serena park. (sprk) wrote in casefile, @ 2018-06-17 17:30:00 |
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Serena stood outside the glass doors, nervous, as she looked up at the sign. Common Grounds. Her parents told her she'd find him here, that he owned the place now. It made her smile a little, finding out that her best friend was a proprietor. It had been ten years since she last saw him and she was glad he was doing well. But it was also ten years ago when she left him alone in a hotel in Las Vegas, disappearing without a trace. Just a note that she was sorry. And she really was. She could tell him in person now. Taking a deep breath, she then walked up to the doors and pushed them open, stepping inside and looking around for Raf. It was one of those weird days when the store was slammed, so Raf had returned early, called back in while he was halfway to a distributor because the espresso machine managed to break, and there just weren’t enough hands to keep up with the demand. They’d run out of cookies except for the few that had broken in the case. They sold out entirely of muffins. There were only a couple danishes left. Nothing left to staunch the flow of people with an apology baked good. So he had stopped at the local bakery in town, bought a box of assorted pastries, and gunned it toward the shop. He walked through the back door, passed the box toward one of his workers, and grabbed his toolkit to check out the espresso machine. “You traitor,” he said jokingly as he eyed it, checking the cord, pulling the pieces and parts away to get at the core components. He knew he’d need a new one, he just didn’t realize it would be so fast. As he turned to grab something from under the front counter, he saw her. The pain hit like he’d been punched in the face, solid, blinding, and disorienting. His head swam and it took a second to ground himself. He turned, looking again to confirm it was really her, before he went back to the espresso machine, wrench in hand. Serena's breath hitched when she spotted Raf behind the counter. She could feel her heart pounding fast against her chest. Her feet remained glued to the floor until she willed herself to move and finally approach the man she left. Standing in front of the counter, she swallowed thickly and said, "Hi…" The employee nearest to her looked confused for a moment until they realized she wasn't talking to them and was looking at their boss instead. Serena cleared her throat, and with uncertainty, she called out his name. "Raf?" He closed his eyes and pulled in a steadying breath before he spun, eyebrows arched, lopsided grin in place. He held a hand teasingly to his chest as he laughed out: “Well, as I live and breathe! Is that you, Serena?” His heart thumped with panic, but his smile didn’t waver. There was no sense in making a scene. “It’s so good to see you. Are you here for coffee?” She usually exuded confidence, but that was gone the moment she saw his face and heard his voice. She could only laugh nervously and stumble over her words as she spoke: "Um, yeah! Sure! I mean — no, I'm not here for coffee. I'm actually here to — but I'd still buy some coffee! I just, um…" She took another deep breath to ease her nerves, briefly closing her eyes and clenching her fists. "Alright," she spoke more calmly. "What I'm trying to say is that… I'm actually here to see you. And I would love to have coffee with you, if you're not busy right now…" Her voice trailed off as she gave him a hopeful look, a tiny smile playing on her lips. The absolute last thing that he wanted to do was sit down and have coffee with his best friend and absentee wife of ten years. It was almost laughable. Instead, he scrunched his face in apology. “I’m kind of dealing with a situation here with the espresso machine. And since it’s busy right now, I have to help back here.” He waved the wrench a little as if to solidify his case. Still. That smile made him pause for just a second and he could feel his reserve waning. “Unless you know anything about fixing espresso machines?” Serena shook her head, giving him a crooked smile. "I unfortunately don't, but… I could get us a table and wait for you?" “I might be a while,” he warned, “but you’re welcome to wait.” He gestured toward the closest employee and smiled encouragingly. “Go ahead and order whatever you want. It’s on me. I’ll be with you whenever I’ve fixed this.” "Alright, thanks, and no rush," she said, smiling a little more brightly this time. She then ordered a cappuccino before grabbing an empty table to wait. Though she was still nervous, she couldn't help but also feel optimistic. His attention lingered as he watched her order and then move to wait for him. He was caught between curiosity and panic, pinned between them, unable to decide what was the best course of action. He returned to the task at hand, completely disassembling the machine until he could find the source of the problem—a set of frayed wires connecting to the base from the inside. He took his time, repairing and rewiring, before he slowly reassembled. When it was back together, he plugged it in, flipped it on. And still, nothing. Narrowing his eyes, Raf canted his head in confusion. He glanced around to see that things had mostly died down, the pastries had sated, the orders were slowing. Channeling his father, he gave the top of the machine a hard whack! The lights flickered back on. “This will need cleaned again, but it’s working!” he told one of the baristas with a small smile. “I’ll be here if you need me, I just need to check in with a customer.” Stepping out from around the counter, he found Serena’s table and settled opposite of her. “Hey,” he offered. He didn’t know what else to say. He’d had so many conversations with her in the emptiness of his apartment, now that she was here, he couldn’t find the words to say. “It’s good to see you,” he said. "It's good to see you, too," she said in return, beaming at Raf and committing to memory his features now that they've grown up and gotten older. It was exhilarating for Serena to have her best friend seated across her and seeing him up close that her cheeks were starting to hurt with all the smiling she's been doing. Her heart continued to beat loudly as she carefully chose what to say next. "So…" she cleared her throat. "How are you?" That seemed like a safe thing to ask. "I heard you own this place now. I see it's going well, espresso machine aside," she joked lightly, chuckling. “I do own it. Changed the name and everything. I have customers that still refuse to call it Common Grounds and the comment box usually has at least a handful of suggestions to ‘put everything back the way it was’.” He maintained his smile despite the ache that had bloomed across his chest and taken him hostage. Raf took a sip of his coffee, watching her over the rim. “If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you back to town? Hopefully your parents are okay?” "Yeah, they're alright. Just had quite the shock to see their prodigal daughter back from the dead," she joked once more. She then took a sip of her own coffee, taking her time before answering his other question, feeling anxious. "What brings me to town…" she repeated thoughtfully, putting her cup down. "I… I'm actually here with the film crew. The previous makeup artist quit after what happened to Moira MacTeer, and so… here I am to fill in that spot." She smiled softly, glancing at Raf for his reaction. It was surreal to sit there across from her, the woman he’s known for decades, the one person that knew more about him than his sister, his best friend since middle school, and pretend that nothing was wrong. That a decade had gone by since they’d spoken. Let alone gotten married. “What an amazing opportunity,” he said. “I’m sure your parents are thrilled to have you back.” He glanced at his watch, checking the time. Thankfully, he had a shipment that he couldn’t miss in Seattle. He wasn’t sure what else to say. Where to go from here. “I’m sorry that you’re back in town under such tragic circumstances, though.” Unsure how else to respond, Serena just shrugged. "Do you need to be somewhere else?" She asked after noticing Raf glance at his watch. Embarrassment whipped through him and he stuttered an explanation. “It’s the reality of being a business owner working two jobs. I’m always needed somewhere. Olly’s just getting over the chicken pox and I’ve been checking on my parents more frequently following the murder. I’m sorry, I didn’t—” He paused, puffing out his cheeks before letting the breath go. “It’s a lot, Serena. Ten years?” Even when she had braced herself for this kind of outburst, and was just waiting for it to happen sooner or later, Serena was still stunned into silence. For a moment, she could only give Raf an apologetic look until she swallowed the lump in her throat and found her voice again. "I—I know, Raf. I know it's been such a long time and I don't really know where to begin and how to explain it to you, but… I'm really sorry…" Her eyes started to get glassy as she reached out across the table, touching Raf's hand, her gaze fixed on him. As her expression changed, his gut seized again and he found himself momentarily frozen with indecision. If he held his ground, he was cold. If he crossed the line into comfort, he was weak. He waffled between his choices as she touched him, drawn back to a time where those fingers had called him out of the storm after Noah’s death or when she’d grabbed his wrist and expected him to play along as they danced close at a party during her undergrad, one of the first times he’d really seen her as more than just his friend. Love was such a cruel fate. He cleared his throat and clenched his jaw, fighting for the right words. “You don’t need to explain,” he said, his voice soft and warm. “You did what you felt was right. I understand. It’s okay.” Serena recognized this. She had seen it all too many times before. Raf deciding to back down rather than fight and say what was on his mind was the cause of most of their arguments. It had always made her frustrated. She stared at him in disbelief, dismayed that he was still doing the same thing. "Raf… come on, you know it's not okay. Don't say that when it's not," she sighed. “No,” he reassured her, adjusting in his seat. “It’s okay. You obviously had somewhere else that you needed to be. And look where you ended up.” He grinned at her, shoving down the weight of a decade’s worth of hurt and lack of understanding. “You’re working on a movie! That’s a big deal! Do you promise to remember the little people when you’re famous?” he asked teasingly. It had always been like this. It was a pattern. Raf backs down, changes the topic, and Serena would just take it, surrender to the fact that he was like this, and let him win. It was still frustrating as ever. She could only just mentally shake her head at him. She then sighed once more, shifting in her seat and pulling her hand away from his. "Sure," she simply said, flashing him the briefest of smiles, a tiny bit of hurt emanating from her chest. "I'll remember you, Raf." “Do you need more coffee?” he asked after he’d finished his own, eager for a reason to rise from the chair and wander back behind the counter, to put space between them, even though the past was gripping him tightly to his seat. “I would offer you a pastry, but it looks like the town was hungry today. I was on my way to Seattle when I got the call that the espresso machine was broken and we were out of food. I had to stop at the bakery in town, but it looks like,” he craned his neck toward the display case to confirm, “unless you want half a cookie and a few pieces of danish, we’re sold out.” Serena didn't say a word and just listened to his spiel, observing his movements and noting how it seemed like he was in a hurry to get away from her. A part of her was amused; another was annoyed. She couldn't exactly blame him. Ten years was a lot, after all, but she was still irritated. She clicked her tongue and sighed for the nth time that day. Since he was so eager to get away from her, she decided to save him the trouble and just do the honors herself. "No, it's fine. I'll just be on my way out." She pushed her chair back with more force than she intended, the legs scratching the floor noisily as she stood up, bag in hand. She threw Raf one last smile, not very genuine. "Thanks for the coffee." Her heels clicked against the floor as she made big and fast strides towards the exit. |