Rainy Night Cafe

[17]

After that, the two really never saw each other again.

Because of the haste of leaving, I didn't even leave my contact information, and naturally I didn't have any phone calls.It can be said that, apart from the memories of those few nights, Milo even began to doubt whether he had really seen a person named Aiolia.

Afterwards, Miro left the institute and went to University A to study for a Ph.D.

After three years of Ph.D. study, the results are remarkable, which is gratifying. Miro was hired by the school as a lecturer in the Department of Ecology.

The days after work are even more stressful than the time in school. Lesson preparation, lectures, and scientific research have taken up most of his time every day.

But even so, when a friend asked him to 'open a coffee shop', Milo still agreed without hesitation.

Mu's original intention was just to have a place where he could write about funds in his spare time. The reason why he called Miro was because he knew some bartending techniques.

To know this, we have to start talking about it when we graduated that year.

Miro, who had finished defending his thesis at that time, stayed in the dormitory for several days without going out.When everyone else was busy with their graduation trip in high spirits, only Milo was missing.

When Mu found him, the other party was standing by the kitchen sink of the dormitory, his back was scattered, and the ground was covered with shattered glass slag.

Just wondering what kind of tragedy happened here, Milo threw the glass up into the air again, and reached out to catch it from behind. The result was obvious, and the glass fell to the ground with a bang, shattering into pieces.

"What's wrong with you, Milo? What are you doing?"

After witnessing all this, Mu felt that this person was simply unreasonable. When he grabbed Milo's arm and pulled him in front of him, he realized that the other person's expression was beyond despondent.

"I am fine."

Milo pushed away his restraint with a dejected expression, "I just... want to see if I can catch the thrown wine bottle from behind."

"Are you okay? Are you broken in love?"

"It's okay to say."

"Don't be stupid, you look out of your mind, and anyone who sees it will know that something is wrong."

Seeing that Miro didn't respond for a long time, Mu had no choice but to sigh, took out the broom and dustpan from the bathroom, and started to clean the glass debris on the floor.

"Mu, I think maybe there is no fate between me and him."

After a long time, Milo's slightly hoarse voice suddenly came from above his head. Mu stopped to look at him, but the other party had already turned his face away.

The clutter of coffee machines in the kitchen and the strong aroma of coffee beans hint at something obvious.

Having somewhat seen through the truth of some things, Mu let out a long sigh.

"...Forget it Miro, I don't advise you to get out of the shadow of this broken relationship immediately, but I think it is necessary to discuss something with you."

"what?"

"Next month, I want to open a coffee shop outside the south gate. I remember you can mix the bar. Do you want to go together?"

"……it is good."

After being stunned for a few seconds, Milo immediately agreed.

[18]

Years have passed since Mu was promised to open a coffee shop outside the school's south gate.

Because the two have managed well, the coffee shop has made a lot of money over the years. Mu bluntly said that there was nothing wrong with Ramiro's investment in the stock. He is simply a gold medal bartender. many.

At this time, Milo just chuckled, and didn't intend to tell his real purpose - the reason why he was willing to stay here was just to fulfill someone's wish.

If doing so made the man far away feel better, Milo would feel happier too.Regardless of whether the two people can still meet, this is a way for him to miss him.

On this day, just after nightfall in the city, Milo came to the store to be on duty as usual.

Taking off his coat, he put it in the closet and locked it, Milo put on the bartender's attire and walked into the bar, and started to prepare things familiarly.

Here is Answer, which just opened its shop four years ago.

After the busy work every day, Milo would come to the store to help bartending when he was free, but not every day.

It was seven o'clock in the evening, the peak business period of the day, and the store was a bit crowded, but not noisy.

Milo was standing behind the bar wiping glasses when the clerk came over with the drink list.

"Shop manager, check out at table 5."

"Ok."

Milo accepted it, and while calculating the accounts, a voice came to his ears from afar.

"...Then I will trouble you, Dr. Allie."

"It's okay, your sister is recovering very well, and she will probably be discharged from the hospital as scheduled next week."

"All in all, thanks to your help this time, if I have time in the future, I would like to invite you out for a meal."

"This is my job, please don't take it to heart..."

The voice was inexplicably familiar.

Until the group reached the bar, Milo handed over the list and raised his eyes while speaking.

"A total of 500 yuan."

"it is good……"

Almost in the next second, Milo was completely stunned.

Aiolia on the opposite side also stared blankly at him.

I haven't seen her for several years, but Aiolia's appearance has not changed much from before, but her temperament is a little more stable.

At this moment, he was wearing a more formal white suit, and he probably came here to discuss some serious business.

The sluggish process lasted for more than a few seconds, and was finally interrupted by the appearance of the clerk.

Milo opened his mouth, and when the words came out, he realized that his voice had become extremely hoarse at some point.

"……It is you."

"it's me."

The person on the opposite side showed a soft smile, and the pupils glowed with a clear water color under the light.

After seeing off the guests, Aiolia sat down in front of the bar and ordered him a cup of coffee.

Milo nodded and said yes, then knelt down and carefully took out a porcelain cup from the cabinet.

The whole body of the cup is light gold, and the workmanship is exquisite, so you can tell that it is worth a lot at a glance. Not only that, there is also a string of small characters 'AioliaONLY' written in hot gold English on it.

This is a cup that he had specially ordered by someone many years ago. He thought that it might be hidden in a cabinet forever, but he never expected that it would be useful one day.

Milo took the cup to fetch the water, his wrist trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath, and his light blue eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of wet mist.

Aiolia sat opposite, her eyes were slightly red, and she looked at him without saying a word.

This should not be coffee, because Milo didn't put coffee beans in it, but added base wine instead.

Miro held the wine measure between the index finger and middle finger of his right hand, poured brandy and rum in succession with his left hand, then added cherry juice and lemon juice.

After adding everything, Milo closed the lid tightly, then held the silver Shaker and shook it in front of his chest, the movement was very smooth.

It's been a long time since Milo's bartending skills became more proficient. It turns out that he hasn't forgotten all these years, but has been practicing.

Suddenly, Milo threw the cup high into the air, and then caught it firmly behind his back, with skillful and smooth movements.

Aiolia stared blankly at his flowing movements, unable to speak for a long time.

"You learned this..."

"Ah."

I didn't expect that he would do such a good job of the jokes I told him once.

"I forgot about it, it's hard for you to remember."

Aiolia said softly, looking up at this scene, Milo clearly saw tears in those eyes.

"I remember everything about you very clearly." Milo stared at him deeply.

〔ending〕

Tonight's Answer, the lights are bright.In a corner not far away, two people sat facing each other.

Like so many years ago, Milo pushed the glass up to Aiolia's face.

Only this time, their identities were switched, Milo was no longer a customer, and Aiolia was no longer a bartender.

"Taste it," Milo said softly.

Under the gentle and eager gaze, Aiolia picked up the glass and slowly swallowed the cool liquid inside.

It's a cocktail, and although there's a little syrup mixed in, it doesn't overpower the alcohol, so spicy and strong.As soon as it entered her throat, Aiolia's stomach burned up.

There was barely a taste of syrupy sweetness, but a rather strong taste of wine... Aiolia tried to distinguish all the taste sensations on the tip of his tongue, but he soon found it was futile.

Since closing the coffee shop, Aiolia has become a lot less familiar with alcohol.Years of practicing medicine have made him almost forget all about bartending.

Now, the past is flooding back into her mind along with the person in front of her, and Aiolia feels that she has unknowingly made up for what she has lost too much in her life.

His cruel childhood, his lack of family affection, his painful past, his cold memories... all kinds of past events, it seems that as long as he is with the person in front of him, his scarred heart will be healed.

The aftertaste of this glass of wine was too strong, and Aiolia's reddish eye sockets were blurred along with her sanity.

"Milo, what kind of wine is this...?"

It was really dangerous wine, it tasted so good, but by the time Aiolia realized it, she was already quite drunk.

"Scorpion, Scorpion."

"You invented it...? This degree...is too high..."

Because of the alcohol, Aiolia's cheeks were already flushed at this moment.

I don't know if the stars are too bright tonight, Milo's eyes seem to be moist under the light.

"If I don't get you drunk, I'm really afraid that you will run away from me again."

Hearing this, Aiolia put her head on her hands and smiled in a trance.

There was a turmoil in his mind, and countless complicated emotions surged in his uncalmable chest, which turned into tears and condensed in the corners of his eyes.

After a long time, Aiolia spoke again, her voice even lower and hoarse: "Do you know, Milo?"

"what?"

"Going back that day, I was waiting for your call at the airport, but you didn't call me. I thought it was over between us at that time." Aiolia said softly.

"I thought... In the life I have lost too much, there is no more to gain..."

His voice began to choke, and with those trembling shoulders, the person sitting opposite finally cried out.

The hoarse voice that was holding back tears sounded so fragile that the lion who had removed all the camouflage turned out to be so hesitant and helpless.

"I never thought that we could still meet... I never thought..."

Even though Aiolia had covered his eyes with his hands, Milo could still see tears dripping down his chin and onto the glass tabletop.

Milo, who finally got an affirmative answer, had already had red eyes, but mixed feelings in his heart.

While he was thinking that this idiot was finally willing to open up to him completely, on the other hand he regretted why the two of them hadn't met earlier.

If we could have met earlier, we wouldn't have let him suffer so many years of pain alone.

"...you stupid cat."

Before Aiolia could cry any harder, Milo got up and walked over to him.

Half-squatting beside him, facing the surprised and nervous gaze, Milo leaned over and wrapped the man between the sofa and his arms without any explanation.

"Milo, you—"

Before Aiolia reacted, before shyly dodging away, Milo had locked his chin and kissed those slightly parted warm lips deeply.

"From now on, I will share the pain and sorrow with you.

"Aiolia, come out of the shadows and let me be the ray of light that illuminates your life."

After Milo finished speaking in a low voice, he saw Aiolia bit her lower lip tightly, tears slipped down her face uncontrollably, her green eyes were blurred by tears, but the heart in her chest was so warmth.

Leo reached out and hugged each other tightly.

"...Okay." Aiolia said with a sob.

Over the years, Milo loved the cup of coffee, or the person who made it.

Today, he was finally able to fully distinguish it.

--Finish--