Munch House & Buy Coffee

It had been a while since Micaela visited the old office and today, she stopped by to see if she was ready to rip the band-aid off and just sell the old place for once and for all but as she unlocked the door and walked inside, she immediately got her answer. Nostalgia rushed her enfolding her in a comforting hug feeling much like an old friend.

Although the place had been redesigned and redecorated to look more like a dwelling than a writing space the feeling of peace and comfort still hung heavily.

She closed the door behind her and walked into the new sitting area- a customized living room. She set her large purse down on the sofa taking a seat next to it. She remembered when she bought the place early on in her career; Daniel and Melissa were tiny little things in grade school. She would drop them off and come here to write because there was always something that needed to be done at home, like laundry, dishes or meals, there was never a shortage of things that needed her attention more than the fictional worlds she created.

Time had flown without her realizing it.

One day she was sitting in the center of the room typing fervently away with an eye on the clock to make sure she didn't forget to pick the kids up from grade school and in the blink of an eye she found herself sitting in the very same room, her daughter a mother, her baby expecting a baby of his own and she was given a fall risk assessment at her annual physical.

Now she felt as her life began to wind down as the inevitable end got closer.

Micaela sighed as she looked around the room remembering the shelves that used to be built into the walls and the books those shelves housed. She thought of her earlier stories thinking with a bit of sadness and a bit of satisfaction that the first characters she brought to life would be her age right now. They'd have grandchildren of their own, they'd be retired and probably playing dominos at a center for active seniors.

But they would have lived lives filled with love every day because that was how she set them up, and that was what she wanted to do with her final masterpiece: Chris and Persephone. She smiled thinking how perfect Chris and Persephone would look written on a marquee on Broadway.

Without a doubt this place had been instrumental to their love story, albeit, with a helpful push from that guy from Persephone's past. If he hadn't given her reason to move, Micaela doesn't know what would have happened between the two.

She paused to think of the two characters in her real-life love story feeling proud at her hand in the union- although now an unlikely new villain was stepping into the fray which Micaela did not appreciate. She reached into her purse with a mind to scold Maggie for the cruel way she had been behaving lately toward her friend, especially on Christmas day. As she unlocked her phone and began scrolling through her contacts, she found herself dialing Persephone's number instead. The poor girl probably needed to vent.

After a brief greeting, Micaela suggested they meet at the old office.

Persephone arrived in less than fifteen minutes and immediately Micaela suggested they walk across the street for coffee.

Before long, the two found themselves standing in front of a familiar space but staring at an unfamiliar sight.

"Munch House & Buy Coffee," Micaela read out slowly and then looked at Persephone with disgust. "What happened to Pixie's?"

Persephone was staring up at the signage. "It closed almost as soon as Brenda got married," she responded as she pulled the wooden and glass door underneath the half round transom. "There was construction going on here when I moved in with Chris," she added looking at Micaela. "What do we have to lose by going in?" She asked.

Micaela pursed her lips. "Fine," she said dejectedly as she walked inside immediately scanning the location for any sign that Pixie's had one stood here, alas, the whimsical seafoam green motif was completely gone in place of a more masculine looking space with a mahogany counter and one long running brown sofa along the wall. Six small round tables sat in front of the leather seats, each with one wooden chairs opposite the sofa seating.

"Oh, darling, hold on, I forgot my Cuban cigars and my humidifier at home," Micaela said wryly.

"Be nice," Persephone replied solemnly. "Do you want to sit at the counter or at one of those tables?" She pointed to the tiny tables.

Without a word, Micaela pursed her lips again and walked to the sofa taking a seat and hating that it was extremely comfortable.

"I'll put in an order for us," Persephone walked to the counter. "I'll bring you a muffin."

Micaela looked around. At least the place smelled good.

A few minutes later, Persephone placed a blueberry muffin and a cup of black coffee in front of Micaela and sat down across from her. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Noticing there was nothing in front of her company, "You're not having anything?" Micaela asked.

Persephone looked toward the counter. "They're making my coffee now, I ordered a vanilla latte," she halted. "Wait. What?"

A very tall male walked behind the counter from the back. He made eye contact with her guest and kept his gaze on her with a very big smile only looking away to talk to the barista making the drinks as he took over for the much smaller woman.

Micaela was about to ask Persephone if she knew the tall drink of water, quickly noticing her friend still had her back to her, apparently unable to take her eyes away from the man.

"Darling? Are you okay?"

Persephone finally turned to look at Micaela. "I can't believe it!" She whispered as she blushed. "That's the guy that bought my house."

A slew of questions came rushing to her mind. She was about to voice the first one when the gentleman appeared, placing a cup of coffee in front of Persephone.

"One vanilla latte for my beautiful stalker," the handsome man said with a smile as he sat on the chair next to Persephone's.

Persephone scoffed. "Says the stranger that invited me into his house after three-minutes of meeting." She turned her body toward him as she crossed her legs. "You work here?"

Micaela felt invisible.

Micaela hated feeling invisible. "Ahem, ahem," she cleared her throat. "Darling, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Persephone did a doubletake as if suddenly remembering she didn't arrive alone. "Yes! Sorry! Micaela Dawson, this is Wyatt Ransom. The new owner of my dream home."

The guy shook Micaela's hand before crossing his arms over the surface of the table in front of him. "To answer your question, yes, I work here." He leaned back against the chair's support. "I also own it."

"Can you explain the name to me?" Micaela asked. "I don't get it."

"Sure," this Wyatt guy promptly stated. "It's a take on a fictional band name from an old movie. Munchausen by Proxy," he replied with that ever-present smile. "Munch House & Buy Coffee."

Micaela noticed as Persephone's frown was slowly joined by a smile. "That's a stretch," she said.

The two begin a conversation on trivia that completely goes over Micaela's head, but what doesn't go over Micaela's head is the way Persephone smiles back at the young man while she plays with her hair. Micaela narrows her eyes on her friend realizing that maybe she wasn't indifferent to this guy as she had been with Ryan LaMontagne.

Micaela reached into her purse and promptly texted Chris to join her and Persephone at the coffee shop under the ruse of discussing Maggie's behavior on Christmas.