The Glittering Ribbon

Chapter 4: A Special Coffee

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"Jake? Jake!" I step into the café. It's completely empty and dark.
"Jake! Listen, you have to hear this. I met this weird man – and the ribbon you gave me..." I stop speaking, as Jake steps out and turns on the light.
"How did it go?" he asks, smiling.

I sigh, "it went really well. I'm just tired – Jake, I think I might be too tired. The weirdest thing happened on the way here. Santa – I met Santa," I laugh before continuing: "and he talked about my one true love. Can you imagine?"
Jake looks down and smiles.
I sigh, "well, I've got to go home. Like I said – I'm so tired that I think I'm going crazy. Can you make a quick coffee for my way home?"
He looks up at me, "you don't want to make it yourself? You haven't let me make it in ... a year?"
I look at the glittering ribbon, touching it softly, "nah. For some reason, I want you to do it now. Don't know why, just feels right" I say.
He takes a deep breath, and I notice he seems nervous.
"You forgot how?" I tease.
He shakes his head, "no, it just feels important. As it's a long time since I made yours, you know"
I smile and look at the ribbon again.
"True love..." I mumble, looking closely at the glitter. "Did the ribbon glitter this morning, Jake?"
He doesn't hear me, he is too busy making the coffee.

I sigh and wait for my coffee.
"Do you believe in true love?" Jake asks, while mixing the cream and putting sprinkles on.
"I don't know. Isn't that just in movies?" I ask, grabbing my coffee from him. He holds on to the coffee a little longer, looking into my eyes.
"I believe in true love" he whispers, My stomach bursts into butterflies, not sure what's going on. He sighs, "I don't know why I suddenly tell you that..."
He lets go of the coffee, turns around and cleans up.

"Enjoy your coffee. Notice the difference in this coffee. If you like the ... difference in it, then turn around and tell me right away, before you go. If you don't like the difference in it, we'll pretend it never happened. I just have to try it." He says, facing away from me.

"What?" I ask, looking unsure at him, "did you add a new ingredient or something?"
He blushes, still faced away from me, "try it and see for yourself. See you tomorrow, Isabella."
He turns around, starts cleaning up.

I shrug and walk towards the door. If I like it, I'll let him know in the morning.

As I start opening the door, I look down into my coffee and gasps. In the cream, written with red sprinkles, it says:

"I love you"

I stop walking, looking at the sprinkles. For a moment, I can't move. I keep looking at the sprinkles, noticing how they melt and become more distant. "I love you" it still says clearly.

I turn around and meet Jake's eyes. His big, unsure and nervous eyes. My heart beats faster, and I burst into a smile. "Jake," I whisper, and I start running towards him. 

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Thank you for reading my short Christmas story. 
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