Summer Child

Chapter 13: Summer Child

The sun shone softly, bathing the vintage-looking bakery and coffee shop with warm golden hue through the sheer white curtain, making the space looked more ethereal than it actually really was. There were not a lot of customers, but those who were there, chose to sit in the courtyard area with its comfortable outdoor seating where they could bask in Zurich's early summer late afternoon sun.

"Here's the peach iced tea, enjoy"

The woman who ordered the summer drink smiled warmly to the store attendant. She was a very pretty petite woman, and very pregnant. She would be concerned over working during her obviously very late pregnancy were not for the happy face of the store attendant. Especially as she waddled towards a piano that was sitting unused in the corner of the coffee shop. The piano looked old, but very well kept.

The store attendant lady open the lid and touched some keys in a seemingly random tunes because the customer never heard that song before. It sounded sad but happy at the same time.

It's yearning, the customer finally realized how the sound feel in her ears. As strange as how it sounded.

Before long, someone, a male customer who previously sat in the corner seat of the coffee shop walked towards the piano and he held a conversation with the store attendant. The pregnant lady smiled widely towards the customer and gave a sign with her hands to let him sit on the piano. The man nodded his thank and proceeded to test some tunes on the piano before nodded to himself.

The woman who ordered the peach iced tea looked in awe on how the man seemed to lose himself in his tune and the coffee shop, who was bathed in a glorious golden sun, now looked even more ethereal with his tinkling. She swore that the scene looked like it was ripped straight from a rom-com where a boy met a girl, recognized each other in the crowd and moments later, promised to build a future together.

So cheesy.

So beautiful.

If only reel to real life really do come true.

~

"Why do you let other man play the piano?" a pouty familiar voice startled her as he hugged her from behind and Seri chuckled. She was standing behind the coffee counter, making herself a decaffeinated tea with honey and couldn't hear her husband who came from the back door of the coffee shop. She smiled as her husband's hands immediately went to her torso and caressed her bulging mid-section.

He had done it nonstop these past 8 months and she didn't see it coming to a stop anytime soon, despite the girls should be coming in less than 2 weeks.

"He's a music student who couldn't book a room for his rehearsal, how couldn't I say no?" she rolled her eyes, but then added with a sudden realization. "Perhaps you know him?"

It was his husband's turn to roll his eyes.

"Our university is large, Seri-ah, even a popular professor like me wouldn't remember every single student" he said and went quiet for a while to look at the young man who was playing the piano. "He's good though"

Seri nodded, then smirked seeing a young woman who ordered the peach iced tea looked transfixed to the pianist. She might had passed her time to be so affected by the potential of young love blossoming right in front of her eyes, being she was almost a mother of three and almost reached her seventh anniversary with her current husband; but the thought of her childhood piano could help two people found each other brought back the sentimental part of her.

"You know what, I think we can reopen that part timer vacancy" she told her husband and she could tell from his expression it was good news. He had been pestering her to stop spending time in the coffee shop now that she was in official maternal leave and to look for a part timer to help with the coffee shop. But Yoon Seri was a stubborn woman. She said her mother managed to manage the bakery and the café while having a full-time professor job, she should be allowed to try too. Especially now that her mother finally took that very well-deserved retirement and living her long-life dream in a small cabin up in the mountain.