THE COFFEE HAS YOUR SMELL

CHAPTER 1: I SAW YOU, AND IT FELT SO GOOD

That morning, Alexander opened the coffee shop earlier than usual. It was only 7 a.m. when the young man about thirty changed the door sign from „Closed" to „Open." Then, with a wet cloth in his hand, he stood in front of the window for a long time, looking through it at the rain that had been drumming on the wet asphalt for a very long time already. A rain that brought melancholy in the man's soul each time he looked at it, making him smile after this, even on a rainy day like that.

The sad weather didn't make Alex sad too, not that day or any other day. On the contrary, he simply loved that weather because it meant that romance had its meaning on such dark days. At the same time, he had a lot of clients on rainy days. A big part of them was youngsters, who, running away from the outside rain, were hiding in his small coffee shop. They did that looking to warm their body in front of the big fireplace where there was always a big fire, having a cup of coffee or hot tea in front of them and an open book on their lap because Alexander had brought enough books in that shop. There were huge bookshelves actually, because Alex was aware that the young people of Ireland loved to read, titles that he took care to renew often just to make sure he'd keep the readers there, crossing the threshold of his coffee shop almost every day.

Actually, even if Alex, as almost all the clients were calling him, hadn't brought new titles into that coffee shop, the clients would have crossed its threshold anyway. The reason? Love that was felt everywhere, floating in the air in a place where the heart felt so well. How not to feel all this when a lot of couples of trysts found their place there, sitting side-by-side, sinking into the pleasant universe of romance that was also hidden through the pages of the books, just to make sure they'd feel its aroma each time they turned a page. Thus, they could walk together on those wet paths described by those lines written in the book. On those beautiful alleys covered by the yellow leaves of autumn that covered the earth with the thick cloth of love, a coat that had holly colors, loved by the in-love soul of a man or woman, one who knew that his or her soul was the temple of romance, in fact.

Alex thought that his soul was also the temple of romance. He always considered himself in love with nature and beauty. He thought he was a lover of the world, of new and old books, of the scent that was so pleasantly felt from them. And, not least, of the smell of fresh coffee, which he prepared each morning just to make sure he'd fill the street with its pleasant aroma, luring into the coffee shop romantic people like him, in-love people and dreamers just as he was.

That morning, after preparing the coffee and making sure the place was ready to receive the clients on that rainy day, the man poured himself a cup of coffee and approached the big window that was watching the east of the city. From there, he saw the small square that was almost empty at that early morning hour. Yet, this didn't bother or concern the young man because, as he loved the beauty, Alex also loved loneliness.

It would have been strange for him not to love loneliness. It happened because everybody in the world knew that romantic people loved to spend their time alone, watching the world with the eyes of love that they always kept in their souls. With that love that they are always ready to share at least with nature if not with romantic people like them. A loneliness that they start to hate when „They fall in love with a beautiful woman with blue eyes and blonde hair," as Alex loved to joke often because he had seen enough romantic people who had forgotten about their biggest passion - loneliness and longing - when they had fallen in love with someone. Because of this, Alexander Doyle had sworn not to forget ever this because, for him, being romantic meant being alone, always alone, sharing the love from his soul only with the world, the one he didn't have direct contact with, but which he loved for the simple fact that it existed.

Such life conviction Alex had had for almost fifteen years since he declared himself a hopeless romantic. Then, after he had seen that the girl he liked, a blonde girl with big blue eyes had preferred another boy, a very known boy in their high school, and not him, an egghead, the young man told himself that love is holly only when you keep it in your heart and not when you share it with others. Swearing himself this, Alexander told himself that he wouldn't ever fall in love again or betray romance. Yet, the heart... ah, the heart betrays sometimes, especially those romantic people...