My Mafia King

2 | Coffee Shop

ATHENA RUSSO:

"A strong woman doesn't plan revenge, my dear, she moves on and lets karma do her dirty work."

I tilt my head at the random old lady.

This is why I don't go to coffee shops anymore, all the old people there think I'm planning the biggest murder of all time. But she isn't wrong so I can't be mad about that.

"I'm not planning revenge," I say, truthfully. I've already planned my revenge, even if I didn't, I would never plan it at a coffee shop.

She playfully rolls her eyes, "That's what they all say."

What type of people does she talk to?

I sweetly smile at the lady. "What's your name?" I ask her as she sits down opposite me.

"Vivian," she politely answers, watching me with caution. Looking out the window, I take a sip of my coffee.

"What's your name?" she asks me.

I look back at her, "Athena."

She smiles, "What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Tell me what is it like to be young nowadays?"

I shrug. "I just work," I simply answer.

She frowns, "You don't party or go out with your friends?"

I shake my head. "Nope. I don't have any friends."

Placing a wrinkly frail hand on her chest, she gasps. "Do you have a boyfriend? Are you married?"

Shaking my head, I say, "Nope. Love is useless."

"My dear. Love is a beautiful thing," she softly tells me.

I hold back from rolling my eyes. She's going to give me a long speech about love, isn't she?

"When you love someone, they become a part of who you are. They're in everything you do. Their touch lingers on your skin and their voice stays in your ears and their thoughts stay in your mind. And you don't think they're perfect, but you know their flaws, the deep-down truth of them, and the shadows of all their secrets, and they don't terrify you away; in fact, you love them even more for it, because you don't want perfect. You want them."

I stare at her, slightly concerned. "Vivian, who broke your heart?"

She glares at me, "You listen—"

"I have. I listened to every word you said. You expressed the feeling of love, instead of life. Normally when someone is passionate about something they miss, they express it. You expressed the meaning of love because you miss it. So who broke your heart?"

She goes silent.

Eh, if she doesn't want to talk, I will let her be. I have better things to do to give an old lady a therapy session. I could really care less.

Leaning back in my chair, I drink my coffee.

"My heart broke the day my husband died. I miss the feeling of love because I know I will never get something like that ever again. No one will ever love me the same way, my husband, Crius, did. And I hate how the youth just throw away love like it's nothing. I hate it. I hate how they don't even care about something so beautiful. Something that quite literally stops time."

I awkwardly look around the cafe. What have I gotten myself into?

"He loved the stars, the constellations, the planets. He was a big nerd when it came to space," she chuckles, staring out of the window.

Silence falls as I just stare at the woman.

That sounds... Sad?

Vivian speaks up again, "I'm sorry. I don't really talk about this stuff. It's just been bottled up for years now and I guess it just slipped out."

I nod, "It's fine." It's not. I should have just made my own coffee.

I need to get out of this situation before she starts crying.

I pretend to check my watch and let out a small gasp. "I'm late for work. I'm so sorry but I have to go."

She nods, "I understand. Goodbye, Athena."

I stand up and smile at her. It's not a sweet smile. It's a wicked one.

"A strong woman doesn't wait for karma to do her dirty work when she can easily deal with it herself," I tell her.

She gapes at me as If I've just gotten rid of climate change. I simply turn around and walk out of the coffee shop, not looking back at her.

I'm never going to a coffee shop again.