She pushed open the glass door, and the small chimes above it softly jingled, signaling her arrival. Diane, who was working behind the counter, looked up from what she was doing, and a bright smile flashed across her light-brown eyes. Bev waved as she approached the two customers ahead of her. She looked around the small café and was disappointed to see that all the seats were taken. She had intended to stay and enjoy her order.
“Hi, Bev, welcome back to Java Bistro.” Diane’s smile remained intact as she greeted Bev when she made it to the counter.
“Hello, Diane. It seems I can’t resist the lovely beverages and sandwiches you have here.” She smiled back at the young woman. “Let me have a mocha latte and a tuna and cheese sandwich, please,” she ordered.
“Sure thing. Would you like to have a seat while you wait?” Diane asked.
“That’s okay,” she assured her. “Besides, all the tables are occupied.”
Diane looked behind Bev, her gaze darting around the establishment before settling on her. “The afternoon lunch hour is usually a busy time for the café,” she admitted. “You’re welcome to sit in my chair. I noticed you walked with a slight limp.” Before Bev could object, she stepped around the counter with a high stool.
“Thank you. You’re such a sweetheart,” Bev replied instead. Diane inclined her head and smiled as she placed the stool in an unoccupied spot by the entrance. Bev hobbled over and sat, releasing a sigh of relief. She watched in fascination as Diane flitted around the small space while she prepared her beverage. She didn’t have to wait long before the young woman took her order to her.
“Here you go. One mocha latte and a tuna cheese sandwich,” Diane presented the order to her. “A table will be cleared in the next five minutes if you’d like to wait,” she offered.
Bev hesitated to respond, but when her mind flashed to her empty house, she cringed internally at the idea of returning home to be lost in her tears and feelings of missing her husband. “Okay,” she accepted.
A few minutes later, she was seated around the table. She brought the steaming liquid to her lips and took a few sips. She relished the sweetness. She proceeded to take a bite of the sandwich and released a sound of approval at the rich taste on her tongue. She was finished in no time, satiating the hunger she had ignored for far too long.
She remained at the café long after she’d finished eating, and most of the customers had gone, leaving most of the tables unoccupied. Her thoughts zoomed back to her husband, and she sighed heavily as she stared at her clasped hands on the table. She didn’t know if there would ever be a time that she wouldn’t miss him so dearly. Every day got harder to be without him and made her wish she had died instead.
“Are you okay, Bev?”
She looked up to see a concerned Diane staring at her.
“I called out to you, but you didn’t answer, and you have this faraway look on your face,” Diane explained.
“I’m okay,” she replied, mustering a smile. “I was just thinking about my husband.” She twisted the wedding band on her ring finger. “Today’s his birthday.”
“Oh. That’s wonderful. I bet you’re having a big celebration for him today, right?” Diane asked excitedly.
Bev’s smile dropped as her heart constricted. “I’m afraid that’s not possible,” she spoke solemnly.
Diane’s brows rose in confusion. “Why not?”
She drew in a deep breath and slowly released it before fixing the young woman with a melancholy smile. “Because, my dear…he’s dead.”
Diane’s brown eyes rounded, and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my gosh, Bev, I am so sorry,” she said sincerely as she slid into the seat opposite as if her revelation had weakened her. “How long ago did he die?”
“A year and two months. He had prostate cancer,” Bev replied before folding her lips in on each other.
“I know it must be tough going through something like this, wishing the person didn’t have to leave you, wishing you had more time to spend with them and tell them that you love them.”
Bev watched the girl’s once bubbly personality transform before her as her shoulders slumped, her eyes glistened, and her breathing became heavy. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” she observed.
Diane’s eyes found hers, and she smiled sadly. “I have had quite a bit. My granduncle died over a year ago, and my grandaunt died recently,” she revealed. She took in a deep breath and spoke the next part in a whisper. “My dad died two years ago.”
“Oh no. Diane, I am so sorry for your losses,” Bev sympathized. She reached across the table to rest her hand on top of Diane’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Diane attempted a smile, but it failed, so she simply nodded her gratitude.
“You miss him a lot, don’t you? Your father, I mean.”
“Every single day,” she breathed out. “He was the best dad and my best friend. He understood me in a way no one else did. If he were still here, my life would be so different, and maybe I wouldn’t have made some of the same choices,” she continued to pour out.
“If your father was anything like my Troy, I’m sure he wouldn’t want you spending all of your energy missing him and making these questionable choices. He would tell you to continue moving forward, throw away those low expectations, and live the life he knows you were meant to,” Bev encouraged, repeatedly running her palm over the back of Diane’s hand.
“Tell that to my mother,” Diane grumbled, shaking her head.
