The Deal

Chapter 3

Nihara

Hi. Do you have plans for the weekend?

I looked at the text from Alex. It had been a week since the infamous date and this is the first time he had reached out to me since then.

It was 7.00 a.m. and I was in the kitchen sitting at the small table eating an egg sandwich for breakfast. My mother sat opposite to me, drinking tea and reading the newspaper. It was how all our mornings went since she and my father divorced and he moved to New Zealand.

No. Why? I wrote back.

I didn't have to wait long for the reply. Going to a match on Saturday with some friends. You should come.

I read the message twice.  I knew that if we were going to pretend that we were dating we had to be seen together. But still it made me feel uncomfortable. Meeting his friends seemed like what a real couple would do. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of this I thought. After all we had to be seen together or else how are we going to convince people we were dating?

Sure. Why not? I replied.

Great I will send you the details.

"Why don't you invite Alex for dinner? I want to meet him," My mother's voice distracted me. I was surprised it took her a week to ask me that. After I told her that the date went well, she was happy but surprisingly didn't hound me with too many questions. Unfortunately it seems my reprieve had come to an end.

"We're taking it slow, Amma," I said and stood. "I should go. I don't want to get caught to traffic."

She pressed her lips together. "I know what you're doing," she said. "I'll let it go for today but I want to meet him soon."

"I know." I said kissing her cheek. "But I really do need to go."

Surprisingly, I didn't get caught to any major traffic blocks. When I parked in front of my shop in Moratuwa, I realized I was a few minutes early.

When I looked at the one story building I felt a surge of pride. My parents thought I was crazy to invest the money they had saved for college on a bookshop. Looking at it now, I knew it was worth it. Within a year I was able to earn every penny I invested.

As I entered, the smell of coffee greeted me. The coffee machine I bought along with the comfy sofas was a big hit. We had customers who just wanted a comfortable place to sit and read. Since they could read any book in the store as long as they didn't damage them and put it back where they found it, we were a popular destination for book lovers. Most of the customers ended up buying their favorite books anyway so there was a steady profit.

I smiled at Mia, she had been a loyal employee and friend for two years now. I didn't know what I would do without her.

"Do you want coffee? I already made one for myself," She said gesturing at her coffee on the long table next to the register.

"Sure, Thanks. Let me just put my bag in the office and come," I said.

The office was a tiny room at the back of the shop. The table and chair took the bulk of the room and to the left of it there was a door leading to an attached bathroom. I kept my bag on the table which had old receipts and files strewn all over it. "I really should organize everything," I thought before leaving.

"No customers yet?" I asked Mia sitting on the stool behind the register.

"Not yet," She said handing me my coffee. She sat on the stool closer to the coffee machine and turned to me. "Did you watch Real housewives of Bedford yesterday?"