WHEN I'M WITH YOU (I HAVE FUN)

It all began on a rainy Monday. Their initial meeting was purely on chance; as if fate decided to randomly roll a dice and the choice went to the two oblivious people that happened to cross paths.

After a tiring day dealing with new recruits at work, all Miles wanted was just to hang out with the girls or sleep it off, but luck wasn't smiling at her, since her best friend Roxie and the others weren't available that day.

And she wasn't too keen on going home since her older brother Steve would be returning from overseas tomorrow morning. While she anticipated his arrival, it also marked the start tensing of her father's temper. Her dad probably was already planning for ways to pick a verbal fight in his lifelong mission of deprecating Steve's now independent life of his own, rather than just admitting he actually missed his eldest son.

Left with few choices and since the air at home would be too suffocating for her to handle, the young woman decided to just go with it and for the first time in her life took a public train commuter to find some amusement in the next town, maybe a fresh new restaurant or something.

There's still two more stop before the train reached her place, but due to cramp and sick of too many sitting since in the office, she got off and decided to walk around absently, hoping she wouldn't get lost.

The small train stop wasn't really crowded with people, but not completely deserted either. Then only after few steps away from the station Miles realized that this was a bad idea, since it's almost nightfall and the surroundings were still too natural and dark with large untouched trees and bushes and where in the world was she right now.

She almost freaked out being the drama queen she is and reached out for her phone when her eyes fell into a small remote cafe with traditional Japanese tea-shop design, and her coffee-driven mind led her towards it.

Except, the kind-looking lady there served her a painstakingly bitter hot tea instead of coffee that she expected.

Then suddenly, a pale, toned arm was outstreched towards her, holding a cup of coffee. She looked up and came into view with a good-looking face with the most bored expression she'd ever seen on a man, giving a tired-of-life vibe all around the guy. The said face was framed with short stand of curly blond hair.

Miles raised a questioning eyebrow, and the guy simply said their orders were mixed up and left, strolled into the kitchen like he owned the place.

Afterwards Miles found herself back to the same exact cafe the following Friday after she got off from work. Mainly because the coffee brewed by the old lady there was the best one she'd ever tasted, and that coming from a coffee-maniac, and also not to mention the brownies there.

(No, Roxie, she didn't keep trying to steal glances at the kitchen during her last visit there.)

And of course, she wasn't dissapointed when the weird blonde guy was nowhere to be seen.

On the good note, she ended up having a long chat with the owner after she idly said the coffee here was really good. Since she grew up in a wealthy influental family, it's unusual for her to engage a conversation with stranger, especially if not from the same social status, but surprisingly she found herself enjoying it, hearing the old lady somehow start to ramble about her family history and her early twenties during the second world war, exchanging letters with a handsome soldier who never came back.

"You know, you could just ask for the guy's name," Roxie said one day, looking torn between holding back laughter or fart. Maybe both. While her other friend, Janine, stared at her carefully because she knew not to get on Miles' bad side. Wise girl.

"Why would I want to get his name?"

Roxie just gave her a knowing look, seemed to pleased that for once the table had turned, as this time Miles was the one being teased, not the other way around.

It was two weeks later when Miles dropped by again, along with unreasonable craving for the bagels she brought home last time. She thought she had forgotten about the blonde when the said guy suddenly delivered her orders to her usual spot by the window. "It's on the house."

Then that time the wires on her brains started to articulate and unconciously she snatched the guy's wrist while blurting out, "You own this cafe?"

She didn't mean to say, how could this lifeless drug-addict looking guy own this paradise on earth? but presumably it came out the wrong way, since the guy frowned and he stared at Miles as if she had just insulted his entire family and ancestors.

But the old lady saved the day as she strolled into view and spoke cheerfully that this is Hugo, my grandson, he occasionally come and help me manage the cafe, and told the said Hugo to sit down and have a lovely chat with her so-called favorite customer.

It's probably rude, but Miles didn't bother to conceal her amusement as Hugo reluctantly sat down in front of her. It was kind of arduous at first for small talks, since Hugo was a reserved introvert, while Miles was the exact opposite, but past the initial grumpiness and awkward silences, they somehow managed to found the same interest in the beauty of old classical movies.

Afterwards everytime she came back, it's like being in an un-skip-able cut scene, inside a childhood movie she had witnessed numerous times, as Miles found herself sitting in the same spot every Monday evening, sipping the same hot coffee. But while her eyes were entraced to the soft drizzling rain against the ground outside, her heart just maybe a step more to be bound over the mesmerizing green eyes of her companion, and the rare soft, almost shy smiles Hugo sometimes would offer to her everytime Miles said something absurd.

Like living off a magnet zone, something kept drawing her back to the cafe. Miles always told herself it was the food, or maybe the simple, but homey atmosphere that eased her brain wires from all the dramas happening around her life.

It's like finding a small getaway, a haven, away from her hectic life and estranged family, and she didn't want to share it with anybody else. Not even her brother or Roxie.

If Hugo was there during her visits every Friday, that's another matter to discuss.