Page 30 of Living La Vida Mocha
“I thought so too, but would you let me finish?” I flashed back in time, recalling every detail as if it were on a screen in front of me. “On our first date, he wore black jeans, high tops, and an emerald-green sweater that somehow enhanced his dark brown eyes. He brought me a gift too.”
“A single stemmed rose?” She pitched forward even more, and her voice softened to a barely audible level.
“Nah, that had never been his style. It was a mug.”
Amanda scoffed and flung herself back into her seat. “A mug?”
“Yeah.”
I hopped out of my chair and dug through my cabinet. Even after all these years, I still had it. Pulling it out from the back, I turned on the hot water tap.
She joined me in the kitchen. “That grey mug, for real?”
“He remembered me saying how much I enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera. I loved the music and never got a chance to see it live. Then one day, he was out walking through the thrift stores, and he saw this.” I held up the silver, glittery mug with one hand and ran my finger under the tap. The heat burned.
“Okay, big deal. It says The Phantom of the Opera on it. Two points to him for getting you a used coffee cup.”
“It was brand new in the box and it does this.”
I filled the mug and set it on the counter, willing it to work like it used to. Surprisingly, it did exactly what it needed to. It started changing. A white mask almost floated into existence and the image became sharper.
Her eyes grew larger. “Wow. That’s cool.”
“Right?” I dumped out the water and set the mug upside down on the dry rack. It was going to go back into its spot when it was dry. Out of fear of something happening to it, I never used it. “He said he found it the afternoon I asked him out.”
She headed back to the table. “I’m still in shock you asked a guy out.”
“I wasn’t going to wait for him.” It was true. Sure, it was scary as all get out to have asked him, but that sweetsurehe gave me for an answer was totally worth it. “And over hot chocolates, he said he was relieved I’d asked him out as he’d wanted to ask me out but wasn’t sure how. He was grateful I took that fateful first step.”
“And afterward, you just became a couple?”
“Mostly. It took a bit of time. We didn’t have our first kiss until a couple of weeks after the coffee shop date.”
“Aww.” She folded her hands together and rested her chin on them.
“Once we started university, we were inseparable, and as awful and cliché as it sounds, we were two pieces of a puzzle. Then, at the end of our second year, he got an amazing scholarship offer which took him overseas and kept us apart. At first, it was only to be for the first semester, but then it got extended. I was expecting to see him over the Christmas break, but he had a job there and couldn’t leave. It was one thing after another, and the long distance was just too hard. In the end, he said it was over. I graduated alone.” I took a drink and stared at Amanda, waiting for her to say something.
Instead, a calm yet pensive expression filled her face.
“I’m curious. What did Gerry wear on your first date, and where did you go?”
Narrowing my eyes, I tipped my head to the side like a dog does when asked a bizarre question. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question.”
I blinked and shook my head, doing my best to remember. “We went to a Baker-Bloom work function.”
“And he wore?”
“I don’t know, a black suit?” It wasn’t important.
“You’re guessing.”
My head bounced around like a bobblehead toy. “What does it matter?”
“Because without any prompting, you recalled what Carter wore and where you went, but you struggled with Gerry. You probably even remember how he smelled.”
Like body wash; clean and fresh.