Chapter 10: Virginia

Isabella counted down the days in Ava's house, cutting off each one like another passing year. The quietness of the place, while initially reassuring to her, soon began to take on a heavy, almost overwhelming quality. She was isolated, alone in spacious but strangely alien rooms that reminded her more of a museum than a real home. After a few days, she realized that loneliness could be just as debilitating as the uncertainty and fear she was trying to escape.

Every morning looked the same - she opened the curtains, looking out the window for any movement on the somewhat too quiet street. Usually at this hour nothing special was happening; only the occasional passing car interrupted the monotony of the morning. After a while, she would return to her ritual, taking a shower in which warm water ran down her body, washing away the night's thoughts and dreams. The water calmed her, allowing her to forget her worries for a while. After leaving the bathroom, she brewed coffee, always feeling the same intense aroma wafting through the air, which filled the kitchen with warmth and coziness. When the drink was ready, she would sit on the porch in an old wooden rocking chair. A moment of relaxation in which she would close her eyes, enjoying the sounds of nature: birds singing and the rustling of leaves moved by the light wind. After a while, she would get up to walk around the garden, feeling the cool grass under her feet, which stimulated her senses. She would stop at her favorite flowers, admiring their colors, and in her mind she would go back to the time when as a child she admired similar ones in Central Park.

After her walk, she would return to the kitchen to eat a light breakfast - toast with jam and sometimes fruit, which she tried to eat to take care of herself. In the meantime, she would turn on the radio, listening to the news, which transported her to a distant world full of life and bustle. Sometimes, when the presenter announced news from New York, a shadow of a smile would appear on her face, but immediately disappear when she thought about how far away she was from that bustling city. She always thought back to the time when the city pulsated with energy and she was a part of it. But now, in this small town, time passed more slowly, and the days looked the same. However, with each passing morning, she began to feel a growing need to break out of the pattern of everyday life.

In the end, she made a decision. She had to check what was going on in the city, she had to know. She took care of the simplest camouflage - dark glasses, a scarf covering half her face and modest clothing that made her look ordinary, almost invisible.

The town was bustling with its quiet, sleepy life, and the residents seemed to live in a completely different world. She entered a small cafe on the corner, where she noticed newspapers lined up - she reflexively reached for one of them, browsing the headlines. She was looking for something that might reveal even a hint of information about New York, any echo of her former life. The silence of the café seemed even deeper now, as if the whole world had held its breath. Isabella stared at the newspaper, scanning the articles and photos, but everything seemed too ordinary, too far removed from the dramas she knew from New York. Somewhere in the back of her mind, however, she felt that this tranquility was only apparent, that behind the facade of everyday life there was something she had yet to discover.

She stared into the cup of steaming coffee, its aroma filling the space around her, mingling with the smell of wood and the sultry warmth of the small cafe. With each passing minute, her gaze wandered over the streets outside the window, focusing on the little things: the cracked sidewalk, the small flower shop that was still closed at this hour, the forgotten posters stuck to the lamp posts. All this had a calming effect on her. She was far away from everything that had overwhelmed her in New York. Being used to living surrounded by perpetual hustle and bustle had given way to silence, and this silence was almost too intense, as if it pulsed with its own quiet rhythm. She felt something she hadn't experienced in a long time - peace and freedom from constant deals and fake smiles. But alongside this sense of peace came another desire - an escape from loneliness.

A bell rang at the café door, and a tall, young barista emerged from behind the bar. He was wearing a faded, dark green shirt and scuffed jeans that betrayed a slight casualness and confidence. He looked to be a little over twenty years old, perhaps a college student who had cashed in at this coffee shop for a while. His face lit up with a broad smile when he spotted Isabela at the window.

- Hey, do you need a refill? - He asked, coming closer.

His voice was low and slightly hoarse, which matched his friendly but uninhibited demeanor. She looked at him with surprise, but immediately responded with a slight smile.

- A refill is always welcome. - She nodded, watching him pour the coffee with a grace that indicated he had probably done it hundreds of times.

- You got it right. - He raised an eyebrow, breaking the momentary silence. - I rarely see new faces here.

- I'm just passing through, such a small reset," she replied, watching the barista sit down across from her.

His smile did not disappear, and his gaze was full of gentle but palpable curiosity.

- It's interesting," he admitted, staring at her intensely, but without a shadow of pushiness. - It's a small town, people here don't do such resets.

Isabella felt the atmosphere around them begin to gently thicken, filling the space with what she could call a substitute for flirtation. The sense of seclusion that had held her for weeks was giving way to the quiet, unforced attention that this stranger bestowed upon her without prejudice or calculation.

- Sometimes reset is the only thing that saves us from ourselves," she chuckled, more to herself than to him.

The barista nodded appreciatively without pressing for an explanation. Isabella was able to indulge in a relaxation she hadn't experienced in a long time. A friendly, tension-free interaction was what she craved, and with each passing moment she felt herself locking into this strange state of calm and relief.

Isabella ran her finger along the rim of her cup, glancing at the barista, who was leaning against the table with a nonchalant, slightly lopsided smile. His hand was sure, his muscles clearly outlined under the sleeve of his black T-shirt, and he seemed focused entirely on her, as if she were the only customer in the entire café.

- And how much longer do you plan to stay in our charming town? - He asked, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen on his forehead.

His voice was low, pleasant, the kind that seemed to break the silence and promise something more. Isabella shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the question and allowing him to leave a shadow of interest on her lips while not revealing his plans. She stared at the street outside her window, at the raindrops crashing against the windowpanes, enjoying the moment of this casual flirtation, which she allowed herself for the first time since she left New York.

- I'm just passing through here," she replied. - But I will admit that the cafe is.... unexpectedly pleasant. Especially with such service," she added with a slight, provocative smile, peering at him from under half-closed eyelids.

- Well, I do my best," he replied with satisfaction, as if the appreciation of his charms by such an unexceptional person was the best compliment of the day for him. - And since you say you are here in passing.... - He paused, making a theatrical pause, and his eyes flashed somewhat provocatively. - Maybe you could let yourself be invited for something stronger than coffee? Unless you're not used to dating straight bartenders for a drink? We could go somewhere where time passes differently. For example, such a bar by the old bridge, just outside the city. It has a terrace overlooking the river, lit only by the light of lanterns.

Implicit in his proposal was the promise of something elusive, subtle, yet promising a break from reality. Isabella leaned slightly toward him, holding his gaze for a moment. She sensed that every word was lined with something more than mere play. For a moment, she forgot about the long weeks spent alone and the fears that had pursued her all the way here.

- She sounds encouraging. - Her voice was almost a whisper, as if she was responding to something that had not been said.

The words hung in the air, giving her a choice, while at the same time creating an inner tension that she felt deep in her stomach. She was still far from the world she had escaped from, in an environment that was completely different from the brutal, unscrupulous reality of New York.

He smiled broadly, and there was a gleam in his eyes.

- So yuro at nine o'clock. Just don't be late," he chuckled with a smile that caused a warm, subtle tremor in her.

The barista smiled even wider, clearly pleased with her answer, and jotted down something on a scrap of paper. After a moment, he handed it to her with a slightly puzzled look.

- Meet me here around nine o'clock.

Isabella folded the piece of paper, tucking it into her coat pocket.

It was a subtle, almost invisible reaction, but inside she felt something come alive, a spark - small, but promising at least a momentary escape. The café was now full of guests, and he, having already returned behind the bar, occasionally sent her a glance from behind a row of set cups.

The day passed slowly, too slowly, but when she returned home, she stretched out on the sofa, allowing herself a moment of complete peace, immersing herself in a new thought. This evening could bring something she had long desired - a moment when she would not have to control everything around her.

In the evening Isabella stood in front of the mirror, brushing away unruly strands of hair. She saw a stranger in the reflection - a woman who was surprised by herself. When was the last time she allowed herself to do something so unpredictable? For a moment, a thought crossed her mind about everything she had left behind in New York, about the game she had abandoned. But now she had a chance to break away, if only for one evening.

At nine o'clock she left the house, sliding her coat up to her neck. It was dark and quiet, and the cool air enveloped her, as if reminding her that the night was her ally. When she entered the bar by the bridge, she felt a mixture of nostalgia and curiosity. The place was filled with semi-darkness, with only the glow of low, scattered lights reflected in the bottles lined up behind the bar. A crowd of conversations floated in the air like a suffocating but soothing fog. At a table below the window, she spotted her conversation partner from the café, already waiting. He looked at her, and a spark of recognition flashed in his eyes.

- Did you wait long? - She asked with a shadow of a smile, sitting down opposite.

- Just in time to appreciate the view," he replied, looking at her in a way that left no doubt that she was the view.

Even in this simplicity, she sensed a certain underlying tone, as if the whole evening - all its elements - formed the perfect excuse to immerse herself in another reality. The waiter brought them their drinks, and the conversation flowed smoothly.

- I don't often get to take someone out for a drink," he admitted, tilting his glass and looking at it with obvious interest. - But there is something... something I haven't seen in a long time, and I sense it in you. You are... not just passing through, are you?

Isabella took a moment to think about her answer, playing with the edge of her glass with her fingers, feeling the weight of his gaze on her.

- Let's say I'm here to rest," she said, without going into details, but her words floated in the air, attracting him, forcing him to draw his own conclusions. - But maybe tonight will be ... a nice respite.

Their gazes met, and an unmistakable chemistry sparked between them, which at that moment neither wanted to extinguish.

- Are you hiding from something.... or from someone? - He asked, squinting slightly, as if trying to pierce through the layer of her answer.

He leaned closer, his voice low, even intimate, as if their conversation was a secret shared in the twilight of the bar, away from the rest of the world. Isabella raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly, not quite betraying whether she took it as a joke or rather a subtle challenge.

- And isn't that a bit too many questions for a first date? - she replied, not taking her eyes off him. A note of provocation sounded in her voice , which he immediately took up, smiling wider.

- Maybe too much," he replied, looking at her carefully. - But you know, something tells me that's what you like - is when someone is interested in you.

She stared at him intently, clearly analyzing him in her mind while enjoying her drink. This situation gave her something she rarely felt - a bit of power, control over a new and intriguing interaction. Her past, secrets and long hours in solitude were gone, giving way to the moment and the magic of this meeting.

- Maybe," she finally admitted, stopping her gaze at his hand resting on the countertop. - Maybe I like it when someone tries to figure me out. Though it rarely succeeds.

He laughed quietly, leaning closer so that she felt his warm breath on her skin.

- The challenge? I'll see how long it takes me. After all... we're not in a hurry to go anywhere," he said, and his voice sounded with a note of amusement, but also an unspoken promise.

Their drinks clinked in the dim light of the bar, and Isabella, though she couldn't define the feeling, felt a weight from the past slowly slide off her shoulders. There was something freeing about this moment, something that reminded her that there was a world beyond the game. Isabella watched the man, noticing details that had previously escaped her attention - the way his fingers subtly turned the glass, the slightly tense shoulders, as if even here, in this quiet haven, he was ready for something unpredictable. She realized that it had been a long time since she had had such a natural conversation, without having to plan every word.

- Why Virginia? - He finally asked, allowing himself to be more direct.

She was silent for a moment, considering how much she wanted to reveal to him. She tried to read something from his gaze, but saw only sincere interest. She then grunted.

- Maybe it's because here no one is looking for answers. And sometimes it's good not to ask questions. - His smile became more enigmatic.

- Maybe sometimes it's also good to just be.... here," he said quietly, raising his glass as a toast.

- I have to admit that it's been a long time since I felt so ... disconnected from what's going on in New York," she admitted, allowing herself a rare frankness.

- Or is this where you find your freedom? - his voice had something deep in it, as if every word was thought out. - Maybe it's in moments like these that you begin to see what's really important.

There was silence for a while, with only the quiet murmur of conversation and the clink of glasses somewhere in the background as a backdrop to their own thoughts. He was calm, composed, and yet she felt he hid something more. Despite appearances, his straightforwardness was.... intriguing. And maybe that's why she had a desire to know more details, to see where the evening could lead her.

- Do you think I could find my way here? - She asked with a smile that had a hint of challenge in it.

- Places have it that they sometimes hide what we don't know about ourselves.

Isabella leaned back in her chair, laughing quietly. For the first time in a long time, she felt she didn't have to take on any mask - here, in this café, in this company, at this moment. They were silent, staring at each other in the semi-darkness, feeling the tension between them grow with each passing second. Music drifted in the background, muffled, and there was a faint scent of cigarette smoke mixed with the aroma of their drinks. The bar became their private refuge for a moment, a place where their worlds - full of secrets and understatements - could safely meet.

- Tell me what you like to do when.... you finally have time to be yourself," he finally asked, leaning against the countertop, as if giving her space to speak.

Her smile became warmer, as if for a moment she had forgotten her past and all the things she had left behind in New York.

- Maybe someday I'll tell you," she replied, feeling that this mystery was bringing them even closer together.

- Maybe one day I'll tell you? - he repeated, leaning a little closer, so that the warmth of his body penetrated the cool air. - In that case, let me add something from myself. How about saying "tonight" instead of "someday"? - A note of anticipation sounded in his voice.

Isabella tilted her head, squinting her eyes for a moment. She could see his curiosity, but also a kind of mild provocation. He wanted to find out who was behind those words, behind the smile, behind the gleam in her eyes. She was curious about how far he would be willing to go.

- Tonight, you say? - She asked, giving her voice a note of thoughtfulness. - And what do you have in mind?

- How about I check what you really like? - He asked, his voice was light, almost innocent, although his eyes shone suggestively. - I live nearby.... 

She kept her gaze on his face, pondering her answer. At the moment, that seemed to be the only thing that mattered.