever have to speak to me again.’
Finally, I give in, despite knowing that there is nothing he can say that is going to make me feel better about last night. As we walk towards the cafe that Tomas suggests, we don’t utter a word. It is awkward between us, to say the least, and it makes me wonder why Tomas has even bothered coming here to look for me.
After checking which toppings I want, Tomas orders our drinks at the cafe, which has cute little tables and gingerbread men on display. It is a cosy, warm place, and the horse from the carriage ride we took trots past the window. If I was in a better mood, I would be quite keen on this place. Right now, it annoys me how Tomas always chooses the places that are just up my street. He stirs his coffee over and over until the point comes where I want to grab the spoon from him, but then he finally speaks.
‘It’s going to sound terrible, however I say this,’ he starts.
‘It is,’ I agree. I take my spoon and stuff a huge blob of cream into my mouth.
‘So, the thing is…’
‘Yes?’
‘Sorry, you’ve got a big bit of cream stuck on your lip.’
Tomas points to my lip, leaving me embarrassed, and I quickly grab my napkin to wipe it away.
‘So, I should explain. Milena and I had been dating for five years. We ran a cafe together, and it was so popular that sometimes we’d have a queue outside the door. Yet, suddenly, we were making a loss. I asked the staff why this could be. I felt terrible as I started to blame a new guy who had started. I became paranoid that he was saying things to put people off, or taking something from the till. I couldn’t understand it. The staff told me things about Milena, but I didn’t believe them. Milena can be bossy, so I thought they were just stirring up trouble. Am I making sense?’
‘No, not really.’
‘Sorry. So, they told me she’d treat the place like a hangout for her friends. She gave them drinks and food on the house. I still had to pay for all that stock. Milena likes to be the popular one, so you can imagine just how much free stuff she gave away.’
‘Okay.’ I’m not sure what he expects me to say, as I don’t see how this affects what happened last night.
‘I installed CCTV because I didn’t believe Milena would treat the business like that. It turned out the staff were right. Milena wasn’t bothering to help around the place, and her friends filled seats that paying customers could have taken up. We were full, yes. But most of them weren’t paying. Milena was just sat on the side of their tables, leaning over and laughing with her friends. It’s like they were using me. I didn’t realise. I trusted her to get everything sorted while I went to the wholesalers and promoted the business on social media and stuff. By the time I arrived, it always looked as though she’d been working hard. I guess it was partly my fault because I took her word over my loyal staff. Also, I should have been there myself. I got caught up in everything that goes with running a business.’
‘Well, no. You’re the boss. You should be able to leave people in charge when you’re not there.’
‘Yes, well, Milena insisted she was fine with running it. Then I could see why.’
Tomas takes his mug in his hands and then puts it back down. Clearly, he hasn’t finished ranting about Milena.
‘This might sound silly, but what hurt me more than anything was that Milena didn’t care for the business like I did. That place was my dream. Do you know how hard I worked to set that up? All those late nights I worked at the hotel. I saved and put everything together so I could start my own business. The day I opened the cafe was the proudest moment of my life. It was everything I always wanted. She threw it away, all because I trusted her. She didn’t care about my dream.’
‘Well, for sure, sometimes we trust the wrong people and don’t listen to the ones we can trust.’
‘Exactly right. I told everyone the business closed because of the cost of food, but that is the truth about what happened. Milena didn’t care for the business and ruined it. I heard she was also rude to customers. I know she can be a bit abrupt, but you have to get to know her. I had words with her, but whenever I said anything, she would accuse me of being mean.’
‘Why do you make excuses for her being rude? She doesn’t sound very nice, and she’s obviously hurt you badly.’
‘I know. Uncle Albert has no time for her. I decided that enough was enough. We split up. But she says she’s sorry for what happened and wants to give it another go. No matter how many chances I give her, she always does something to spoil our relationship. I am done with her, but she won’t take no for an answer. She keeps giving me time to change my mind and thinks we could get back together. It’s over between us, but she refuses to listen. I hate being mean to people and don’t want to be stern with her. We have a lot of what you could call “water under the bridge” but, until she accepts things, it’s difficult to move forward.’
