Abigail

The pub, pretty quiet at that noon, was called The Ocean Breeze…. The pub itself was located on a marina which had been deserted for months where the wind was howling and the sea was rough….. A man walks slowly, entering the pub and picks a stool in front of the bar…. “Hi James…. The usual…?” Said Dennis, who was the bartender and the owner of the establishment, in his forties, a little chubby, and quite friendly…. He was working behind the bar, greeting one of his regulars…. “Yes, please…. And can I have some breakfast too?” Answered the man, as he stretched his legs, turning his sight outside the pub towards the ocean…. Looking at the calming water, and the wind that gradually turned to a breeze… “The weather is improving….” Said Dennis, agreeing with his guest… “You have any clients yet…?” He said, placing a plate of classic English breakfast which was the staple of the establishment, and was the favorite of the man sitting in front of him, every time he came to his place, and a mug of Irish coffee which was his favorite drink This weather was common for the place…. During the monsoon, the place looks like a ghost town…. The rough weather makes even the local people have hard times doing their daily activities… During that time, not a single tourist is willing to come, and those who already in the area are willing to cut their vacation short just to leave the place as soon as they get the news that the weather is changing…. During the time, the location was isolated, all ground access was cutoff, and travel by sea was out of the question, the sea was roaring, and only a handful of the locals were brave and skillful enough to go through the stormy weather to get most of the supplies needed by the place… The locals who depend on their income, mostly from tourism, are obviously affected by the weather, and some suffer more than others…. James, on the other hand, was one of the lucky ones…. Lucky might not be the best way to describe the man…. In his fifties, he was still looking firm and strong, like an aged wine, whose value increases with every year… His body was athletic…. Not overly muscular, and supported by a frame of one hundred and eighty centimeters in height…. His skin was tanned from the constant exposure to the sun… His squared jaw was leaving the shade of the freshly shaven face… And it added perfection to his handsome face…. Yes, they were handsome locals as well… James knows that, therefore, he improves his quality by learning languages, communicating skills, mannerism…. And not like most of the locals who spend their earnings during good weather. James invested his’ in things that make his business more stable than most of the locals…. And his investments allow him to provide better and more sensational service to all his customers…. But there is something else that makes him the first choice of the guests coming to the place…. He has a charisma, a soothing aura which relaxes his guests…. His sincere smile…. His gaze…. The gaze that could melt even an iceberg…. He was also a good listener that made his guests, mostly women, easily pour their hearts out to the man, knowing that their secrets were safe with him…. On top of all that, the man can make his female guest feel completely satisfied…. The man knows exactly how to make them feel like a queen…. He knows exactly how to satisfy them, and he was well known for his excellent service, which ultimately made their purses open wider and tipped the man generously…. James was already well known and highly recommended in some circles…. And one of his former customers was about to promote him to her best friend. **** Her name was Abigail…. She was in her third year on campus, one hundred and sixty centimeters in height, with a proportional body, white skin… Soft and smooth like silk…. She was a daughter of a wealthy business couple, which unfortunately falls into the category of those who think that money can buy happiness, for the family, for their daughter…. But, despite growing up with quite a fortune, she ended up growing with wisdom, and mature, both in thinking and action…. She was walking along the hall of her campus when she heard running footsteps coming from behind her, closing on her…. “Bi… Abi…” Shouts the figure chasing her…. The voice was familiar to her…. She was smiling, and turned around to see her friend, Cynthia, panting, as if she was running around the campus just to find her. She was five centimeters shorter than Abigail, a little chubby, that gave her a childish look…. Looking at her friend, Abigail couldn’t help but to remember the first time they met. **** “Fatty! Come over here…!” Shouts a senior, grouping with her friend, who was calling a junior to quite a secluded corner of the campus during the campus orientation….. They were trying so hard to look powerful, trying to show that they were important, a big shot on campus…. In other words, a group of annoying people… A group of bullies…. And at that moment they were successfully intimidating Cynthia, who was obviously scared and almost crying. “What….? You wanna cry…? You worthless piece of garbage….!” Shouts the senior, who pushed her shoulder, as the girl started to sob…. “Show some respect to your seniors! We rule here….! And you must….. What the hell…!” She shouted when, out of nowhere, someone bumped into her, and spilling the mineral water she was holding that initially was to be thrown at Cynthia…. “So… Sorry Senora… My bad…. My bad…. It was an accident…” Said Abigail, who acted like she had stumbled on her own feet as she was running to her post…. “Idiots! Reckless! Aaaarggghhhh! Get out of my face! Clean up this mess! The rookies of this year were unbelievable…!” Shout the seniors as she and her group went to the rest room to clean their clothes…. “Thank you…. But you get yourself in trouble for helping me….” Said Cynthia as they mop the floor…. Her eyes were swollen from the tears she was shedding…. “It’s okay” Abigail chuckled… “I need some time off to cool my hearing from all that shouting and ramblings…. Oh, by the way…. Abigail… Call me Abi…” She said, smiling, extending her hand… “Cynthia…” She answers, shaking Abigail’s hand, still sobbing, forcing a smile on her face…. It was the beginning of their friendship…. Abigail likes the girl…. It was because, despite the fact that her friend easily cries, she was cheerful and childish at the same time…. Cynthia was like a sister she always wanted to have…. **** “Yes, Cyn…. What’s up?” She said, smiling at her panting friend… “Caffetaria…. Please… I’m thirsty…..” She said to her friend with her hand resting on her bended knees, still gasping for air…. “Come….” Abigail said, giggling, as she tapped her friend's shoulder, then the two girls walked towards the cafeteria… **** Abigail looked astonished, asking herself how in the world could she fit all the food in her stomach....? She said that she was thirsty, and she ended up drinking a big glass of orange juice, eating a bowl of ramen, and having an avocado juice and a cup of pudding for dessert. “After finishing her pudding, Cynthia moved her sight towards her friend, who looked like she was already full, only by looking at how she eats, and her eyes lowered, and pointed to the french-fries on the small basket in front of her friend…. “What….? I’m hungry after running around to find you…?!’ She said, that made her friend laugh, sipping on her cappuccino, and slid her fries towards her, who quickly munched on the snack. “By the way, Bi…. It’s almost your birthday…. Don’t you want to throw a party…?” Cynthia said, who answered with only a soft head shake from her friend. “I don’t like parties, Cyn…. I already told you that…” Abigail has her reasons for hating such parties…. The last time she threw a party was on her 16th birthday…. And it was the worst party she ever had…. As usual, at that party, she was accompanied only by her maid, while both her parents were busy with their business…. And they think that it would be enough for them to book the whole pizza parlor for their daughter's birthday….. **** It was supposed to be her party…. It was supposed to be about her…. But with time, Abigail realizes that all of the guests were not focusing on her…. They were busy with themselves, busy taking selfies, making posts on their social media, even busy chatting with their online friends, completely ignoring her…. With the sound of music, and all the guests…. Abigail felt alone…. She never asked their parents for more parties, and their parents, busy with themselves, only nodded to her complaints, without even setting their eyes to see the sadness in their daughter's face…. Abigail chose to celebrate in another way…. Travelling, as a means to celebrate the addition to her age…. **** “Yes, I remember…. That’s why I am looking for you…. Look at this…..” Cynthia said, scooting from her seat to Abigail’s. “Have you come to this secret hideout….?” She said, showing stills of white sands, coral reeves filled with beautiful flora and fauna…. Abigail couldn’t keep her smile as she looked at the stills and video recordings which in some of them showed the face of her friend, and she teased her…. “I don’t know…. It’s not clear… Something is blocking the view….” She said giggling as she saw her friend pout, which made her look even cuter…. “I’m not fat…. I’m chubby….!” She said…. “But Abi, have you come to this place, yet….? “I can’t say that I have….” She said, looking interested…. She had travelled to some beautiful vacation spots, but this place is foreign to her….. “Where is this place…? Abroad….?” She asked and she saw that Cynthia was excited that she managed to confuse her…. She shakes her head as an answer…. “Is it he…?” She said…. Feeling surprised because there were still beautiful seas and beaches in her country that she had never come to have a vacation in…. She looked at the stills and video scrolled by Cynthia. “This place was not commercially advertised…. Only spread from mouth to mouth…” She explains…. “Because unfortunately, this place only has about six good months every year…. That’s why there’s no n=massive advertising on the place….” She continued, explaining the beauty of the place, and the downside because of the weather…. “But now…. Right now will be the right time to go there, BI…. Only a handful of tourists are coming, so you can taste the glimpse of heaven on earth…” She said, promoting…. “My treat…. Consider this your birthday present….” She said, which made Abigail frown her eyebrows… “She never takes tabs on her friends…. But it was true that she paid for the last two of Cynthia’s birthdays…. The first year, she takes Cynthia to Singapore, where she lets her go to a shopping frenzy…. Both of her parents were not even complaining about the activity…. Not complaining about the spending their daughter made on the shopping spree…. Anything that makes you happy sweetheart… Was the only answer given by her parents, which makes her even sadder…. **** “So when will we be going….?” She asked, feeling excited about the trip…. “This vacation is best to do alone, Bi…” Cynthia said with a singsony voice which made Abigail fown once again…. “You must be joking….! This is too expensive….! I can’t accept this…” Said Abigail… Another good thing about Abigail was her compassion…. Even though she knows for sure that Cynthia can afford the trip easily, she still feels that the gift will only burden her friend….. That this present was too expensive for her…. “Bi…. You have given me the best birthday present I could get…. Especially when you gave me the birthday present I always dreamed of…. My last birthday, remember….? Greece….? So let me give something too for you…..” She said, smiling towards Abigail, who remembered clearly the present she referred to…. It was the second year of college, when Abigail took her friend on an exotic vacation to Greece… And there, she gave her best friend the present she had always dreamed about…. The present, which consists of two strong, athletic, handsome, native Greek masseurs, who gave her best friend the experience of her lifetime…. “C’mon, Bi…. I’ll be offended if you refuse…” She said, pouting her lips, which in the end made Abigail sigh in submission and said… “Okay… Thank you, and I accept your present… I will go to the pace…. You little….” She said, to her friend, who cut short to see Cyntia, with a glorious smile on her face, raising her phone, putting her index finger to her lips, as if to tell her friend to be quiet while she waited for the number she was dialing to respond… “Hold on…. He is answering…. Hello… James….?” She said enthusiastically **** Inside the Ocean Breeze, James was enjoying his meal and sipping his Irish coffee when his cell-phone he placed on the counter next to his plate vibrated…. The man looked at the caller's name on the screen, trying to remember which one of that many guests had asked a repeated order from him… Ah…. I Remember…. The cute, chubby girl…. He said in his heart, smiling, then slid the accept button “Yes, Miss Cynthia….? A pleasure to hear from you again…. Is there anything that I can help you with…?” He said politely, putting his fork where on the tip of its prongs a piece of sausage was present. “Why, of course, Miss Cynthia…. I will always have time for you…. Don’t worry Miss Cynthia….Your friend will have the same experience you were having…. Yes Miss… I will be ready in time…. Thank you for calling…. Have a good day…”he said before ending the call, putting his phone back on the counter, and continuing his meal with a boosted appetite…. “Keep the change, Dennis….” He said, leaving the cash on the table, and walked with a bright bright on his face, leaving the pub, whistling happily…. The pub owner smiled and shook his head, thinking about the luck his best customer was having…. Smart, good-looking, ideal body, good attitude… Who doesn’t want to be accompanied by him…. *****