“Hi. Can I have a chocolate mocha and a tuna sandwich? Hold the mayo.”
“Sure thing.” Diane welcomed him before turning to prepare the gentleman’s drink order, then removed the sandwich from the display case. “That’ll be six fifty.”
After ringing up the order, she moved on to the next customer. That’s how it had been pretty much the whole morning, and now that the afternoon had rolled in, the café was in full swing. All the tables in the small space were now occupied, including the three tables on the outside under the small gazebo. Still, people flowed in and out, ordering their favorite caffeine-infused drink and a pastry or light sandwich her small café was known for. Pretty soon, she’d have to expand. The crowd died down a bit, and she took that time to relax on the stool before the register.
The vibration on her leg caught her attention, and she quickly dove under the apron to remove her cell phone from her pants pocket. A frown creased her face at the caller. “Where are you, Derek? You were supposed to be here more than an hour ago.” She skipped the formalities to ask.
“I know, babe, and I’m sorry,” he answered remorsefully.
“So how far away are you?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and her fingers tightened around the device as she anticipated what she knew was coming.
“I’m still in Seattle,” Derek dragged out.
“Why are you still in Seattle?” she asked, trying to keep calm.
Derek released a heavy sigh before responding. “Something came up at the office, and I have to stay back to help sort it out.”
Diane’s body tensed with frustration. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her head tilted back as her hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm down. “What about our appointment, Derek? We’re supposed to meet with the wedding planner within an hour,” she reminded him.
“I know, babe. I’m sorry,” he apologized again. “But my job is on the line if I don’t get this done, and I’m banking on getting that promotion.”
“It’s always about your work, Derek. When will it be about us?”
“All I’m doing is for us,” he tersely replied. He released another sigh after the ensuing tension-filled silence. “I’m doing all of this to secure our future, Diane. Please try to understand,” he implored.
Diane didn’t say anything even though her immediate impulse was to bite into him for not making their wedding a priority. She understood that he worked very hard at his job back in Seattle because he was trying to become an executive in the firm he worked for, but she didn’t like that their relationship had been taking a back seat to his ambition for a while now. Furthermore, it felt like he was using his job as an excuse not to be involved in the wedding planning.
“Do you even want to marry me?” she softly asked.
“Diane”—Derek breathed out tiredly—“I love you. No matter what happens, come December, I will be at the altar waiting for you.”
His words didn’t stir any butterflies in her stomach. Instead, it made her insides churn with dread. The way he said what he did made it sound like he had no other choice but to marry her, and in a way that made him sound like a prisoner awaiting his execution date to come around.
“Besides, I don’t think I have to be there to talk with the planner. Whatever you decide on will be fine.”
She wanted to shout at him, to remind him that the wedding wasn’t just about her. It was a partnership.
“You still there?” he asked, drawing her out of her thoughts.
“Yeah, Derek, I’m here. Listen, I gotta go. The lunch-hour traffic into the café is picking up, and it’s just me at the moment.”
“Okay. I’ll let you get back to it,” he answered. “And babe?”
“Hmm?” she responded.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” she repeated. After he hung up, the phone remained at her ear as she stared through the glass at the moving traffic and the people walking along the sidewalk. Slowly, she took the phone from her ear and returned it to her pocket. Most of her customers had actually left and returned to their jobs, which meant she would have a slight reprieve.
The tinkling of the chimes by the door caught her attention, and she looked up to see Nikki enter.
“Hey,” she greeted her cousin the moment she walked around the counter. She tried to muster a smile but only managed to lift her lips in a half grimace.
“You’re in a sour mood,” Nikki observed. “Let me guess. It’s Derek, isn’t it?” she asked knowingly. “What’s he done this time?”
Diane released a tired sigh as she stood to her feet. “Why are you here, Nikki?” she asked, bypassing her cousin’s question.
