The Reunion (Part 1)

chapter 30

It was after five in the morning and they were still in the diner. Carina had her head back on Maya's shoulder, her eyes closed.

The music in the diner had been turned off when their waitress had finished her shift and another woman had replaced her at five o'clock sharp. The Italian woman was humming The Sun Will Rise by Brendan James.

'The sun will rise, the sun will save me.
The sun will change me, change the way I feel.

The day will make this hard of fortune,
From the fruit of a hundred orchards,
From the water river's break.

The sun will rise, the sun will save me from the night.
The sun will change me, change the way I feel.
I've had enough of the hard and harder,
Times are tough,
I've drifted farther, farther from myself.

I won't dwell, baby, on my failures.
It won't help, baby, it won't bring changes.
I won't run, baby, when all I want is to run.
I won't forget the morning sure to come.

The sun will rise, the sun will save me from the night.
The sun will change me, change the way I feel.
The love I want, the love I need is sure to come,
Is sure to lead me, lead me home again.

The light is low, the night is burning.
My head is still, but my mind is turning, turning round again.
If only I could make it through this lonely night,
If I can do this, if I can drift away.

Then the sun will rise, the sun will save me from the night,
The sun will change me, change the way I feel.

As Carina hummed the song, Maya recognized it and sang it, low enough not to disturb the other sole diner customer but loud enough for the Italian to hear the words.

-"I always loved your voice... You sing so well..." A new tear had left one of her eyes, and the blonde had seen it run down her dress.

- "hey Car'" she made as she shifted and lifted the brunette's chin.

- "this is the song I listened to on repeat at... At Charlie's death."

- "I wouldn't have sung it if I'd known, I don't want to make you cry"

- "it's tired, and I really like to hear you sing"

The sun had begun to shine.

- "we're going to go, I'll walk you home"

-"I don't want to leave you, but I'm not used to sleepless nights and all these tears, my head is starting to hurt."

- "but we'll see each other again"

- "is that a promise?"

- "it is"

They had stood up and Maya had taken a bill out of her bag and left it on the table.

-"Maya, you've left fifty dollars for two coffees, a slice of cheesecake and thirty napkins."

- "we spent more than five hours here with nothing but unlimited coffee and a slice of cheesecake, I can leave fifty dollars... And then for this time spent with you I could have left much more"

The blonde had hailed a cab and they both got in.
The brunette had given her address to the driver and she had come to curl up against Maya, her temple against her jaw, her eyes closed.

Once in front of her house, Maya had asked the cab driver to wait for her and she had walked Carina to the door of her building.

- "Do you want to get in?"