Three Means Coffee

89

The woman was worried and wondered whether she should tell Makary about it, or at least signal that something had happened, but without going into details. After a while, however, she concluded that she would have told him the truth in the end, and she didn't want to spoil her fake mood. He was so looking forward to this date he shouldn't have known about.

She sighed heavily. She was a little angry at her students, but she couldn't punish them for their character, she had to make sure that there was a good atmosphere in the team. In terms of performance, she couldn't fault them. She decided to make a decision when Makary was leaving work, she caught him when he was paying for the meal he had previously given to Błażej. The young man immediately noticed her tense expression.

"Something happened?" He asked. "Błażej said something?"

Gertruda denied it and sighed heavily, gathering herself to tell him what had happened. However, she asked him not to intervene as she had already admonished the girls and that he should focus on the date instead.

"If I could have predicted this, I would have somehow convinced him not to come here," Makary muttered.

"I guess it would be inevitable since you two care about each other so much." Gertruda smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't make him wait any longer and enjoy this day."

The hazel-eyed man gathered himself and looked quickly in the mirror to make sure he looked good enough. He could feel the eyes of the waitresses who had previously been so eager to judge his beloved. He clenched his fists, but after a while, he relaxed them as soon as he looked at Błażej. He felt his heart beat faster in his chest and a wide smile appeared on his lips. Besides, why should he care what his co-workers thought, he was in love and happy, he didn't need anyone's approval for that. He sat down opposite the stressed Błażej and stared at him with admiration, to which the first-year only blushed, unable to utter a word.

"Did it taste good?" asked Makary.

"Like everything you do," his lover replied. "You didn't have to make such a fuss though."

"I just warned Gertruda to pay attention to someone who might ask about me." Hazel-eyed smiled innocently, especially when Błażej's face expressed some disapproval. "I admit, I knew about your plans today and I found out completely by accident. Are you mad?"

"No," Błażej replied with a sigh. "I'm just a little disappointed that the surprise didn't work out."

"I hope this will discourage you from further attempts to surprise me. Let's go, I can't wait." Makary stood up and extended his hand to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," the hazel-eyed man replied, slightly offended. "I don't know what you heard here, but I don't care what anyone else has to say about you. I just want to see your smile."

Błażej grabbed his hand and squeezed it, looking for support in him. The words of the young waitresses struck him and haunted him very persistently during the short time he had to wait for Macarius's appearance. He knew all too well how far he needed to be attractive in the eyes of others. He tried to think that despite all this, Makary saw something in him, but it still wasn't strong enough to combat the negative opinions from outside.

As they were leaving, he noticed that the brown-eyed man was giving his young colleagues a silent challenge as he said goodbye to them. Błażej just hoped that no more serious scandal would come out of it. Makary only squeezed his hand tighter and forced him to look at him. The hazel-eyed man smiled as if he wanted to tell him that from now on, they were the only ones that mattered.