Guilt That Cuts One's Stomach

"Hate this, hate that, to be hated back and nothing more! Of course! And I am too kind, apparently. How does this even make any sense!?" mumbled the man while forcing his steps back to the "Mosno Rooster". Anger and resentment were boiling in his head, blocking the flow of time and space. He did not even notice how quickly he came back to the café.

For an instance, his hot blood stood still, someone was waiting besides the entrance door to the café. He totally forgot about his genius decision of leaving Arnold's beloved café idling with no flow of customers. If the one visiting the place was someone acquainted to the grumpy man, then it would end terrible for Eugene. Fortunately, although a familiar face awaited him, he was sure that there were not any connections between the customer and Arnold.

As Eugene came closer, he noticed a large rectangular cover leaning on the building. It surely belonged to the ginger gal who already waved at him.

"How are you doing, detective? Are not you supposed to be open at this time?"

Eugene waved back and smiled nervously, "Well, you see, I was away for a business meeting. We are busy folks here."

"Business meeting?" She closed her left eye and said, "And I wonder if the manager knows about it?"

Eugene laughed, took out the keys and opened the entrance door to the café. Then, he said, "Of course! He even said to give free croissant for the ones who find out about it. In the end, it was a rather secret meeting."

"Thank you, I would also like a cup of espresso."

Eugene sighed in reassurance that his sneaky departure would not be discovered by Arnold and rushed into the kitchen. He took one of the few croissants out of the bread counter and quickly brewed 2 cups of espresso, one for himself and one for the visitor. Afterwards, the man came back into the café and noticed Sofia sitting by the table near the painting, she was observing it.

As soon as Eugene put two cups of coffee and a croissant on the table, she asked, "Does not this painting look lovely?"

Eugene raised his brow along with his head, after a second of observing the familiar piece of art, he replied, "I guess, I am not too into art. I would recommend to you to speak with Jessie if you are interested in its history."

"Well, I am quite aware of it myself, in the end I used to study in the Académie de la Grande. However, I dropped out, but the knowledge I got is still enough to see how valuable this piece of art is. Are you not afraid of Phantom Cormorant's doings?"

"Well, you see," Eugene sat down to face the reporter, "Me and Jessie tried to convince Arnold, but he called it a superstition and refused to took it down. He is a stubborn man."

"I see," Sofia took a sip out of the cup, she grimaced and said, "Oh, that's quite bitter."

"Did I overdo it? Dammit, I am sorry, may I redo it."

"No, thats not a problem, thank you. By the way, what about that Jesse you were talking about? Is he an art student?"

Eugene giggled from her words, making the gal tilt her head in confusion, "Oh, no, no, her name is Jessica, we just call her Jessie out of habit. She is just a school student, but really likes art. Mostly it's history, I have not seen her painting anything. But Jessie is quite good at valuing paintings, at least I hope she is, because she convinced me to buy one from an unknown painter."

Sofia closed her left eye and smiled, "Well, if we are talking about abstract art, I can see it gaining a huge following in a couple of years."

"Then, I should become rich!" proclaimed Eugene with a silly giggle.

They sat down for a little longer until new customers arrived. At that moment, Eugene had to continue his working routine. Sofia as well was long done with her coffee as well as the croissant. She stood up while picking up a huge case with something rectangular inside.

"What is it, that you are carrying?" asked Eugene while picking up dirty cups from the table, Sofia replied, "Thats my easel, a hobby of mine. I would also like to ask some questions to the la Avise daughter about the Cormorant, but she really dislikes me. Could you give me some advice on how to handle her?"

Eugene froze for a second, and said without making an eye contact, "I do not know how to deal with the likes of her either, you can try to approach her as a human and not a reporter. But if it does not help, then I do not know."

"Well, thank you nevertheless. Now I should only find a way to their manor."

Before leaving, Eugene said, "You can walk towards the park until you reach my home… the last house. Then, take a turn to the right and walk by the lavender field. This is the fastest way."

Sofia smiled at him and left the man to deal with another client, who was impatiently stomping his feet. After serving the newly welcomed middle-aged man, a few more people came in, and the workload finally was heavy enough for the man to stop thinking about what happened between him and Sylvia. After a while, Jessie came to work from school, and they cooperated for the task of brewing the best possible coffee for their clients. 

An hour before the closing hours, the wave of clients finally seized down like the tides, although the moon rise had a reverse effect on this wave. Eugene's head was full of work, he felt as if his fingers were pressing piano keys and not the French press. He entered the flow, making hours spent in the kitchen pass by as if those were mere minutes.

After the man left the caffeinated sanctuary to serve the last client of the day, Jessie said, "You were exceptionally diligent today, did something happen between you and Sylvia?"

"Huh?" Eugene turned to her and was struck by her smug smile, "How did you even get that idea?"

"I saw you going for a stroll while you were supposed to work."

Eugene crossed his hands in protest and said, "How interesting, we never actually passed your school, so how could you possibly see us? Perhaps you were skipping the lessons?"

"As if you never skipped them! Arnold told me everything about you."

"This old fart, why is it always me he never shuts up about?"

"So, what happened between you two? Did you break up?" Jessie's eyes were glittering with eagerness, however, Eugene was not too enthusiastic about this story, he said, "We were never together in the first place… I do not want to talk about it, sorry."

Eugene limped back into the kitchen, but before he closed the door, Jessie's quiet words reached his ears, "Not only coffee, but your words are also more bitter than usual."

Eugene sighed and waited for the remaining time, until this day was finally over. Jessie was left sweeping the floor and Eugene left the café and headed home. On his way, he stopped at the market to get himself a treat, a bottle of beer. He never drank alone, but felt like today is the perfect day to desensitize his aching throat. Upon arriving home, he sat down for a few hours on his bed while listening to jazz and emptying the bottle. He did not feel any better afterwards, only a little guilty and dizzy. And thus, with the remnants of bitterness in his throat, he lied facing the ceiling for a few hours, before finally swaying away into a dreamworld, that happened to be empty this night.