A Thousand Miles and A Million Years

Chapter Eight

I pulled out of the odd, off-grounds parking space I had created for myself and towards my favourite cafe I unfortunately hadn't been to since I was 18. I sighed with a smile on my lips, reminiscing in the past and wondering if Miss Giroux still owned and ran the place. She would be a sight for sore eyes. I took the last turn and the cafe' sold sign met my eyes. I parked in the front and pulled the key out of the ignition, but not getting out of the car yet. I stared at the small establishment, ecstatic that it hadn't changed one thing since I saw it. I sighed again, noticing that Mark was watching me, a but concerned. I didn't give him much more time to stare before I hopped out if the car and started into the cafe, but as I reached to open the door, Mark reached and opened it for me. I glared out of the corner of my eye before walking in with him close behind.

The heavy smell of coffee and fresh baked good hit me in the face and I smiled welcomely the familiarity about the whole place. Nothing had changed and even Ashley stood at her usual post behind the cash register.

"Oh. My. God." Ashley said, covering her mouth. I smiled at her reaction and rushed faster to the counter that she soon threw herself across to pull me into a hug. She took my face in her hands and kissed both my cheeks before hugging me again. "It has been way too long! Way, way too long!"

"I couldn't agree more!" I laughed, hugging her again.

"Oh, god, let me get mom!" She said excitedly, running to the back. I rolled my eyes at their excitement, a bit bashful while I waited for Miss Giroux to appear.

She appeared from the black door for the office and ran over to me, kissing both my cheeks as Ashley did and hugging me exceedingly tight. "Je ne t'ai pas vu depuis si longtemps!" She said in French.

"Je sais! Je suis désolé!" I replied, hugging her tightly over the counter in a mess of arms.

We both laughed before letting go of each other and noticing the changes we had went through during the time we were apart. I noticed she hadn't gained a single wrinkle despite her age being against her, and she had kept her hair longer as always.

"Oh my goodness! Look at your hair!" She said, pulling on the long pieces laying on my shoulders. I had grown it out over the years, letting it come past my ears unlike I used to. "And your face! You matured! Look at how pretty you've gotten!"

I laughed at her remarks. "And look at you! Your face looks amazing counting that we spent five years apart!"

"Are you calling me old?" He joked with a jab at my ribs as she pulled away from the counter to go around.

"Of course not!" I smiled.

"Anyways," she said, frantically shaking her hands around. "Any coffee and any pastries you want are on the house! Five years is too long, I want to keep you coming back this time!"

My smile faltered a bit at the remark because I knew I would be returning to my job soon and wouldn't be able to see her as frequently as she was wanting me to. "I couldn't let you do that!"

"Ah, no. You let me do that or else nothing for you!" She teased while she started making what I always got. I smiled at her kindness and pulled out my purse, grabbing the amount it would be and putting it in the tip jar without her or Ashley noticing. I turned around and spotted Mark sitting at the closest table to me, remember I had brought him to I went and sat at the table with him (a bit reluctantly I'm afraid to admit).

"So, they are excited." He said, watching the table closely.

"Yeah. But they don't seem to be too excited to see you." I said, curious as to why.

"Yeah, I haven't exactly had the best reputation since you left." He said quietly, not even glancing up at me. I scoffed before Mrs. Giroux was thrusting my coffee and pumpkin scones into the table.

"Ah, I see you already have company." She said disapprovingly. "I'll be over here if you need anything more."

"Merci." I said, thanking her in her native language. She just smiled and with another kiss to my cheek she was off behind the counter again.

"So, how has life treated you?" Mark asked me after a while of silence in which I drank most of my coffee and offered him some of my pumpkin scones.

"Awesome. I just got started in a new year of teaching and I have great new kids-" I started, holding my coffee in one hand and letting my other help me talk.

"You really became a teacher?" Mark asked, meeting my eyes with his surprised ones for the first time since we had stepped into the coffee shop.

"Yeah," I said hesitantly. "Didn't someone tell you?"

"No one besides family really talked to me in a while. I got bits and pieces like you had made it to art school, but then became a teacher." He said, looking back at his hands folded on the table. This wasn't the Mark I knew, and it saddened me to think about how much he had changed.

"Oh." I said simply. "Well, yeah, I did make it into Art school, I met a great guy and everything but then came 9/11 and he moved on from me and made a band while I stayed and got educated to become a teacher. After another year or so I got my degree and I'm now an Art teacher at a really good high school in New York."

"Wow." Mark said simply. I sighed and let my mouth's corners slightly twitch up.

"How about you?" I asked. He looked up and me through his hair, his head still bowed towards the table.

"It's been okay I guess. I just got a job in a music store and been in the music industries ever since." He said, peeking his head up a bit.

"Music industries?" I asked. "As in, a band or something?"

"Well, sometimes on the weekend I'll fill in as someone's drummer, but mostly I've been booking shows for people and helping bands in that way."

"That's great." I smiled sincerely and for the first time since I saw him today, he genuinely smiled back.