Pushing open the front door to the cafe, the faint chime of the bell overhead signals my arrival. I scan the room, hoping to spot Theo at his usual spot behind the counter. I say usual—but he hasn’t been at the cafe all week. I’ve been stopping by in the hopes of seeing him after our date, but no luck so far. Instead, my gaze lands on Aubrey, who is sitting at the booth next to the register, with a steaming cup of tea in her hands.

A gentle, tired, smile touches her lips as we make eye contact. She lets out a soft groan as she gets out of the booth and goes to the register. Aubrey tells me to sit and gestures to the booth that she just vacated. In usual Aubrey fashion, she makes me a drink without letting me order. The only constant is that she always makes it iced. It’s a warm feeling in my chest knowing that she cares enough to remember my love for iced drinks. I mentioned it once in passing yet she still remembers.

She comes back over to sit with me, setting the drink in front of me without waiting to see if she got it right. She slides into the booth and almost deflates across from me, gripping her steaming mug with both hands. There’s an unexpected emotion in her eyes—almost a melancholic softness—I never expected to see from this vibrant woman.

Unsure what to say—Aubrey usually leads every conversation she’s in—I aim for casual as I admit, “I was actually hoping to run into Theo. Somehow, I never actually ended up getting his number.”

Aubrey tilts her head slightly, her smile growing faintly wistful. “Teddy’s not coming in today. He said he was helping my Morgan out today. He’s been so busy recently, I can give you his number if you want?”

I smile conspiratorially as she writes his number on a napkin for me. After she finishes writing his number down she hesitates.

“If I’m being honest though I’m glad it’s just us.” She says as she slides Theo’s number to me. “You remind me of someone I used to know.”

Unsure where this is going and how to respond I tell her, “I hope that’s a good thing?”

“It is,” she says with a small laugh. “It’s a compliment, trust me. It’s just been… hard for me these days, you know. After everything?”

Nodding slowly I take a sip of my, once again, amazing drink. I can tell that she’s deep in thought and she has more to say so I don’t want to interrupt her.