The Message

A young woman receives a message from someone who wants to be back in her life.

     Intense trepidation. Her nerves twitched uncontrollably. Her right foot repeatedly tapped against the smooth, hardwood floors as her hands, propped up on the linen-clad table, raked through her tresses yet again, gripping them tightly at the roots, smoothening out the rest, then entwining her fingers before her face in an imaginary prayer. She was, without a doubt, nervous for this meeting.

        The loud chatter which welcomed her as she entered had drowned out into the background. The gentle hiss of steam from the cappuccino machine, the whirr of the blender crushing the pungent coffee beans and the heavenly smell of the sumptuous, freshly baked muffins and glazed donuts were evident in the air, however Claire was too caught up in her thoughts to even notice. Why am I even here? She scolded herself. I shouldn’t have listened to that message. I should have deleted it the minute I knew who it was…

      " Miss?" a pair of hazel eyes met hers, filled with slight concern.

Claire didn't even realize she had been daydreaming all this time. She then shut her eyes for a split second, as if dismissing the thoughts which invaded her memory. " Are you okay?" a gentle voice queried. She slowly reopened her eyes and her slender, salmon coloured lips curved into a pleasant reassuring smile which couldn't seem to meet her eyes. " Yes, I'm fine, thank you," she replied. The waitress nodded, then glanced at her half-empty mug of coffee. Claire's eyes followed her movements. " Are you- may I?" the waitress pointed at the mug. Claire unwrapped her arms from around herself and slowly slid them off the table and onto her lap. She glanced at the porcelain mug containing coffee she no longer craved. " Oh, yes, thank you," she gushed. The waitress nodded yet again and balanced the mug onto her tray, before leaving.

        Claire glanced at the wall clock yet again. It was now twenty minutes past nine. It's been over an hour now, she thought sadly to herself, disappointed. Maybe I should leave. I was right:this was a mistake... Claire then got up out of her chair and threw on her coat which was draped over the back of her seat. I knew his would happen, she argued, feeling as though this was an entire waste of time. She then grabbed her purse and turned to leave.

       "Claire!" a voice called.

Claire froze in her tracks. She recognized that voice. It was the person who left the message. Claire hadn't heard that voice in years, but now that the person was finally here, she couldn't help but feel a wave of anxiety come crashing down on her. She was now more nervous than relieved that they were finally meeting in person.

      Claire turned around. She waved shyly. " Hi mom."

  

Author's Note

Hi! First of all, thank you soooooooooo much for reading this and please feel free to comment or make suggestions to make this better.I hope you enjoyed!

Reviews

[A.C. Jones]

I like it.. the paragraph before the reveal would be the only thing I would change (personally) I feel like it could be more of a climax. I like it though.

[Tamara]

I'm glad you liked it! And thank you so much for being openly honest about your opinion. I will keep that idea in mind for the next time I'm writing. Thank you for reading!:)