The Art of Loving You

Acrylic (Ash)

5 years ago...

I tucked my canvas under my arm and slung my bag over my shoulder. It was a great day to be out of my house and I was heading towards Abstract Park. Gray actually recommended getting my ass out of the house to start searching for inspiration for my art. I was eager for the new day until I realised the benches at the park would not be able to aid me in drawing. I would need to bend my back to draw and in half an hour, I would have broken my back.

I scanned the park and my eyes fell upon a cafe that was situated in the middle of the park.

What a funny place to have a cafe in the middle of a park. Maybe I could borrow a table and chair to draw outside? At least, that's what I managed to do at the beach last time.

I stepped across the grass and strolled towards the cafe. Upon reaching the entrance, the huge sign that says "CLOSED" looked back at me.

"Are you kidding me?" I muttered under my breath.

"I kid you not, the cafe is actually closed until 8am and..." I spun around quickly at the sound of a man's voice and I was puzzled to see a gorgeous man with brown hair and round-rimmed spectacles looking down at his watch. "The time now! Welcome, Oli's Cafe is open!"

I stared at the man with a judging look as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. That's when I realised he was probably the owner of the cafe. I looked up at the signboard and indeed, 'Oli's Cafe' is scrawled across it.

What a quirky man...

"So, are you coming in or what?" The man arched an eyebrow, holding the door open for me. His spectacles was clearly a prop as there were no lenses, but he kept pushing it up as though he can't see me clearly.

"Ah, yes I am." I gave him a nod of thanks and headed inside the cafe.

Once inside the cafe, a rush of flowery scent hit my nostrils. I breathed in the scent and a string of inspiration collected in my mind.

I'll definitely draw flowers today.

The man switched on the lights and I was greeted by a warm, cosy interior design with baby breaths plastered on the four walls of the cafe. It was a simple cafe and I could count the number of tables with my both hands - 8! The cafe only has 8 tables, 4 being cushion seats and 4 being normal seats. The man went behind the bar counter and hung an apron around his waist.

"So, what can I get you today, goodlookie? You don't speak much huh?" He looked at me with a smirk and it was only then I realised I have been staring too much at him.

"Oh, no, I'm not here to get anything actually... I just need..." My face heat up as I walked closer to the guy. I scanned him once through and noticed that he had attached a name tag and...

"My name is Oliver, or you can call me Oli. I'm the owner of this cafe." Oliver put out his hand gestured me to shake it.

This guy is really weird, I haven't even finished my sentence and he moved on to the next topic???

"Um, hello. I'm Ashley, you can call me Ash." I took his hand and shook it. "I'm an artist actually. I paint, sketch, draw, colour... I'm just looking to see if you could lend me a table and a chair? I'd just need it for 2 hours max. I really want to draw this park and see what I can produce from it."

Oliver listened to me intently and nodded his head. "I support local talent, really. So, yeah! I can give you a table and a chair."

My eyes lit up and the heat from my ears disappeared due to embarrassment disappeared. I looked up to Oliver as though he was an angel and smiled.