“Wait, Adam, stop, please…
Please…
Can you hear me?” Lily tried to stop Adam from leaving, but Adam did not turn around.
He quickly left the cafeteria without turning back to Lily’s calls.
Lily remained alone at the table, staring at a small disc placed on the table in front of her, with the word ‘Today’ written on it.
Lily kept staring at it until tears began to gather in her eyes, until her vision became blurry.
She tried to hold back the tears and stop them from falling, but she failed, and the tears poured down her cheeks as she began to cry.
The waitress in the cafeteria came over to Lily and brought her a cup of water.
“Here you go, miss.” Lily looked beside her and found the waitress standing there with a cup of water in her hand.
Lily tried to calm down a little and gather herself and her words.
“I’m fine…
I’m fine, don’t worry.
Thank you.” There was a small, fake smile on Lily’s face.
The waitress looked at her calmly.
“I hope what happened with your boyfriend won’t affect you in your future life…” Lily looked at her with a forced calmness.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” The waitress was surprised to hear this sentence.
“I’m sorry, but the way you talked to him and sat with him made me think he was.” Lily looked at the disc on the table for a few seconds, then looked back at the waitress.
“I thought I was capable of bringing someone out of their isolation.” The waitress placed the glass of water on the table, then looked at Lily.
“If the person doesn’t want to help himself and wants to remain the way he is…
then why are you trying with him?” Lily thought for a moment.
“I don’t know.” The waitress said calmly: “Young people at this stage of their lives go through many situations that radically change their lives…
A person shouldn’t let them get to him.” Lily continued looking at the waitress.
“I feel like I’m fine now.” The waitress wasn’t convinced by Lily’s words, and looked at her a little differently.
“How old are you, miss?” “I’ll be twenty in one month.” The waitress smiled slightly.
“You’re the same age as my daughter Julia.
And do you study at university?” Lily looked at the disc.
“Yes, I’m in my second year.” The waitress took a few steps forward, then grabbed the chair Adam had been sitting on before he left.
She moved it slightly toward the table, then sat on it.
Lily was a little surprised by what the waitress had done.
Until this moment, she had been expecting Adam to return at any moment so they could continue their conversation.
The waitress placed her hand on the table.
“The weather isn’t cold today in Paris, is it?” Lily didn’t want to start a conversation with the waitress, especially since she was feeling deeply sad right now.
“Ah, yes, it isn’t.” The waitress looked at her for a few seconds before opening her mouth to speak.
“What is your name, miss?” Lily was still looking at the disc on the table.
“Lily.” The waitress continued looking at Lily.
“Hmm…
Miss Lily…
Miss Lily, it’s summer.” It took Lily several seconds to understand what the waitress had said.
“Uh, yes, yes, it’s summer…
It’s a little hot.
I’ve even started sweating…
It’s a good thing I wore summer clothes…
Haha.” The waitress looked at Lily calmly.
“Lily, you’re not okay.” The moment Lily heard those words, she began crying again.
She placed both hands over her eyes to cover them in front of the waitress.
Lily began speaking through her tears and sobs.
“Yes…
I…
I’m not okay…
H…
He’s the person I love the most, and he has never cared about me, not even once…
I feel like I’m just something transparent to him.” The waitress stood up and hugged Lily.
Lily was so surprised that she stopped crying, lowered the hand that had been covering her eyes, opened them, and turned her head slightly toward the waitress, looking at her.
The waitress gently patted Lily’s head.
“Have you tried telling him how you really feel?” Lily continued looking at her.
“Yes, I did.” “What was his answer?” Lily remembered the scene of Adam leaving the cafeteria a few minutes earlier, then quietly said: “I don’t know.” The waitress continued gently patting Lily’s head.
“Then why don’t you try again?” As soon as Lily heard those words, she ignored everything that had happened or might happen, and felt that perhaps there was another chance to fix everything, and perhaps another chance for Lily not to make the same mistakes again.
Lily raised her head slightly.
“I’ll try, ma’am.
Yes…
I’ll try.” The waitress ended the hug, reached for the cold glass of water, and handed it to Lily.
“Here…
You should drink some water to replace all those tears you’ve shed.” Lily smiled and reached for the glass.
“Thank you.” The waitress turned her back, grabbed the broom, and began sweeping the floor.
Lily stopped before drinking the water and turned toward the waitress.
In an audible voice, she said: “Ma’am, what is your name?” The waitress stopped and turned toward Lily.
“My name is Madame Gondo Bourb.” Lily smiled.
“That’s a very beautiful name, Madame Gondo.” The waitress returned to sweeping.
“Your name is beautiful too, Lily.” Lily began drinking the water from the glass.
The water was cold, which was important in this hot weather, but Lily wasn’t thinking about the fact that her throat had been refreshed.
Her mind was occupied by something else…
Lily stopped drinking after finishing about half the glass and turned again toward Madame Gondo, who continued sweeping.
“Madame Gondo.” Madame Gondo turned toward her while still sweeping.
“Yes, Lily?” Lily looked at Madame Gondo.
“Why did you hug me?
I don’t mean anything by it.
I just want to know the reason, since I’m a stranger to you.” Madame Gondo continued sweeping while looking at the floor.
“You’ve come to my cafeteria several times, you and that young man.
And if you didn’t know, the name of the cafeteria is ‘The Family,’ which means that anyone who comes here becomes a member of my family.” Madame Gondo smiled, turned her head, and looked at Lily.
“And I already told you that you’re the same age as my daughter Julia.”