Remy's Unexpected Coffee Night With A Stranger

"All of these stupid books are the same," Remy rolled his eyes as he picked up the books. "It's all don't buy Starbucks coffee and stop using Netflix. It's like they don't know how hard it is to live in the twenty-first century!"

Remy put the money books in his black bag. It looked like it would fall apart any day. Yet, it still stayed intact.

"Freakin' Boomers," Mark shrugged. "Things are the way they were in the 70s."

"I'd like to see them work three jobs to pay bills and college debt and have their parents yell at them about taking five minutes to themselves." Remy scoffed. "They'd never give us shit again about the way we live our lives."

"True story," Mark nodded. "When are your kids coming back?"

"A month," Remy replied. "Until then, I need to make sure I get my business started."

Remy fixed his black hair in the mirror, smirking at the stubble on his chin. She never liked the stubble. It felt weird having it on his chin after so long. He put sunglasses over his aqua-green eyes.

"If you're looking for another drinking buddy tonight, don't call me," Mark said. "I got another date tonight with Audra."

"You're still with her?" Remy asked, surprised.

"Every time I think I'm done with her, she does something to surprise me," said Mark, "I think she's gonna be around for a while." He grinned. Remy could see the chip in his tooth.

"Well, have fun then," Remy said, taking another glance in the mirror. He was glad he put his sunglasses on.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?" Mark asked eyebrow raised. Remy didn't answer.

"You should take those sunglasses off when you get to the library," Mark said.

"Why, so I can dazzle some girl with my long lashes?" Remy asked.

"No, so you can see the books better," Mark smirked. "Now get your ass over there before you pay a fine." Remy turned towards the door.

"Say hi to Marina for me if you see her!" Mark teased. Remy flipped him off as he left the house.

It was a quiet day in the library. Remy was one of five people in the library. A little boy and his mother searched the shelves for books about trucks. A teenager looked through the computer for the perfect game. A college girl went through the medical shelves.

He stopped when he saw her at the front desk. She worked at the computer, oblivious to his presence. Even from a distance, her dark eyes sparkled in the soft library light. She pushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.

When she looked up at Remy, his heart skipped a beat. She didn't look as happy to see him. He sighed and approached her desk, admiring her red shirt.

"You're back again," she said dryly.

"Yeah, these books didn't quite do it for me," he said. His heart sank when he noticed her ringless hand.

"Course not," she said. She took the books as he put them on the desk.

"So, how are you?" Remy asked.

"Fine," she answered. "Is there anything else I can do for you today?" Her customer service voice sounded sickly sweet.

"Maybe a finance book that understands how the twenty-first century?" Remy answered.

"Good luck," the girl said.

"I'm sorry, Marina," Remy said. He started to reach for her hand but stopped.

"Sorry isn't good enough," she replied. "Have a good day!" Marina went back to typing until Remy walked away from her. He walked to the farthest shelf from the desk and looked at Marina. She glanced at her left hand. Remy couldn't tell, but it looked like she wiped away a tear.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice choking. He walked out through the back door.

Mark didn't do the dishes again before he left. Remy shook his head when he put his bag on the couch. He sat next to the bag and took out his phone.

He never deleted the pictures. Remy smiled looking at the photos of him and Marina together. Their travels, wine tastings, and breakfast dates with every image. His chest hurt when he looked at the engagement pictures. She looked so beautiful in every frame.

A loud knock broke Remy out of his thoughts. He glanced at his watch, confused. Why would someone come over this late?

A woman stood in front of him. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight bun. She wore too much eye makeup, but it made her gray eyes stand out. Her dark red lips broke into a smile when she looked at him. This girl was quite pretty.

"Hi, anyway I can use your phone?" she asked sheepishly. "My car broke down, and I'm hoping you'll help a girl out."

"Sure, I guess," Remy stepped aside and let her in the house. She half-walked, half-skipped inside the house. She kicked off her shoes and threw herself on the couch.

"Wow! You've got a nice place!" the girl said. "You rent? You own it? How did you get this place?" Remy watched the girl relax on the couch. She acted like a roommate. She put her feet on the coffee table and stretched herself on the couch.

"So, you live here alone?" she asked, "A girlfriend? Wife? Roommate? Anything?"

"Roommate," Remy answered quietly. He watched the chubby girl as she stood up and looked around the house.

"There used to be pictures around here," she said.

"Yeah," Remy replied. "Anyway, you said you needed to use my phone?"

"Oh yeah!" the girl answered. "Sorry, my car took a shit. No idea what's wrong with it!" Remy handed her his phone.

"Wow! Who's the girl?" the girl asked. "She's so pretty!"

"Why don't you call whoever you need to first?" Remy snapped. The girl mumbled an apology. Remy sighed and went to the kitchen. Mark made a fresh cup of coffee before he left. He poured himself a cup and took a mug out for the girl.

"Oh holy crap, coffee, yes!" the girl said, "thanks so much! It's been a hell of a day!"

"You're welcome," said Remy, "so, bad day?"

"You could say that, " the girl laughed. "Not every day you end up in some stranger's house trying to call either a tow truck or a friend, depending on who answers first. By the way, I'm Jane."

"Remy," he answered. She emptied her coffee in one gulp then went back to the couch. Remy took out some chips from the pantry and poured them in a nearby bowl.

"Here are some chips if you're hungry," Remy said, placing the bowl in front of her.

"Oh, thanks!" Jane popped a chip in her mouth gratefully. "Someone should be here soon. Sorry about all of this." Remy shrugged and pulled out a pillow and blanket from the closet.

"Well, here's a pillow in case you're here all night," Remy said.

"Oh, thank you!" Jane said chirped. Remy poured her another cup of coffee, and the two of them drank in silence.

"So, you never answered my question," Jane said, "Who's the girl in the picture? She's pretty!" Remy sighed.

"It's Marina," he said quietly.

"Friend of yours?" Jane asked.

"We were engaged," said Remy.

"Were?" Jane took another sip of coffee. "Sorry, am I getting too personal? I do that sometimes. I ask too many questions and make people uncomfortable."

"It's fine," Remy answered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jane asked.

"I don't know," Remy said thoughtfully. "I haven't talked about it since she moved out."

"So what happened?" Jane asked. Remy signed and sat on the chair.

"She lived abroad when we got together," he explained. "I went to see her and proposed. Months later, she quit her job, I bought a house, and she moved in with me."

"Sounds like a promising start," Jane replied.

"See, I was married before," Remy said. "and when Marina moved in, I got nervous. I noticed things about her and got some doubts. I tried to look past them, but I couldn't.

And then my ex-wife called and wanted me to watch the kid for the weekend."

"You have a kid?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, one," Remy answered. "Long story short, she was pregnant when we got married. And that was the only one that was mine."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jane said.

"It's fine," Remy shrugged. "I felt bad after the divorce. It meant the kid wouldn't have a father-figure anymore. So I started offering to take the kid if she needed me to."

"And Marina didn't like it, did she?" Jane said.

"I thought she understood," Remy explained. "My ex-wife was not a good person. If she hadn't gotten pregnant, I wouldn't have married her. She yelled at everyone, hit me in public, and had no sense of embarrassment. I never knew when she was going to take the kids and take off when I got off of work."

"If she was that bad, why did you still take her kid?" Jane asked. She went to the kitchen and brought the coffee pot and a coaster.

"Because I felt guilty I couldn't take him," Remy said, "Not my kid, not my responsibility, but I know this kid's life sucks with her. The first time the kid came over, I called CPS on my ex. Nothing happened with it, though. I lost my faith in CPS because of the kid.

Years ago, I took in the kid for six months. My ex didn't call him the whole time he was here. I had to threaten to call the police to get her kid back."

"Sounds like this poor kid's life sucks," Jane said.

"I thought Marina understood," Remy said, "but the more the kid came over, the more she complained."

"Even knowing the story?" Jane asked.

"Well, my ex would drop off the kid to play with his sibling. She'd say she'd pick him up at the end of the weekend, but she never replied when I'd text her," Remy explained. "Marina started saying no when my ex would text asking if her kid could come over. My kid started waiting until Marina wasn't around to ask if her brother could come over. I stopped telling Marina when the kid would come over."

"Is that why you called off the engagement?" Jane asked.

"It didn't help," Remy said thoughtfully. "It got me thinking. When we got together, we were so happy. And then she came, and slowly things changed. I saw her looking at other men. Or at least I think that's what I saw. She'd cry and deny it every time I told her I noticed. I know I have jealousy issues because of my exes. Every woman I've been with before Marina cheated on me.

And we don't agree on everything. We disagree on a lot, actually. She said it didn't bother her, but I could see it being a problem ten years later. We fought so much that at least once she left.

She could wake up in ten years and realize she hates me. Maybe one day, I'll wake up and hate her. And if we get married and end up divorced, I lose everything I worked for. I can't handle that.

I tried to explain it all to her, and it devastated her. She cried for weeks and asked why I bothered proposing to her if I didn't want to get married.

So we tried to separate. The day she agreed, my ex called and asked if her kid could stay for a weekend. Marina rolled her eyes and walked out of the house with some clothes.

A month later, my ex asked if her kid could live with me for a few months. She's in-between boyfriends and homeless, so her kid stayed with me until she got herself together. Marina wasn't surprised."

"So was the kid the reason you broke off the engagement?" Jane asked.

"I don't know," Remy wanted to sink into the chair. It's the most he ever talked about Marina to anyone. Even Mark didn't know all of the details of the situation. Was it the kid? Was it the pressure of the wedding?

"If you don't mind the outsider's point of view," Jane said, "it sounds like you got overwhelmed with pressure. You're pressured to get married before you're ready. You're pressured to be a good father to your kid and someone else's child. I don't know what you're doing for work, but I'm sure that's putting a lot of pressure on you too, isn't there?"

"I'm an entrepreneur," Remy explained. "I build things and sell them."

"I see," Jane said, "You caved under pressure and broke the engagement with Marina and destroyed any boundaries you slowly built with your ex."

"Marina always said my ex and I had no boundaries," Remy replied.

"So what happens now?" Jane asked. "Are you guys still together but living separately?"

"She gave me back her ring a few weeks ago," Remy sighed.

"Because of your ex?" Jane asked.

"Yeah," Remy answered. "She accused me of calling off the engagement and separating to please my ex. Then, she gave me her ring and left. Now, I only see her when I go to the library.

"I will give her this. She was right about my ex. The day after Marina gave me back her ring, my ex came over. I thought she was going to pick up her kid, but she made a move on me. I turned her down, my ex got mad, and she took her kid and left. I haven't seen her since. She texted me later that night to tell me I'm never seeing her or her kid again."

"I'm sorry all of that happened to you," Jane said.

"It's fine," Remy replied. "Now I can just be alone."

"Is that what you want?" Jane sipped her coffee.

"It's easier this way," Remy said. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

Jane watched Remy empty his cup of coffee. She watched his face as he spoke.

"Marina was the best relationship I ever had," Remy said. "I was so happy with her, and I sabotaged everything."

"I'm sorry," Jane said.

"It's fine," Remy replied. "I think I'm going to get some sleep now." He picked up the pot and mugs and put them in the sink.

"If you need anything, my room is over there," Remy said, "Have a good night!"

The sound of the door clicking woke Remy. He rolled out of bed, yawning. Remy brushed his teeth and walked out to the living room.

He forgot about Jane until he saw the empty couch and crumpled blanket. A black notebook sat on top of the blanket, a small piece of paper between the pages. He pulled out the paper and stopped himself from fainting.

Remy held a check for $20,000. Hands shaking, he picked up the notebook and opened it.

Dear Remy,

Thank you so much for taking me in for the night. Your kindness is at a level that we don't see much in this world anymore. By the time you read this letter, my sister will find your house, and I'll be gone.

You're probably wondering why the hell you're holding a check for twenty thousand dollars. I take pictures for a living, and I get a lot of cash for it.

Anyway, after talking to you, I feel you have a lot of pressure on yourself. And I thought this check would help you work on your business. You deserve it with the level of kindness you've given me.

One day, everything will get better. I hope one day you and Marina find your way back to one another. If not, I hope you find the happiness you want. Until then, I hope my investment helps. See you soon!

Jane

P.S. Keep the notebook.