Café Amour

Written January 2014. A woman spends a rainy day in a coffee shop

She touched her red hot lipstick to the brim of the mug and tilted it, letting the warm liquid enter the crease. She closed her eyes and involuntarily let out a short sigh. Her thoughts were no where as she focused on the subtle sounds of the café around her, but listened to nothing. She watched out the window, men without an umbrella running for cover so their suits were not ruined, women calmly strolling under parasols. She watched the droplets pitter patter all over the ground, and something suddenly caught her ear. The café’s radio started playing enticing music, her favorite tune. She took another sip and let her eyelids drop, the hot coffee travelling down her throat and warming her entire being as she listened to the wonderful sounds of the orchestra. She went over every note in her head, every tone, every pause, every beat, and hummed softly at the piano’s changing riffs. The piano was her favorite instrument indefinitely, but she couldn’t help but enjoy the string instruments as well, violins especially. Everything in this song was just perfect. And then it was over just as suddenly as it began, leaving her with a pleasant taste in her mouth, separate from the coffee. It’s funny how music can make someone feel so much better, how it can make them love some well-placed sounds more than they could a person. Love is for suckers, she thought. And then she heard something sweeter tasting than the song she had just heard. A voice softly saying, “Café au lait, s'il vous plaît.” Her eyes shot open and she turned her head to the voice with wide eyes. She noticed a young woman in a little black dress sitting at a table behind her. After a few moments, she turned away, embarrassed that she was staring, as she fixed the thick black glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose. She tried to keep her eyes to herself, but trying to focus on the rich taste in her mouth or the pitter patter of the rain outside seemed much harder than before. She continued to look up once every so often. The woman in the little black dress eventually caught her. Just a glance and a smile was all it took to make her rise from her seat, grab her mug, and make her way to the beauty behind her. Her face flushed as she watched the young woman gazing at her with gorgeous amber eyes and long batting eyelashes. I’m not in love, she thought. She swallowed her fear and took a seat, “Bonjour.” Maybe just a little. 

Reviews

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You describe very well all details . Reader can really feel like in some coffee house. This main character is for me too lonely. I will be put more interaction . Talk to stranger when coffee spill out on the floor. She can have meet friend from her childhood. This one have very beautiful mood. But too sad and lonely for me. But there is lot of charm in it