Can You Hear the Ocean?

Chapter 11

Leila's stomach rumbled loudly as she stepped inside Cappucino Café. She'd been thinking about their chocolate croissants all morning – how flaky the bread was, the way the chocolate melted on her tongue. Her mouth was watering just at the thought of it. To satisfy her cravings, she decided to head over on her lunch break and supposed that if Mia were working today too, it wouldn't hurt to say hello either.

Leila thought back to that evening at Mia's apartment. Seeing Mia be vulnerable made her realize how much emotion Mia had been bottling up. It had been something Mia had struggled with since they were kids. Leila had hoped Mia had outgrown that poor coping mechanism, but that didn't seem to be the case. Leila hoped the more their friendship deepened, the more vulnerable they could both become, and perhaps she could help ease Mia's emotional burden.

"One chocolate croissant please," Leila said to the cashier at the register.

"You're lucky. This is our last of the day," the elderly woman replied. As she reached down to retrieve the croissant with her metal skewers, Leila spoke up.

"Um, is Mia working today?" she asked.

The cashier slipped the croissant into a paper bag and glanced up at Leila with suspicion.

"Oh! I'm not trying to ask for a discount or anything. I'm Mia's friend. I thought I'd say hi if she's working today. If she's not here, that's okay! I don't know her schedule..." Leila let her blabbering dwindle down as she handed a five-dollar bill to the woman.

"Mia's out on the patio on her break," the cashier informed her.

"Thank you," Leila replied. She eagerly bit into her croissant as she stepped outside. The tables were mostly empty due to the warmer weather, so it was easy to spot Mia tucked away at a table in the corner, huddling under the shade of the umbrella.

Leila opened her mouth to call Mia's name, then realized Mia was on the phone.

"Well, I don't know! I don't know what to do!" Mia exclaimed, clearly distressed.

Leila froze, not meaning to eavesdrop, but she knew if she stepped back inside, the sound of the door opening would alert Mia that someone had been listening.

"I mean, I hope not, but if I can't get this sorted out, then I don't know if I can stay," Mia complained. Another pause. "I don't know where I'd go..."

Leila watched Mia hold her hand to her forehead and groan. "Well, do you have any ideas?! You whining about isn't helping me out. Besides, don't you have a shift soon?"

Leila realized Mia's boyfriend had to be on the other line. Whatever the two were arguing about, it sounded serious.

"Fine. Okay. I'll call you back later," Mia said. She dropped her phone from her ear and let out an exasperated sigh.

Leila glanced around, then slowly began walking towards Mia. Mia finally caught sight of her. Leila's heart sunk when she saw Mia's eyes were puffy from crying.

"Um. Hey," Leila said.

"Hey," Mia grumbled back.

Leila lingered near Mia's table before holding out her chocolate croissant. "Um, do you want the rest? I feel like you could use it more than me."

"That's okay. I get to take free pastries home," Mia said. Her gaze turned away from Leila. "What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked, annoyance in her tone.

"Oh, um, well your café has really good croissants. I thought I'd get one and come say hi if you were here. I don't mean to eavesdrop, but whoever you were talking to, it sounded serious. Is everything okay?" Leila asked, finally gathering the courage to take a seat across from Mia.

"Guess I wasn't being that quiet," Mia murmured. Mia sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "My roommate is kicking me out."

"Kicking you out?"

"Yeah. At the end of the month," Mia said. "She told me last night."

"Did you two get in a fight or something?"

"No," Mia said. "Her boyfriend proposed, so they want me to go so he can move in. It's not like I was officially on the lease. She was just subletting, so there's no legal obligation for her to let me stay."

Leila nodded and was quiet for a moment. "Do you have any living prospects?"

"No. I tried asking Julian about it, but he doesn't think we'll be able to afford an apartment with our salaries combined. He probably just doesn't want his mom to stop cooking meals for him," Mia complained.

"Was that who you were on the phone with?"

She nodded back, then let out another exasperated sigh. "I don't know what to do. I was up all night looking at housing groups online, but it's hard to find a reasonable price, and it's not like I have any other job prospects either. I'm just scrambling. I don't know. I didn't think I'd have to move away from Maine so quickly after coming back," Mia said. She glanced down and traced her fingers into the grooves of the wooden table.

Silence settled between them. Finally, Leila spoke.

"Why don't you take the extra room in my apartment?" Leila offered.

Mia quickly glanced up, her eyes widened in surprise. "Stop joking around."

"I'm serious," Leila argued.

"No. I couldn't. You were saying how you worked hard to earn that apartment. I don't want to take up space—"

"You wouldn't be. I barely use the other room. I was hoping to make it into an office or something, but it took me two months just to unpack all my stuff, so I never got around to moving much furniture in there," Leila explained.

"You're serious?"

"Yes," Leila emphasized again. "Are you allergic to cats?"

"No, but...you're serious?"

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Yes!" Leila exclaimed. Noticing Mia's worried expression, she let out a sigh.

"Look, I'm not saying it would be forever. Just until you can get on your feet and get that artist job you're dreaming of. And you'd still have to pay for rent and utilities and groceries, but I can take your salary into account so you're not spending most of your income on rent," Leila explained. "Does that sound okay?"

"Yes, but, Leila, are you really really sure?" Mia asked, still clearly in disbelief.

"What, are you a bad roommate or something?"

"No! I mean, I hope not. This is...super nice of you. Like way too nice. How about I keep looking, and your idea can just be a backup—"

"You're not going to find a better rate. Don't worry. If it's for a friend, I don't mind," Leila said.

Mia smiled at her softly. "O-Okay. Then I guess you've forced me to accept. You're sure you're sure?"

"Yes!" Leila exclaimed for the fiftieth time.

"Then, okay. I'll be your roommate," Mia agreed. She stuck her hand out to Leila.

"What's this?"

"Thought I'd offer a handshake since you're meeting your new roommate for the first time," Mia said.

Leila smiled and grasped onto Mia's hand. "Nice to meet you. I hope you won't trash the place."

"I'll try my best not to," Mia said. She suddenly had a smile on her face again, and already her eyes were looking less foggy from tears. "Thank you, Leila. Truly. I don't know what else I would've done."

"We can sort out the details later. I'll start moving things out of that other room when I get home tonight," Leila promised.

"Sounds good," Mia said. Her eyes suddenly caught on her wristwatch. "Shit! I'm five minutes over my break. My boss is gonna kill me," she said, popping up from the table. She bumped her head on the umbrella and hissed in pain.

"Careful," Leila said.

"I-I'll call you later! Thanks again!" Mia called as she rushed back inside the café.

Leila smiled and turned back to her chocolate croissant. As she took a bite and stared up at the sky, she watched the clouds move in the wind.