Tragically Yours

| 25 |

I slowly open the bathroom door, peeking outside to see if it's safe to get out. It's not like there's a wild, rabid animal in my apartment-it's just Gail. Which is the problem, it's just her. I don't understand why I'm anxious to even face her right now, when I've done it easily last night. It feels like I'm back to that day when I'm a shy little boy who doesn't talk and socialize with the other kids in preschool. I've already abandoned that shy-era of me, so I'm getting more anxious about this. With a deep breath, I close both my eyes and begin to mentally count from one to ten before getting out of the bathroom to face her.

Once I'm out, the sizzling of bacon is gone, and it is now served on a plate with some scrambled eggs. The warm aroma of a hearty breakfast flows quietly all around the room, making my stomach grumble as well as my lips drying out. I shake away the hungry thoughts and gazes at the woman in question earlier. I find her staring at me with a small smile tugging at both ends of her lips. "Sorry, I just want to get rid of the gunk in my eyes," I pointed my thumb back to the bathroom, momentarily breaking eye contact. Which is good since I'm already finding myself drowning in her ocean blue eyes. I took a bit second to compose myself before staring back at her. "So, what was that you wanted to say earlier?"

Her smile widens a little and stares down at the plate of breakfast on the counter next to her. When she glances back to meet my eyes, I silently feel relief that I've washed away the remaining gunk in my eyes. "I was just asking if you don't mind me using your kitchen to cook breakfast as a thank you for letting me stay." I watch her hands clutched tightly to one another, an indication that she's anxious for my answer. Before I could reply, she immediately opened her mouth to add, "Also, good morning, Vy!"

All my muscles relaxed and she smiled a gentle smile, "Good morning to you too, Gail." I spotted a faint blush on her cheeks, but it quickly went away. Sucks that it's already gone before I could even admire how adorable she is when blushing. Ah well, maybe next time I could make her blush again so that I can get a chance to tell her. "To answer your question... No, I don't mind at all."

I watch in fascination how quickly her body releases tension from the anxiety that is building inside her. "Okay, then... Well, I've cooked breakfast for the both of us. Scrambled eggs with bacon." She gestures a hand to the plate of food next to the counter, and it takes every will I have to keep staring at the food and not at her. The last thing I want is to creep her out from me staring directly at her. "I also brew some coffee, but I don't know how you like your coffee." At the corner of my vision, I can see her facial features wince a little before adding, "It's been years since the last time I saw you drinking coffee, so I forgot how you like your coffee. Or maybe you've changed your coffee preference."

I find myself wincing as well after she mentioned that last part. Even though it's been years that we had coffee with each other, that didn't change the way I like my coffee. I still like them with an equal amount of sugar and cream. Flashback on that fateful day when I tried to change my coffee preferences. All I'm going to say is that my body didn't like the change of coffee I drank and punished me for being inconsistent. "Relax, I haven't changed how I like my coffee."

"Equal amounts of sugar and cream," She was about to grab the sugar and cream from the counter to pour into my coffee cup. Never realized how amazing it feels hearing people remembering certain things about me. Especially if that person had been away for a while in my life. And yet, Gail still remembers how I like my coffee. It's the small things that made me fall in love again. She scoops both a teaspoon of sugar and cream and carefully dips it into my coffee. I watch her stir the mixture slowly, hearing the gentle clanging of the spoon against the mug suddenly sounds great to my ears. "There we go, breakfast is served."

She pulls a bar stool nearest to her and sits down. I stroll closer to the kitchen island, and she pushes a bar stool in my direction. She grabs my plate of scrambled eggs to place it in front of me, as well as my mug of hot coffee. Once she also had her food in front of her, we both began to eat in silence. The kind of silence that is comforting in both the ears and in the atmosphere. It's also the main ingredient to suddenly receive a memory from the past. The past where Gail and I eat silently in the nearest Café to our school when we were younger. It was one of the peaceful moments we both share together.