Toshikazu Kawaguchi - Before the Coffee Gets Cold

He looked down at her. ‘Who did you come to meet?’ he asked, getting straight to the point.

The girl looked up at the giant wall standing there. She casually stared at him. He was used to his huge size causing surprise and apprehension in those who didn’t know him; it felt strange now that he didn’t have this effect.

‘What?’ he asked.

But the girl didn’t offer much of a response.

‘No one in particular,’ she just said and took another sip of coffee. She wouldn’t engage with him at all.

Tilting his head to one side, he gracefully placed the tray on the table for the girl and then returned to his place behind the counter. The girl looked uncomfortable.

‘Uh, excuse me,’ she called to Nagare.

‘What?’

‘I didn’t order this,’ the girl said awkwardly, pointing to the toast in front of her.

‘On the house,’ he said with pride.

The girl looked at all the free food with disbelief. He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward with both hands on the counter.

‘You made all the effort to come from the future. I can’t have a girl like you going back without serving you anything,’ he said, perhaps expecting at least a thank you . But the girl just kept staring at him and didn’t even smile. He felt obliged to respond.

‘Is there a problem?’ he said, a bit rattled.

‘No. Thank you, I’ll eat it.’

‘Attagirl.’

‘Well, why wouldn’t I?’

The girl expertly spread the butter on the toast and took a hungry mouthful. She kept on munching. She had a wonderful way of eating.

He was waiting for the girl’s reaction. Naturally, he thought, she would show her delight upon eating his boast-worthy butter. But she did not react as he had anticipated – she carried on eating without changing her expression. When she finished the toast, she started crunching on the salad and gobbling down the fruit yogurt.

On finishing, the girl just folded her hands in thanks for the food without having made a single comment. Nagare was crestfallen.

It was Kazu. She handed the key ring with its wad of keys to Nagare behind the counter.

‘I’m ba—’ she said, stopping mid-word when she noticed the girl in that seat.

‘Hey,’ replied Nagare, pocketing the key ring. He didn’t say, ‘ Hey, welcome back ,’ like he normally would.

Kazu grabbed his wrist, and whispered: ‘Who’s she?’

‘I’ve been trying to find out,’ he replied.

Normally Kazu wouldn’t particularly pay much attention to who was sitting there. When someone appeared, she could easily tell that the person had come from the future to meet someone. It was not something she interfered in.

But never had such a young, pretty girl sat in that chair before. She couldn’t help but openly stare at her.

Her staring did not go unnoticed.

‘Hello!’ said the girl, offering a pleasant smile.

Nagare’s left eyebrow twitched in annoyance that she hadn’t offered such a smile to him.

‘Did you come to meet someone?’ said Kazu.

‘Yeah. I guess,’ the girl conceded.

Hearing this conversation, Nagare tightened his lips. He had asked the same question just moments earlier and the girl had said no. He wasn’t amused.

‘But they’re not here, are they?’ he said crossly, turning away.

So who was she planning to meet? Kazu wondered as she tapped her index finger against her chin.

‘Huh? Surely it wasn’t him?’ She pointed the chin-tapping finger towards Nagare.

Nagare pointed at himself. ‘Me?’ He folded his arms and muttered, ‘Um, er…’ as if he was trying to remember the circumstances surrounding the girl’s appearance.

The girl had appeared on that seat about ten minutes ago. Kei had needed to go to the gynaecology clinic so Kazu had driven her there. Normally Nagare would take Kei to her regular check-ups, but today was different.

He considered the gynaecology clinic to be a sanctuary for women only, where no man should venture . That was why he was manning the cafe alone.

( Did she choose a time when only I was working? )

His heart lifted at the thought.

(So perhaps the way she’s been until now is down to her being embarrassed…)

Stroking his chin, he nodded as if it all made sense. He sprang from the counter and sat down in the chair facing the girl.

The girl stared back at him blankly.

He no longer looked like the person he had been until a moment ago.

If her coldness towards me is just out of shyness, I’ll try to be more approachable , he thought and grinned broadly.

He leaned forward on his elbows in an easy-going way. ‘So, was it me that you came to visit?’ he asked the girl.

‘No way.’

‘Me? You came to meet me?’

‘No.’

‘Me?’

‘No!’

‘…’

The girl was adamant. Kazu heard the exchange and came to a simple conclusion.

‘Well you’re completely ruled out.’

Again, Nagare was deflated. ‘OK… so it’s not me,’ he said sulkily as he trudged back to the counter.

The girl seemed to find this amusing and let out a cheeky giggle.

When the bell rang, the girl looked at the clock in the middle of the wall. This clock in the middle was the only one that was accurate. The other two were either slow or fast. She must have known that. The girl’s eyes were fixed on the entrance.

A moment later, Kei walked into the cafe.

‘Thanks, Kazu, dear,’ she said as she entered. She was wearing an aqua-coloured dress and strappy sandals, and was fanning herself with a straw hat. She had gone out with Kazu, but, judging from the plastic shopping bag she was holding, she must have popped into the convenience store nearby before coming into the cafe. Kei was, by nature, a carefree person. Always charming and never shy, she was comfortable with the most intimidating of customers; she would be friendly and outgoing, even when communicating with a foreigner who spoke no Japanese.

When Kei noticed the girl sitting in that seat, she said, ‘Hello, welcome,’ while wearing a big smile. Her smile was beaming even more than normal, and the tone of her voice was a little higher too.

The girl straightened in her chair and bowed her head a little, keeping her gaze on Kei.

Kei responded with a smile and trotted towards the back room.

‘So how was it?’ Nagare asked Kei.

Given where she and Kazu had just returned from, there could be only one thing that he wanted to know. Kei patted her still flat stomach, gave him the peace sign, and smiled.

‘Ah. Right then,’ he said.

He narrowed his eyes further and gave two small nods. When he felt joy, he found himself unable to express his happiness openly. Knowing this all too well, Kei looked on at his reaction with contentment.

With keenly observing eyes, the girl in that seat watched this exchange warmly. Kei didn’t seem to notice how the girl was watching her and began walking to the back room.

As if this was some kind of cue, the girl called out in an unexpectedly loud voice. ‘Excuse me?’

Kei stopped in her tracks and answered unthinkingly. ‘Yes?’ She turned and looked at the girl with her round, bright eyes.

The girl self-consciously averted her eyes and began fidgeting.

‘What is it?’ Kei asked.

The girl looked up as if she indeed wanted something; her smile was honest and sweet. The cool distance she expressed towards Nagare had vanished entirely.

‘Um. It’s just…’

‘Yes? What is it?’

‘I’d like to take my photo with you.’

Kei blinked, startled by the girl’s words. ‘With me?’ she asked.