Three Means Coffee

104

Monika didn't have to worry, the dinner looked great and tasted even better, and Przemek suggested that he would buy some ice cream for dessert. He took Tymek with him and said that he had to make sure that his favourite flavour was added to the basket. The man's daughter offered to help the landlady clean up and wanted to use this opportunity to talk to her privately.

"Actually, you're cool," said the teenager. "A little young, but cool."

"Thanks," Monika replied. "I didn't expect such nice words from you."

"I have experience, although my dad had a break from looking for a life partner for several years. Besides, I'm older now, so I can impose certain conditions. And the main thing is, don't try to pretend to be my mother."

"I didn't even intend to do that," the woman said in surprise.

"Sure," the teenager huffed. "It's only a matter of time, you all are like that."

Monika was worried about these accusations, especially since she spoke honestly and had no plans to do anything like that. Even considering that everything would go in the best direction in her relationship with Przemek, she did not want to pretend to be anyone's mother. She knew that building a relationship with the teenager wouldn't be easy and she didn't expect that she would be accepted immediately, considering that their age difference wasn't that big.

"In the end, each of them tried, they treated me like a doll took me shopping, dressed me, and tried to make friends. I hated it. All this to please my dad more, and when I heard that I could call them "mom", I was shaking inside." The girl threw the towel she was using to wipe the dishes on the counter. "Forgive my outburst, but I wanted to be honest with you from the beginning so that you wouldn't even make an effort."

"Listen, I care about your dad and I know that for him you will always come first." Monika smiled. "I listened to how much he despaired that you were starting to grow up and that you were no longer his sweet little daughter. Besides, you have a mom who loves you too, so I don't see why I would try to take that role away from her."

"Thanks for understanding that. What about your son then? He's still little, do you want my dad to be like a father to him?"

"I don't know." Monika shook her head. "Let them build this relationship on their terms. I don't demand anything specific from any of them. All I care about is that they like each other and get along. Of course, I would like you to like me too, but I would prefer that you simply see me as an adult whom you can always turn to for help, talk to, and complain about your parents." Monika winked at the teenager and they both started laughing.

Then Przemek came back with Tymek and dessert. There were cups on the table and as it turned out, the boy and the teenager shared a love for the same flavour of ice cream. So they both watched closely to make sure neither of them accidentally received even a gram more than the other, especially since they hadn't had to share it with anyone before. The adults looked at each other and laughed, the only thing that came to their mind was that it was almost like they were watching siblings.