Chapter 8
It was only then that my parents learned our five–year marriage had been sexless. My mom called: “Why didn’t you say anything?”
I smiled faintly: “It’s all in the past. Can we not mention him anymore?”
I took three days off, either sleeping or sitting by the sea.
The undulating waves brought me peace, as if healing me.
I no longer needed to feel sorry for my survival.
After all, wasn’t Lance Mitchell’s life just as altered as mine?
When I returned to the cafe, Lance Mitchell had already resigned and left.
The store manager said his mother had come to get him personally.
“That day, he had a fierce argument with his mother outside. He… even knelt
down.”
Hearing this felt strange and distant, like listening to unrelated gossip.
The store manager handed me a handwritten letter.
“He said to give this to you.”
I looked at the yellowed envelope and shook my head. “Throw it away. Just pretend I’ve read it.”
After that day, my life at the cafe returned to normal.
I even learned to scuba dive with the enthusiastic help of my coworkers. The beaming smile on my face as I surfaced for photos delighted my parents. My father sent me a message: [I was worried you’d decide to settle down there.] I didn’t let him worry for long. As summer was ending, I resigned and returned
home.
This time, I really did open my own cafe.
At a corner not far from my parents‘ home, I named it “Seabreeze Cafe.”
Walking into the shop, seeing the photo of the sea I’d taken myself, it wasn’t hard to guess the meaning behind the name.
But some people misunderstood.
A year had passed since my last encounter with Lance Mitchell.
He had cut his hair short, looking fresh and leaner.
OS
When he walked in, I was chatting with the newly hired barista.
He was explaining in detail the taste and complexity of the beans used in that pour–over coffee.
I was listening intently, not even noticing when Lance Mitchell came to stand beside me.
The staff approached him: “Sir, what would you like to drink?”
He cleared his throat softly: “Your signature drink. Seabreeze Cafe.”
I turned to look at him, meeting those dark eyes directly.
He seemed to be trying hard to curl his lips into a smile for me.
But I had already looked away.
I continued our previous conversation, laughing when it got interesting.
After finishing the barista’s masterpiece, I left the counter, preparing to leave. Lance Mitchell stood up hastily, knocking over his coffee cup, brown liquid spilling.
everywhere.
I glanced at it and continued walking out.
This time, he stepped right over the chair, grabbing my wrist.
I coldened my face, my gaze dropping to his bony hand.
He slowly let go, flustered: “Why didn’t you say anything when you came back?”
I noticed he was still wearing our wedding ring on his ring finger.
I had bought it after we married, afraid he wouldn’t want to wear it, so I left it in a
drawer.
As it turned out, he never wore it.
And mine, I had taken off and thrown away the day of the birthday party.
He noticed where my gaze had fallen, his expression suddenly forlorn.
“Yours has been gone for a long time, hasn’t it?”
I nodded: “I threw it away the day we signed the divorce papers.”
He pressed his lips together, the corners of his eyes drooping.
“I… I’ve been waiting for you all this time.”
I smiled at him. “Lance Mitchell, it’s over.”
08
His body tensed, his head dropping even lower.
“Before, I kept our home, thinking you’d come back sooner or later.”
He said that not long ago, he couldn’t bring himself to go back there anymore.
Memories were everywhere, and so was the torment.
He remembered how countless times I’d fallen asleep waiting for him on that
couch.
He’d always carefully carry me back to the bedroom.
“So many times, I could feel your breath when I lowered my head.
“Just that tiny distance, and I could have kissed you.”
But he never got close, not once.
His head was now bowed to his chest, his voice choked with tears.
“I was afraid I truly loved you, afraid my hatred for you would vanish.”
He hastily raised his hand to wipe his eyes, but not before a tear fell onto the back
of his hand.
“I blamed you for all my misfortunes, as if that could cover up all the chaos in my
life.
“Until… you left, and I realized I wasn’t the person I used to be anymore.” He looked at me urgently, desperation and pleading so close in his eyes. “Can’t we be like we were before? Let me learn how to love you this time.” I shook my head.
“No, I don’t love you anymore.
“For the rest of my life, I just want to be strangers with you.”
Lance Mitchell often came to the shop, sitting for entire afternoons. The staff wondered if he was a freelancer, and quietly asked me.
“Do you know him? He just sits there every time.”
I smiled without answering, and the employee scratched their head.
“But he didn’t stay today, because I told him you’re going on a date tonight.”
I didn’t correct this beautiful mistake.
Though in fact, I was just attending a gathering of my parents‘ friends with them.
3/4
08
As night fell and I was about to leave, Lance stood up and followed me out.
He suddenly said, “Brooke Taylor is going abroad again.”
I was looking down at a message from my parents and didn’t pay much attention. “She’s been pursuing me this whole year, but when she got a chance for further studies, she accepted without hesitation.”
I looked at him in surprise: “It’s not my father this time, you can relax.”
He shook his head with a bitter laugh:
“I know.
“I just suddenly felt lonely. Those who love me, and those I love, have all abandoned me.”
I didn’t respond to him, just walked towards the parking lot.
He asked softly behind me, “What time will you come to the shop tomorrow?” I pretended not to hear.
In fact, that was our last meeting, I didn’t get a chance to tell him.
The manager I’d recruited for Sea View was already in place, I wouldn’t be going
there anymore.
That night, I accidentally broke a wine glass at the party.
Liquid spilled all over the floor.
At that same moment, Lance Mitchell, leaving Sea View, had his heart pierced by at
drunk homeless man.
He crawled for a long time, until he breathed his last.
People said he was crawling in the direction of the coffee shop called Sea View. Even though there was a clinic not far in the opposite direction.
