Moonlight Lovers

Four

DAHLIA IS the beautiful, aloof owner of Café Bliss who, from time to time, stops by the shop only to sit and look out the window all day or at least until she decides it’s time to leave. She was nice to all of her employees, would smile or nod when greeted, but mostly would just like to be with herself even in the presence of other people. In fact, when Selene was hired, Dahlia told her not to be worried if she gets a little standoffish because the young café owner claims to be really antisocial. It was not a problem for her at all. In the eighteen months that she’s worked at the café, she never had any complaints whatsoever about her boss or the people she was working with.

From what Selene knew, Dahlia inherited the café from her mother, who inherited it from her mother, when the latter died due to a tragic accident. The details remain unknown to anyone. There was also a rumor from the previous employees of the café, who have now left their jobs, about Dahlia’s tragic love story. They said when she was younger she met a man whom she fell deeply in love with and got engaged, but things didn’t work out between the two and the guy had to leave. And the reason Dahlia’s still unmarried despite being in her early thirties was that she’s still waiting for the man to come back and marry her.

Of course, they didn’t know if it was true at all. She and Caleb had never asked Dahlia personal questions.

“Oh, yeah.” Caleb glanced in the woman’s direction, too, upon hearing her mention the name. He slowly nodded. “She was here before me.”

“You would really think she’s always waiting for someone to show up with that look on her face, wouldn’t you?” She asked. Because more than anyone, Selene was probably the one most curious about her boss’s tragic romance. “So, probably the rumors are true?”

Caleb tilted his head in wonder and pursed his lips. “Maybe they were.”

There was a soft knock on the glass door and both their eyes turned to the entrance. They saw an old woman, smiling and waving at them, gesturing to open the door.

Selene smiled kindly. “Our first customer,” she announced, glancing at the analog clock on top of the register. It’s exactly nine o’clock.

The side of Caleb’s mouth curved slightly upwards in approval. “Same as always.” He walked around the counter and towards the door to change the sign showing outside.

THE day went by quite ordinarily. Dahlia passed by the counter shortly after lunchtime to give them encouraging remarks before she left the shop. The café was flocked with its usual customers and some new ones who wanted to try their menu. They were busy with their usual routine. Soon and without realizing it, it was already the end of their shift.

Selene was just finishing for the day when he noticed Caleb ambling back and forth in opposite directions behind her.

Curious, she glanced at the boy who nervously stood straight when she met his eyes. Selene chuckled. “What’s the matter with you?”

Caleb cleared her throat. “Um, can I walk you to the bus stop?”

Selene, of course, agreed to Caleb’s invitation and after finishing for the day, they left the café together and walked to the bus stop.

The first few minutes were ruled by silence and Selene had wondered if Caleb only asked to walk her to the stop just to see her off or if he was going to tell her something like she assumed when he asked.

She decided to sit on the bench when they reached the bus stop and intentionally miss the bus that stopped in front of them.

Caleb looked at her confused. “Was that not your bus?” He asked as the bus pulled away from the stop.

She shrugged. “I’m not going unless you tell me what you want to tell me.”

Caleb flushed. And Selene noticed that he has been flushing around her too much lately.

Caleb had only been employed at Café Bliss ten months ago, but Selene immediately became friends with him despite being older by a few years. She’s got a lot of friends, but because she sees Caleb a lot, she naturally grew closer to him. Sometimes, she considers him her best friend. She can tell her anything on her mind.

“Well,” Caleb started. He was fiddling the pockets of his coat. “My friend bought movie tickets for this weekend but he suddenly couldn’t go, and he didn’t want to waste them, so he gave them to me. I was just wondering if you’re free this weekend and…”

Selene blinked. “You want to watch a movie with me?”

Caleb was blushing profusely. He started to stammer. “W-well, yeah. I-if you want to, that is. I mean, it’s okay if you’re busy. But they’re free anyway, so you know…” His voice trailed off again.

“Caleb, if you want to ask me to the movies, just say so. Don’t be looking so nervous. Why would I not want to go with a friend?”

Caleb’s shoulders dropped a little. The colors on his cheeks became more evident. “R-right,” he replied softly.

“So, weekend right?”

He nodded. “Do you want me to pick you up?”

“It’s fine, we can meet outside the movie house.”

“Okay.”

When Selene saw her bus approaching the stop, she stood from the bench. “Go home. Take care,” she told Caleb.

“I’ll wait until you get on the bus,” he insisted.

She lightly rustled his hair. “Come on, I’m fine. You’ll get home late again. Go.”

When Selene looked back on the road to wait for her bus, she saw a shiny black car sped past it. The windows on the back of the car were rolled down and she could clearly see the face of the man sitting in the backseat and boringly looking out the window. Their eyes met for a few seconds.

Selene could not tell when the time seemed to have stopped still or even slowed down. But as the car drove by her, she could see the growing curiosity in the eyes of the man as they continued to lock their gazes. He even lifted his back from leaning against its obviously rich leather upholstery to glance at her outside the window. The span of a few seconds felt like an eternity. She was only pulled back into reality when the car was no longer within her sight and she felt Caleb’s hand on her arm.

“Aren’t you getting in, Selene?”

As if removed from a trance, Selene looked around and saw that the bus had already stopped in front of her. The driver was looking at her impatiently.

“Y-yeah, sorry. See you tomorrow, Caleb.”

Selene got on the bus and found a seat. As she slumped down, she could not get the face of the man he just saw off her mind.

He was probably the most perfect being she had ever seen.