Three Means Coffee

11

Makary woke up the next morning with a terrible headache. He rose hesitantly and clutched his head, wondering why he had led himself to this state. Nemo was chirping at him furiously, accusing him of being stupid. He looked around and reached for the glass of water on the table that Błażej had left the previous evening. He noticed the note but decided that he would deal with the unpleasant alcohol-related ailment first and then with the rest.

He angrily realized that there were no painkillers in the home medicine cabinet, and reluctantly began to prepare for a trip to the pharmacy to stock up on them. He felt a little light-headed as he straightened up too quickly after tying his shoelaces, and again regretted everything he'd done the day before. He just looked in the mirror and waved his hand at his scruffy appearance, getting the meds was more important now.

He shuffled slowly to the elevator and was frustrated that it was going exceptionally slowly that day. Makary hoped he would not meet any of the neighbors, each of whom would have easily guessed why he looked so bad. He sighed softly as the elevator stopped two floors below and opened for more passengers. He thought it was impossible, but decided to pretend that he did not recognize either the man or the child.

Błażej wondered if he had found his message and he wanted to innocently ask how he felt, but he did not have time, because Tymek, who inherited a great memory of his face, associated Makary after a long moment.

"Uncle, it's him!" the boy shouted. "The toy thief."

"Tymek!" Błażej himself was frightened by the child's sudden outburst.

"I remember him, he stole the Kotozaur!"

The boy was already reaching for the button to make the elevator stop at the nearest floor, allowing him to escape any potential danger. Makary was shocked when he noticed the fear in his eyes the child was looking at him and he was silent, not knowing what to say to him. Luckily, Błażej grabbed him and took him in his arms to let him calm down a bit.

"Tymek, I you told you how it was. Nobody stole the Kotozaur, you lost it, and this gentleman was good enough to give it back. If he hadn't, he might never have been found," said the brown-eyed young man, emphasizing his uncle's authority with a firm voice.

"Don't say that," said Tymek offended, catching his breath between the spasms of crying. "Kotozaur is special."

"Why is it special?" Makary asked, trying to distract himself from the pain in his head, which was only made worse by the boy's screams.

"Because my uncle made it for me," answered the little one seriously, as if it were obvious, since in his opinion the mascot has been kidnapped, so in his opinion, the thief must have known its exceptional value.

Makary raised his eyebrows in surprise, he had already suspected that the toy was handmade, but he did not expect that its author was the boy's uncle. He looked at Błażej, who blushed and it was obvious that he only wanted the elevator to stop already. Eventually, all three heard a mechanical voice announcing that they had reached the ground floor.

"I'm sorry for him," Błażej muttered, still ashamed, and hastily lowered the metal cubicle.