Lisa & Rokko - Missed Chances (english version)

Chapter 10

Today, a week after the anniversary celebration, Lisa was sitting at the catering table, sipping her fourth cup of coffee.

After a few failed attempts to contact her, David had finally given up. Friedrich and Laura had left for Sylt on the day of David's arrival, since he hadn't announced his visit. Lisa wasn't even sure if they knew he was in Berlin now. But honestly, she couldn't care less, as long as he stayed out of her way.

While she was lost in thought, she suddenly and unintentionally overheard a conversation that made her freeze.
"Can you believe she actually danced with Mister Kowalski? Even though she's married to the junior boss. You should've seen it!" one of the two women said, her voice barely lowered in excitement.
"Everyone was thinking, 'Get a room,'" the other added with a mocking tone, and both women started giggling.
Lisa swallowed hard and gripped her cup a little tighter. She didn't want to hear their gossip, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to get up and walk away.
"I don't know if you've heard," the first one continued, "but she left him standing at the altar back then..."
"Seriously?" the other asked in surprise.
"Yes! Only to marry the young Seidel right after. I mean, who does that? And then last week she just went and danced with Rokko again. Totally disrespectful if you ask me."
"There are already plenty of rumors about why she came back to the company without her husband," the second woman added. "And if those rumors are true, it wouldn't be surprising. The way she was all over him at the party... Who knows, maybe she's trying to use him again because her husband has lost interest."
"That would make sense," the first one agreed. "She must have some sort of plan. It can't be a coincidence that she disappeared right after her wedding and now, eight years later, suddenly shows up again, and right after that, Mr. Kowalski comes back too."
The words hit her like a punch to the stomach. She tried to set her cup down, but it slipped from her trembling hands and tipped over. Coffee spilled across the counter in a dark puddle and began dripping to the floor as she struggled to keep her composure.
She grabbed a napkin quickly, trying to stop the spreading puddle, while the women's words kept echoing in her head. Suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind like lightning.

She was back at the celebration. The music was loud, the lights flickered in bright colors, and the dance floor was crowded with laughing, dancing people. Lisa stood at the edge, watching the lively scene, when her eyes fell on Rokko.
He was in the middle of the crowd, a glass in his hand, loose and carefree just as she remembered him from before. He was clearly already a little tipsy, laughing loudly as he moved to the fast-paced rhythm of the music.
She knew this was her chance. If she ever wanted to win Rokko back, this was the moment. At least, that was what she told herself in her rather intoxicated state. She watched him for another moment, the alcohol slowly dissolving her hesitation.
"Now or never," she whispered to herself, taking a determined step forward and making her way through the dancing crowd until she stood right in front of him. She tapped him on the shoulder. Rokko turned to face her, his movements faltering.
Without a word, Lisa began to dance, letting the music carry her. At first he hesitated, unsure about the sudden closeness. He wasn't like he used to be — not relaxed and easygoing. But the alcohol and the music eventually melted away his reserve. He let himself go.
For a moment, he forgot everything else. The nervous edge he always seemed to have around her, but usually managed to mask, seemed to dissolve entirely. All that mattered was the music. When their eyes met, Lisa saw not only confusion but also the deep mistrust she had always feared. Yet beneath it, she sensed something else, a hint of the old familiarity and a closeness she had long believed lost.

When she came back to the present, her heart was racing, and she could still feel the warmth and tension that had connected them in that moment. Suddenly she thought she heard his voice, and when she looked up, she saw him at the reception desk, picking up his mail. It was his first day back at the company since the celebration. As if sensing her gaze, he turned around. She smiled instinctively, but when their eyes met, his expression darkened and he quickly disappeared toward his office.
She didn't have much time to think about her resurfaced memory or rather a fragment of one since she had several meetings scheduled for the day.
Later that afternoon, as she was saying goodbye to a business partner, she froze. Across the street, she saw Rokko. He was holding the hand of a little boy, about four or five years old, with dark curls falling wildly into his face, a mirror image of Rokko himself. Rokko held his small hand firmly and looked down at him with a warm smile, listening attentively as if nothing in the world could be more important.
The sight hit Lisa like a knife to the heart. It was as if the air had been knocked out of her. Rokko with a child was exactly the life she had once secretly dreamed of. But now he seemed to be living it with someone else, and she could not even blame him for that.