Coffee and Claire

Dear readers, massive thanks for the feedback and comments on the first part! This is the second part. It is told from Claire's perspective. I have tried to take the feedback on board and make this one better. I also took a lot longer to edit this one as it was already written. It made the story a little longer too. Maybe I'll edit the first someday but I wouldn't be able to spare time for it now.

As you can probably tell, I am no fiction writer and have only ever written scientific stuff. It means a lot to me to as this story is incredibly personal. It's sort of close to how I met my late wife, sans all the drama here, of course.

She was a part time barista working in a tiny coffee shop close to my student hall at uni. I was the shy nerd and she was the outgoing beauty. I swear I wasn't stalking her. It was just the cheapest decent coffee I could afford at the time! Hope you like this one! As always, apologies for the mistakes and I would love to get more feedback.

Chapter 3

Walking towards the cafe was the most dreadful thing ever. The longest 15 minute walk of my life. If my red eyes were any indication, I hadn't been my usual confident, optimistic self for the past week. My entire life had collapsed on me when I found out that the bank was foreclosing on us. The cafe was done!

Taking care of the cafe and mum had always been hard but I had done it well since I was 19 and was hanging in there. The summer hadn't been great and I was struggling a little. If it wouldn't have been for Brandon, I would have survived. I wasn't so sure anymore. I had trusted the fucker blindly.

For someone proud of her maturity at 23, I had acted like a lovesick puppy around him. "Oh I love you so much, Brandon!" I told him every morning. "Love you too Claire!" was always spoken back. Ugh! Lesson learned I guess. Too late now though.

The autumn chill and the coldness with which Brandon had stolen everything good in my life was making me shiver. My dreams, my livelihood, my pride and most importantly, my love. It felt like I had let him rob me. I'd given it all away like a fool.

Two years of my life, gone. Just like that! That hurt more. How could someone tell you they loved you and then betray you in the worst way possible?

He had been so perfect! Attentive, caring and oh so handsome! He brought me things at work, did chores at home, was really nice with mum. He had just moved to Buckden after uni and was from Portsmouth. He worked in IT for a Cambridge firm, he had told me. And I had believed him because his presence provided help and comfort when I had no friends in my corner.

Brandon did have an IT degree but he was a criminal. I found out later that he stole money from people with his skills and was smart enough not to get caught. I was his latest victim. A willing one.

He was just two years older than me but was the most charming man I had ever met. He worked from home most days and had moved in quite quickly at the beginning of our relationship. He also took care of mum and helped with the finances while I was away working all day. Feeling incredibly lucky I had involved him more.

"I know how hard you work, Claire. Please let me help?" He asked with puppy dog eyes.

I had trusted him foolishly because I was blinded by love and the mind blowing sex I was getting. He had been encouraging and made me enroll in a business degree which took up even more of my time.

"Claire, love, it would help with the cafe and maybe one day we could expand? You can do it!" he'd encouraged me. I thought I had met the perfect man. Little did I know that it was all a smokescreen to steal my life from me. He was a sociopath.

He had tricked mum into mortgaging the shop and used up my savings to pay for her, all the while pretending to love me. A week ago, I got a letter from the bank when Brandon was away on another 'Business Trip'. The letter said my mum had missed payments for a year and hadn't responded to any previous contact. They would be foreclosing on us Monday.

"Just another week in Birmingham, love. It'll be good for us." He'd moaned, taking my hands in his. The trips had been getting more frequent lately but I was happy he was doing well in his career. Alas, he was hiding away what he stole from us. My dad's legacy and my mum's dream.

Some signs were there all along. After wooing me, he barely showed up at the shop. He would sometimes bring me lunch but usually ignored the place. Never spoke to any of my friends. When I had insisted, he'd come along but was always lippy after.

"It's just not me Claire! After all, I don't drag you to meet many of mine!" He'd fight. That should have been a red flag. I was too busy with mum, my course and the cafe to even take notice.

I knew a few people who we saw occasionally for drinks that he had introduced as his friends. Maybe they were marks also?

The past few months had been bad. He was ignoring me more and more, acting distant. He always blamed it on too much work. "I swear I'm flooded with work, Claire! I'll make it up to you babe. I promise!" Ha, ha fucking ha! These things do happen in every relationship, I thought. It was just a phase!

Eventually, I knew I could bring Brandon to justice. I wasn't anything if not fierce. I would dog him to the depths of hell to make him pay. But right now, I had bills and no money to pay them. I needed time to think, to plan. Time I didn't have.

Paying for my paralysed mum's treatment was more important than getting revenge on Brandon. I had told the bank that I could prove the fraud as my mum didn't sign anything these days. They told me they had personally seen her do it.

Brandon had handed the application in one day when he had taken mum into the bank for some paperwork with her pension account. He had slipped in the mortgage papers and mum had trusted him blindly, signing everything. Not reading anything. She treated him like a son. The bank had assumed it was all above board. We couldn't blame them.

He had looked after our finances for a little more than a year and along with his computer chops, had managed to transfer all the money to him. It was almost as if he had hypnotized us both!

I hadn't bothered to see any paperwork and mum's bills were always paid. My savings accounts showed debits but he would always have bills for things when I asked. The cafe, I ran using our current account so I hadn't suspected anything.

The bank had been skeptical of me all the while as they saw my mum's reports and her banking history along with hearing my account of Brandon's betrayal. They still needed to be paid though. We were the idiots that trusted Brandon.

A lovely lady at the bank helped me contact the police and they assured me that I wouldn't have to pay until the initial investigation was completed. They found out that Brandon was a person of interest in five other cases of fraud also. I had been his biggest mark yet. Yay me!

I had a little time, two weeks at the most. The cafe however, would remain closed for the foreseeable future. It would be a harrowing wait with the way things looked. I would have to sue Brandon separately and needed a solicitor. More expenses!

With no livelihood in the short term and mum's pension account running dry, I would struggle to keep a roof over our head. I was going to mortgage the house to get the cafe back. It was our home. It was beautiful and had been in the family for three generations. Mum's expenses were another worry and it seemed like I would have to borrow more from someone.

"Don't be so hard on yourself love. Brandon was the devil and he fooled me as well! I was the one who signed! I thought he was an honourable young man! It's not your fault Claire!" mum said, trying to get me to leave my room. I naturally disagreed with her. I had to get myself together for her sake though. I had bills, remember?

Mum was at least as devastated as I was. She was feeling even more guilty as she was the one that had signed the paperwork. I guess Brandon destroyed us both. She hadn't spoken much in the past week. She had cried herself to sleep every night, just like me. Seeing her broke me more.

The wind started picking up and I hugged my coat closer to me trying to keep the chill out. As I walked towards the cafe, images of all the regulars kept popping in my head. They were all my friends and taking care of them made me happy. I knew most would be happy to help but asking them was no option.

I couldn't help but think of one regular more than the others. The sombre, unsmiling face of the mysterious Dr Krish made me smile despite my obvious sobbing fits. He had been the one that got away from me. If only I had seen through Brandon.

Chapter 4

I pretty much let the distance between me and Krish remain after Brandon and I were a thing. Brandon had already charmed me. I was madly in love.

Besides, Krish always felt unavailable. I still felt incredibly warm when I saw Krish though. I just chalked it up as me being concerned and him being sort of broken. Now, I was guiltily wishing that I was with him. Wasn't it too early after Brandon?

Dr Krishnaprasad Ponton was unlike any man I had ever met. He told me he had an Indian mother and a French father, hence his weird name. He, however, was anything but weird. Mysterious would be apt.

"May I have my usual, please, Claire?" He would ask with a smile every evening. Always exceedingly polite and courteous. Always neatly dressed. It didn't hurt that he was also quite handsome.

His long wavy black hair and green eyes along with his olive complexion made him quite attractive. Beneath all the lose shirts, he was also fit. I knew he didn't think so but he really was easy on the eyes. You could tell by just looking at him that he was a man of knowledge, if there was even such a thing.

I hated that he didn't smile enough though. There was this deep sadness and stoic strength in his face that had intrigued me right from the start. But he had laughed after I'd made some stupid joke. The laugh had made my insides turn to mush. It was addictive, just like his low, heavy voice. Making him laugh became my mission. He always said that he didn't get the humor because he was so old. He wasn't, he was only 32. He had become an unlikely friend.

I had been incredibly attracted to Krish and I knew he at least thought I was good looking. 'Ethereal beauty' was what he had called me one evening in passing.

"I think I'm okay looking" I'd said after peeking in the mirror absentmindedly. He'd snorted his cute snort "Claire, you need your head examined if you think that! You're an ethereal beauty!"

I had felt this explosion in my chest when he said it but he hadn't realised what he had done to me. Not even looking up from his notebook, he'd gone back to work. How did I ever think Brandon was better?

Krish was a man of few words. He had these quirks about him though. For instance, he always wore sensible shirts and jumpers in muted colours but I had spotted a power rangers handkerchief once. Never saw it again after I brought it up.

"No power ranger's hanky today?" I would ask whenever he took a handkerchief out.

"Fucking hell! Give me a break! Nothing wrong with loving some epic telly and owning merchandise from it! I could just as easily call you a nerd. Don't tell me you don't have at least a few stuffed animals in your possession." He'd retort.

He always carried a notebook around, another quirk which made him even more endearing. I called it his doodle book. Me giving him a ribbing with "Doodling away in a book and hiding from the world. Whatever is it that you write?" It kind of got on his nerves but he would always smile.

I knew he was superbly smart when he talked about his job. He had to be! He had this way of simplifying his complex job so much so that even an idiot like me could follow. He had unending patience and I had never seen him agitated or angry.

Why wasn't I with Krish if he was practically perfect? He was out of my league! I knew he was a PhD because he worked as a senior lecturer. I was practically uneducated next to him. He somehow sensed my unease around education and never brought it up. We were talking about work once when I asked him what he had studied.

"Oh, this and that. Nothing special." Was the flippant reply. I smiled but didn't push him.

I went home and googled Dr Krishnaprasad Ponton to find that he had a BSc in chemistry. Two MSc degrees, one in biophysics and another in computer science. Alongside a PhD in biochemistry from Oxford. His degrees came from red brick unis, unlike mine which might have been from a mediocre one. I wasn't even going to be able to finish it now. No wonder he was at Cambridge!

Cyber stalking him also told me that he was a great photographer and had travelled extensively. He worked alongside Nobel laureates in his current job and met international dignitaries regularly. He had contributed to almost fifty scientific articles. He was the kid your parents compared you to every chance they got! A poster boy for success! The stereotypical overachiever.

I normally would have hated Krish if not for his alarming humility. He would never be a snob. He didn't flaunt his intelligence or laud it over you. Was never patronizing and was always more then happy to explain things rather than humiliating you.

He once told me, "Facts are my friends Claire. They're uncomplicated. I like to know all the useless ones too. They seem like outcasts, just like me. I like to be there for them." It had made me laugh! He knew stuff like every capital of every country in the world and the names of all the teletubbies.

He was also different with me. Almost every guy I met checked me out. Krish looked too but he had this reverence almost, when he did it. Like I was something precious. It never felt like he objectified me. Even Brandon had given me the creeps on a couple occasions, if only I paid attention then.

I used to think Krish liked me too but was one of those introverts who took ages to make a move. I knew he was single because no wife or girlfriend would let her man spend an hour and a half at a cafe every evening. He mentioned about a few dates from time to time but they never came up again.

"I mostly don't have the time. If I do date, then I come off as too quiet and anxious, which I am. It's not easy but I know I need to change." He'd say. I didn't need him to change. He wasn't charming by any means but he was wholesome. And he was usually less awkward around me.

I was going to make my move as I was the socially confident one. I had known him for a couple of months by then. Enter Brandon Harris. He had made me feel wanted, desired and had chased after me. I had been the typical 21 year old and fallen for his charm.

I occasionally asked Krish about dating and he always told me it was going okay. "I'm not seeing anyone long term but I'm doing fine." was his standard reply. I didn't push because I felt him shut down every time I asked.

Somehow me and Brandon had never come up in our conversations. I realised then that I didn't speak to Krish much about my personal life at all! Sure I spoke about the cafe, but not my family. Two bloody years later, I was still a stranger!

After all, he was the same. I knew next to nothing about him besides things on the surface. Yet I felt connected with him. I admitted that I would have loved to know him better if given the chance. Had he already found someone?

I should be wary of men given the circumstances but for some reason, Krish didn't fit into that explanation. Maybe it was because I knew he was legitimate. His pictures were on Cambridge uni's official pages and his work was out there for everyone to see. I also knew he was a decent man. I had never looked Brandon up and was facing my punishment now. Maybe he did hypnotize us.

Chapter 5

I sighed as I rounded the corner to the cafe and uncle Greg's chippy next door. Greg was another brilliant man in this age where men lied. He was dad's best mate and his wife was mum's. They knew each other since they were kids. Maggie, his wife, had died last myear from cancer and it had devastated him. His kids didn't bother with either of them and I had become as much their kid as my parents'.

He was holding some papers that the bank had dropped off for me along with some things I had quietly gotten out of the shop. The money for mom's expenses would have been unbearable if Greg hadn't stepped in. I was eternally grateful to him and would do everything in my power to pay him back.

Mum was paralysed on her right side after her horrible car accident four years ago. I was so glad she was alive as I'd already lost dad to a heart attack at 13. Her left side still worked but not well. She was able to move about very minimally on crutches and used a wheelchair most of the time.

She still needed a lot of care. My evenings and early mornings were spent looking after her. I woke up at 4 and took care of her meals before heading to the cafe at 7. She would feed herself after she woke up. I usually returned at half 7, fed her, bathed her and put her to bed. I would then study for an hour until 10. Life was hard but I didn't mind it one bit. IThat was until Brandon moved in.

He did most of the caring duties once he moved in and cooked dinner in the evenings. He helped me with my studies and we made love often. Maybe it was my need for help that made me trust Brandon so much. I was in a bad place and he had saved me. I was guilty of hero worshipping him.

Greg had suggested that we put her into a nursing home for a while, until I could get the cafe up and running again. I felt even more gutted if that were possible. I had to admit that the nursing home would do a better job than I could under the circumstances.

"Don't you worry love. It'll only be for a year at the most. You are and always will be the best daughter ever. You've always taken such good care of me and managed the cafe better than I ever did. I have been a burden to you these past few years and now I've messed it all up with the loan." Mum sobbed.

"You need to save our shop and not worry so much about me. I don't like Greg's idea any more than you but it has to be done." She was trying to console me despite her own sorrow.

"Claire bear, you never have to pay me back. It's all yours anyway. I'm an old geezer and my kids are gormless shites! You are as much my daughter as Sandra's and Billy's. And Maggie would have killed me if I didn't do anything." Greg told me the day before as I cried.

"Thanks is a pretty weak thing to say! You had so many expenses with aunt Maggie. I don't like this. I'll pay you back as quickly as possible!" I had insisted.

"I have no use for the money and I've got enough left. You're paying into your own savings as far as I care. If it bothers you so much, then I'll accept. Only I won't have you paying a penny before this horrible business is sorted." Nodding weakly was the only thing I could do. Family!

I stopped for a while across the cafe that was my life. I had never wanted anything else but to see it succeed. I loved my job and took pride in making the best things with my hands. Mum and dad had infused the passion in me and I followed them without question since I was little. I was very good at what I did.

Dad had bought the cafe for mum 15 years ago. He ran a small plumbing business in Cambridge that had been in the family since his father. He had used his inheritance and savings to make mum happy.

Mum had quit her job as a clerk at the post office immediately and followed her dreams. She slowly made the shop successful with her awesome skills. Dad had then sold the business and helped mum out full time, expanding the Cafe outside and redecorating the place. I had only gone and burned everything down now.