Gus

Coffee for Two

I returned to Philadelphia within a couple of hours. When I returned the rental, the manager didn't even notice the dent I had made, so that was a plus.

I came back to work as early as I could because I needed the money. The first thing I did was say hello to Terence, who had been anticipating what would happen during my visit.
"So, what happened?" he asked me eagerly when I came in the main room.
"I thought I found love, my friend. Then that supposed love just stomped all over my heart."
"Awww, buddy. I know what you're going through. Come here," and he opened his arms for a hug. I squeezed him, and he let me go and narrowed his eyes for a second.
"Where do you live?" he asked. I told him my address and he simply replied with "Oh." Then we got our assignments and went to work.

At the end of the day, Terence asked if we could go for coffee. I agreed, and we sat by a window seat and drank our coffee. We remained silent mostly until Terence spoke up;
"I remember when I was only 8 years old, I was in love with this girl named Maria. Now, I swear to god, she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. But she was 11 years old, and the kids at school used to make fun of me for being in love with someone much older than me. I didn't talk to her or anything because I get really shy around girls. But then one day, one of her friends came over to me and asked me if I liked Maria. I told her 'yes,' and she said that Maria liked me too, and that she would wait for me on 3rd street. So after school, I, uh, I waited for her... for an hour. Then I went home. The next day I went up to Maria's friend and asked her why she lied to me, and she said, 'I didn't lie, I was trying to show you the truth.' I got confused and asked her what she meant, and she told me to figure it out, then walked away. I could never figure it out until I was 11 and realized it meant she didn't love me back... that was only the first time I got rejected, but that one was indirect, sort of."
"I'm so sorry," I said. "What a bitch, though."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I know."
We were silent for a moment. "So... what happened between you and Kelly? I'm... just curious."
I sighed. "I knew her sister, so we met one day and it didn't go so well... so then she wanted to meet up with me again and I thought she was gonna tell me she loved me and we'd get married and have kids and shit but I guess not."
"Sorry again, dude. I think you need someone to talk to."
"I have you."
"Yeah, but that's before work starts and at these coffee shops... um, Gus, if your house isn't too small, do you... do you think I could move in with you? N-nevermind, it's a stupid idea."
I smiled. I genuinely smiled for the first time. "Terence, I'd love to get to know you more! Of course you can move in!"
"Really? That's great! I think... I think I need someone to talk to, too."
"What about your mother? She seems nice."
"She gets annoyed by me. I can tell."
"How?"
"One time I got a role in the school play and I had to practice my lines a lot at home. I swear to God... every time I sang 'Ding Dong the Witch is Dead' my mom would put headphones on and listen to the loudest music she could find."
"Wait a minute... you were in The Wizard of Oz?"
"Yeah, I was a munchkin."