It had been a week since Mia had met Dulcia. They'd talked until the cafe closed and then parted ways. Mia wanted desperately to see her again. There was something about Dulcia that felt right. It felt like they complimented each other. Each ring of the cafe bell made Mia's head snap up. However, it'd never been Dulcia.
Mia swirled the cold espresso around in the tiny cup. Nothing tasted the same since meeting Dulcia, but still she ordered it out of habit. Each day any hope of seeing her again dripped away. She took a sip but the coffee, grimacing, as it turned acrid in her mouth.
The metallic chime rang out through the cafe, but Mia didn't bother to look up to see who had entered. Instead, she focused on the brown swill in the cup front of her. A sour smell wafted up from the espresso and Mia shoved it away to the other side of the table.
“I know you said not to worry about you buying me a drink, but I thought I could repay the favour.” Mia looked up finding Dulcia beaming down at her, holding a cup between her hands. “Is this seat taken?” she asked.
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“No, go ahead,” Mia said. Dulcia filled the stale cafe with her sweet nectar fragrance, overpowering the discarded coffee. Mia took a deep breath, feeling the miasma surrounding her lifting.
Dulcia took the seat opposite Mia, placing the cup between them. It was an affogato. It was never Mia's choice because the vanilla ice cream was always too sweet and soon overwhelmed the espresso. Still, she accepted the drink, hoping this one would taste better.
“I hope you enjoy it,” Dulcia said. There was a sweetness behind her smile that washed over Mia, pushing away any of the bitterness that lingered.
Mia lifted the cup, savouring the rich aroma of espresso infusing with vanilla. She took a sip, enjoying the smoothness the ice cream added to the coffee. It wasn't long until the sweetness of the ice cream covered the rich coffee flavour. Mia placed the cup back down on the table, leaving half the drink. “I did enjoy it,” she said, “but it's a little too sweet for me now. I'm sorry.”
“That's okay,” Dulcia said. She picked up the cup and finished the drink. “Would you like to come back to mine for a coffee?”
“I'd love to.”