Hello friends and welcome back to our rom-com-inspired short story series! If this is the first post with this title that you are reading, allow me to suggest that you go back and read episode 1 here: Love in the Time of Covid: Episode 1 – The First Encounter .
For those of you who read last week’s episode, we last left Keston and Janelle (but mainly Keston) secretly hoping they’d run into each other at Traditions (the café, not the stuff you do every year around special holidays) again. Keston, who was ordinarily smooth and charming, had been completely disarmed by the beautiful, poised and confident Janelle. Will he be able to put together a complete sentence if they meet again? Let’s find out! Happy reading!
There are times when the experience of an unusual Friday (whether it is unusually good or unusually bad) has no effect on the Fridays that follow. However, this was not the case for Keston. The next Friday morning, he found himself, almost unconsciously being extra meticulous as he got ready for work. He even arrived at Traditions earlier than usual, armed with a book. This book was to serve the dual purpose of occupying him while he ate breakfast, and contradicting the not-so-great impression he made last week, by showing that he was actually intelligent.
He settled himself at a table with his coffee and breakfast and began to read. Actually, a more accurate statement would have been: he began to attempt to read. It was almost an exercise in futility, because he kept glancing around anxiously; he was waiting to see if she would show up. After what felt like a decade (it was actually ten minutes), the door opened and Janelle, graceful and confident walked in. Keston tried to hide his excitement by picking up the book that had closed accidentally and continuing to read. After a few sentences, he realized that he was holding the book upside down and quickly righted it.
Janelle had not taken any extra care with her outfit that morning. She had had a difficult week and was looking forward to peacefully enjoying her end-of-the-week treat at Traditions. She stepped inside and felt her mood lighten as as she inhaled the rich coffee aroma. She smiled to herself as she noticed the large, appetizing muffins in the display. She was concentrating on deciding what to order, so she was unconscious that she was being watched. Thus when she heard a male voice at her elbow, she was startled.
“Darling, that smile is for me or what?” said the strange man who had suddenly approached her and was standing uncomfortably close, while leering at her.
She fought the urge to roll her eyes, ignored the question and stepped away slightly.
“But ay ay, yuh feel yuh too good to answer meh? Just because yuh lil pretty, doh mean yuh can’t answer!” he rudely persisted.
Janelle, who by now felt anger and embarrassment tinged with fear, replied with a tense “Good morning,” and continued to edge away. The man steupsed (sucked his teeth) loudly and it was clear that he did not intend to leave Janelle alone. He stepped closer to her, to close the gap she had tried to make by edging away. Janelle was visibly angry by this time, and her normally confident attitude was rapidly changing into one of defiance.
Keston, who had witnessed the whole exchange from his seat, was annoyed on her behalf and he quickly decided to intervene. H stood up and walked to the counter as if he was going to get another napkin.
“Ay man, leave the lady alone. If she doesn’t want to talk to you, she doesn’t have to,” Keston said firmly.
“What happen, yuh is her knight in shining armour?” retorted the man.
“No, just a decent man who hates seeing women harassed,” Keston replied tensely, as he tried to remain calm.
The rude man glared at Keston, looked Janelle up and down , picked up his coffee cup and stormed out. with another loud steups.
Janelle, who had been pondering how best to handle the situation (and trying to hide her exasperation) was pleasantly surprised at Keston’s assistance. She hadn’t noticed him until he spoke, and it was only after he spoke the second time that she remembered that he was the handsome (but mildly clumsy) young man she had seen on the previous Friday. His intervention on her behalf made a positive impression on her, and she smiled as warmly as she could (given the fact that she was still exasperated) while she thanked him.
“No problem. I don’t like to see women being treated like that,” was his reply.
Keston’s annoyance was soon replaced by a dizzying sensation as Janelle smiled at him. His angry confidence melted into anxiety and he began to fidget slightly. He also sensed that Janelle wanted to leave and did not want her to feel obligated to speak to him.
“Well, I hope the rest of your day goes better than this,” he said nervously, as he returned to his seat.
“Thanks again,” replied Janelle, who did, in fact, want to leave. The initial improvement in her mood had been spoilt by the harrassment she just experienced. While she was grateful for Keston’s intervention, she was glad that he did not press her to have a conversation. She was so focused on her own thoughts, that she collected her coffee and muffin and left without even looking in his direction.
Keston eventually completed his breakfast, closed the largely unread book and left. His mind returned to the events of that morning several times throughout the following days. He felt anger at the harassment he witnessed, sympathy for Janelle and disappointment that the morning had not gone well. He was also afraid that that experience had soured her and she would not return to Traditions again.
Janelle’s mind also relived the events of that morning several times. Although she had, unfortunately, found herself in similar situations (and was fairly good at handling them on her own), this was the first time that a man she did not know stood up for her. Eventually she dwelled less on the man’s rudeness and more on Keston’s decency. The positive impression he made was strengthened by the face that he did not use the situation as an invitation to flirt with her. He assisted her without being pushy. She appreciated that. However, she was unsure of whether she wanted to return to Traditions again, despite how much she liked their coffee, breakfast items and ambience.
Well, friends, I hope you enjoyed the second instalment in this short story series. Do you think that Janelle will go back to Traditions? Will Keston get a chance to have a proper conversation with her? Feel free to leave a comment if you’re enjoying it so far and let me know what you think will happen next!
Peace, love and sparkles,
The Unicorn of Awesomeness.
Shespeaksandwrites 