Coffee Mess

Catching Up

Sandra's P.O.V

At 17.10 I get out of the museum and run down the staircase towards Logan, whom I see standing at the end of it.

"Hey, sorry for the wait, I had to send a report out and I lost track of time" I apologize

"It's ok, it's not like I was waiting long. So, where are we going?" he asks and I take him to my favorite restaurant, which happens to be really close

"I swear, since I came to Florence 2 days ago, I've drunk like 3 tanks of coffee" he says after taking a sip from his espresso

"I know that feeling. It's like you have never drunk coffee before"

"Yes! That! I think I will hate the coffee when I go back to America"

"I don't even want to think about that. And the food? Oh, my God! How will I eat pasta, pizza and ice cream again after 3 years of leaving the dream here?"

"Oh, so you're planning to come back?"

"I don't know, I'm just saying...truth is, I love it here"

"Ok, let's take it from the top. First, I wanna say you look great. I mean, why wouldn't you, but with the pantsuit, you look... Great" he says, making me smile

"Thank you. You look great too. I love the mustache"

"Do u?" He touches it "Or are you saying it just to not make me feel bad?"

"The latter, I'm sorry" I apologize and then bite my lip, as he chuckles

"Don't be, no one likes it"

"Did you lose a bet or something?"

"I did. But I don't want to talk about it, at least not now..."

"Ugh, you're killing me! U know how curious I get. But, ok, I won't pressure you"

"Thank you  So, how did you end up here on the first place?"

"Well, after I graduated, I went to Rome for the summer with my friends to celebrate and as we were laying on a beach, we started thinking about what's next with our lives. So, as a joke, one of them told me that I should get a Master's in Italian art history, since I love Italy so much"

"And you did"

"Not only I did, but I also went to the University of Perugia on a scholarship"

"Wow! You were that good?"

"Damn straight I was! My thesis helped a lot, of course, since I did it in both English and Italian"

"Atta girl!" he says impressed and I laugh

"So, as I was doing that, of course I found a job as a part-time barista, because, honestly, that's all I knew how to do, but when I finished with my Master's, I started looking for a job based on that and I found this one here. At first, I was like an assistant, but soon they saw how good I was and how much I liked my job, and they put me in charge as an art curator"

"I'm in such awe right now...Not only did you move to another continent, but you also thrive in it  I'm so happy for you" he says smiling widely, almost overwhelmed

"I had no reason not to...besides my dad, I didn't have any other real ties, so I decided to take that chance"

"How does your dad feel about you being here?"

"Well, he misses me like crazy, but he's not totally alone. He got married again"

"He did?" He asks surprised

"Yes! With a great woman, I love her so much  Here, I'll show you" I say and take my phone out to show him pictures from the wedding

"Wow, good for him. Are his other daughters as excited as you?"

"These bitches? Nuh...they didn't even show up at the wedding"

"That much?"

"You thought I was joking when I told they act like we don't exist?"

"I'm sorry for that..."

"I'm just sad for my dad, you know? It hurts him and he often thinks they're right. But now that he has Alice, I'm a little bit calmer. And he's happy for me too, so..."

"You did the right thing by coming here. I don't think I would have turned down an opportunity like that either. And does your contract have an expiration date?"

"It actually does- this summer. And I don't know whether I should renew it or not...or that they'll even want to renew it for that matter"

"I'm sure they will"

"We'll see...how about you? Are u still a cop?"

"I am, yeah. I'm planning on being a detective, but not yet"

"Ooh, detective, fancy!"

"Yeah, one day" he says and then our food comes, so we start eating in silence

"Ok, what is it?" I ask him after a while

"What?" he asks confused

"Come on, now. I know your I want to say something, but I don't know if I should face. Spill it, I'm sure I'm thinking about it too..." I urge him and he sighs, putting his fork and spoon down

"I'm sorry I didn't call back..." he says and I put mine down too

"It's been 6 years, Logan, it's ok..."

"No, it's not. Every now and then I think about your messages and I feel so bad for not at least letting you know why I left without saying goodbye"

"We all know it was because of you not standing working in such close proximity to me..."

"Well, yeah, but I just didn't have any real ties there. My friends are all over America and I only stayed in L.A. because that's where my last teaching job was and I had gotten used to living there. After we broke things off, I knew it was time for me to go back to Boston, so I asked for a transfer, but it got rejected because they were full, so I waited. The week before we ended things with Erin I got a call saying that there was an opening and if I'm still interested, but I was with Erin and I didn't know what to do, so I asked for some time to think about it and they gave me a week. I didn't even have to think about her, since we broke up, so I took it. And you were with Ian, so I didn't have anything keeping me there, besides a couple of friends"

"If I had broken up with Ian before you left, even the day before, would you have stayed?"