This story was originally published in the Medium publication Promptly Written in response to this writing prompt from Bella Smith:
— During a relentless rainstorm, two old friends reconcile their differences over a cup of coffee.
Over The Rain
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| Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay |
Nail-point — tink-tink-tink — against the precise porcelain of the coffee mug.
It rings out over the stone-shower noise of the rain on the roof above.
She’s as put-together as she ever was. Everything is flawless — hair, make-up, nails, clothes, accessories. She is a pristine image — a stock photograph for business-woman-on-her-lunch-break.
Except for the look in her eye. Except for the curl in her lip. Except for the way that she grips the cup (just a touch too tight,) as she brings it up to drink.
She is as put-together as she ever was. But still the figure across the tiny round bistro table unnerves her.
An unassuming, (rather small,) woman sits opposite miss-girlboss-extraordinnaire.
Her jumper sleeves hang excessively beyond her hands. Every so often she brings one up to her mouth, hiding half her face with fabric; an affectation that grates all the more for how familiar it used to be.
“Well?” Girlboss asks.
Jumper-sleeves looks surprised, as if she’d forgotten she had company.
She blinks Bambi-eyes at Girlboss, “Well, what?” she asks — at least, that’s what her lips seem to form. Girlboss can’t hear her over the rain; quiet-mouse-like as Jumper-sleeves always is, and loud as the downpour seems to be getting, it’s hardly surprising.
Girlboss rolls her eyes, “Typical,” she says, “just bloody typical.”
Jumper-sleeves snarls — a demon growl on a cherub face, “It’s a lot, OK! If you were gonna be all — ” she gestures randomly in the air, sleeve slapping air currents, “ — about it, then why’d you even ask to meet?”
Girlboss avoids eye contact, “Because I miss you,” she murmurs, and despite the rain, Jumper-sleeves hears her just fine, “and I know I didn’t handle things right. Shouldn’t’ve left you without a lift home like that, shouldn’t’ve ghosted you after… I’m sorry, OK? And I’m sorry if I’m being all — ” she tries to copy Jumper-sleeves’ gesture, but somehow it ends up a lot more elegant and flowing, “ — but I’ve never been good at this stuff.”
Girlboss trails off, leaves deflated silence, broken by roof-shower-splatter, amid the uncomfortable cramped coffee-shop seating.
Jumper-sleeves just smiles, Bambi-eyes on high-wattage, “I miss you too,” she says.
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