The clock on the wall started showing at 9 pm, and the guests started clearing out one by one after leaving some tips on the table. Irene sighed deeply, rooted in her seat at the restaurant. The waiter never failed to ask her every hour if she was ready to order the main course, besides the two cups of tea and the appetizer. Irene knew that it could happen sometimes, but still, she was a little ticked off when her date actually made her wait for almost 3 hours without any words.

 

Irene remained silent and optimistic until the end, making excuses for the sake of her date.

 

She might have been stuck in the traffic and couldn’t tell me because her phone was dead. She thought to herself.

 

She looked at the clock on the wall once again. There was an hour left before the restaurant closed for the night. Her patience was thinning with every passing second. She started fidgeting on her seat, her head searching for reasons why she was being stood up like that.

 

While her mind was still occupied, someone walked towards her table and politely asked her again, “Ma’am,we will close at 10 pm, would you like to order anything else?”

 

Irene noticed that the girl was not the annoying waiter who had asked her before. But, she could tell that she was also working here from her uniform. “Um, no, thanks,” Irene answered awkwardly, feeling uneasy.

 

“Perhaps dessert? We have recommendations that you may like. Our sweets are really popular.” The girl asked her once again.

 

Irene was not sure if she wanted to eat anything, or if she should ask for the bill right now since her date most likely won’t show up at this hour. She cast a gaze at the girl in front of her, “I think I’m good. Thank you.” She finally decided.

 

The girl smiled at her, “Alright, Ma’am.” She bowed down as a cue to leave.

 

“B-but…” Irene held on to the girl's wrist immediately. “Can I wait here for a little while? I promise I will leave before you guys close.”

 

“Sure. Just take your time, Ma’am. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.” The girl politely answered with the smile still remaining on her lips before she walked back to the bar.

 

Irene covered her face with her hands, regretting the decision to date once again when he knew that he wasn't ready to be in a relationship yet. She should have listened to Seulgi when the brat told her that she needed to wait a little.

 

Being a divorced woman is hard. The emotional rollercoaster she went through was unbearable. Irene had been in 7 years of marriage when she knew that her ex-wife was cheating on her. No man or woman would just wake up one day and decide to cheat on their spouse. It is a problem that builds up over time and cheating is actually the release of pressure that had built up in the marriage. Sure, they had lots of ups and downs in the past years, but Irene had always thought that it was still salvageable.

 

She loved her wife. So much. But, in marriage, love alone is not enough. You need trust and loyalty. And thus they parted ways in a painful way.

 

The time was ticking. Irene couldn't stay there any longer in embarrassment. Maybe it was time to go home, she thought.

 

Before she could ask for the bill, the girl from before came back with a slice of carrot cake and placed it in front of her.

 

"Complimentary from our chef," The girl said. Irene was confused. Impulsively, she looked towards the kitchen, hoping to find the generous chef. But she couldn't see anyone.

 

"This is one of our best. Hope you will like it."

 

"Thank you… umm..." Irene tried to find a nametag in the girl's uniform but there weren't any. The girl seemed to notice it when she found Irene's eyes were moved left and right around her chest area. The guest is kinda weird, she thought.

 

"I'm Wendy." The girl introduced herself.

 

Like she couldn't be more embarrassed, Irene only nodded and thanked her for the cake. "Carrot cake is my favorite actually. Your chef better have made it good because I really needed one right now." Irene laughed weakly at her statement, trying to lift up the mood even though it failed.

 

"Rough night, Ma’am?" Wendy asked.

 

"You can say that. And please stop calling me Ma’am. Just…" Irene paused for a second. "Just call me Irene. No need to follow the rules with me. It's almost closing time anyway, so you're safe from your manager."

 

"Sorry for breaking it to you, but I'm the manager here." Wendy chuckled as Irene flustered on her stupidity. Again.

 

“I’m sorry! I thought you… I didn't mean… I’m sorry.” Irene was so embarrassed that she couldn’t formulate a coherent sentence. Meanwhile, the blonde hair laughed at Irene's awkwardness. The guest really is weird.

 

"It’s okay, don’t need to feel uneasy,” Wendy said. “Anyways, I need to clean up some stuff first. If you want, you can stay here longer."

 

“Oh-okay…” Irene responded before Wendy walked back to the kitchen. The restaurant was almost empty now. She saw that some of the staff was getting ready to go home, some of them were still busy in front of the billing pile for bookkeeping. Then, she looked at the tantalizing carrotcake in front of her. She took the small fork that was next to it and began to devour the cake slowly.

 

Every bite she swallowed, started healing her disappointment. She swore after she got home, she's gonna delete that stupid dating app. Even right now Irene could imagine Seulgi's annoying smirk while saying 'told ya!'

 

She looked outside through the window next to her. Autumn has come, the air is getting cold. It had been a couple of months since the trial and the hurt was still lingering on her chest.

 

Ther whole meeting-someone-new idea sounds good in the beginning, but after getting ghosted many times and being stood up today, Irene started to feel her confidence was hitting rock bottom.

 

Is it gonna be like this?

 

Am I gonna be a lonely divorcee?

 

Should I buy a cat tomorrow in case I need company when I feel lonely?

 

What kind of cat should I buy? I want a cute one with short legs.

 

Before her mind wandered too far, Wendy was back with two bottles of beer in her hand. One of them was given to Irene, and the other was placed next to her after she took a seat. Irene was a little bit surprised by the act of the blonde girl.

 

"You look like somebody who could use a drink." Wendy winked at the brown hair.

 

“Thanks,” Irene responded with a grin on her face. Thinking that another beer might be more effective to heal her broken heart. Alcohol has become her best friend since the divorce anyway. They sat face to face sipping their beer without a rush, silence permeating in every corner of the room.

 

"Somebody died?” Wendy broke the tranquility between them. Meanwhile, Irene almost choked hearing that sudden question, "Excuse me?"

 

"I don't know. You look out the windows like an old woman who just lost her husband."

 

"Wow, so you are secretly watching me?" Irene found it amusing that her words came out like she was accusing the manager.

 

"Of course, you are my guest. I need to pay attention to my customers." Wendy tried to defend herself.

 

"Fair enough," Irene smiled as she took the beer and sipped it once again. She leaned back on the chair, relaxing herself. "I'm thinking what kind of cat should I buy."

 

"A cat??" Wendy confusedly asked, underlying tone, as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

 

"What? Something wrong with that?"

 

"That’s the reason you look like ? A pet?!"

 

"Well, a pet can be a good friend in a time like ther. It can become the solution to my miserable nights like this one."

 

Wendy was silent for a second. This woman’s face was so ing godsend, but dude… is she a weirdo? She's trying to comprehend what Irene was thinking about. Maybe she just needed more background story.

 

"Okay, hold up, I'm lost. Why do you even want to buy a cat?"

 

Dilemma. Irene was tempted to tell Wendy, but she thought it's just too personal. Instead of being honest with a stranger, Irene chose to play with it.

 

"Because I want a super annoying illogical roommate that also destroys many things but at the same time gives you odd secure feelings." She said.

 

"Wouldn't a dog be a better option if you need that?" Wendy asked. “I have a poodle in my apartment. He’s so energetic, running around the room all the time, and also likes to destroy my stuff many, many times. But, I still love that little rascal.”

 

“Well, cats are way cuter than dogs. And I can become an influencer using my cats.”

 

“Really? An influencer? Good luck with that I guess.”

 

“What? You don’t think I can become an influencer?”

 

“Why does everybody want to become an influencer these days?”

 

“Cause that’s a dream! Make a living using your everyday life.”

 

Wendy quirked her eyebrow in disbelief as she looked at the brown hair in skepticism, “It’s your dream?”

 

This time it was Irene that was lost for words. Because actually it wasn’t her dream, and obviously these weren't her words. They were her ex-wife’s.

 

She didn’t realize that she would say those words after all ther time. At first, it was only a silly dream of a young woman who dreamed of living happily. Then it turned into something that the two people in love wanted to achieve together.

 

She remembered the day she got a call from her wife that she was fired from her job. She expected that night would be full of resentment and pressure at their home. But, instead, she found a house full of cameras, lighting, lenses, and of course, with a beaming face, her wife said, ‘Honey, from today onwards I’ll make us rich!’

 

That was stupid, right? Irene thought so too. But, one thing that Irene really admired from her wife was her passion. How she really believed in herself so much that her eyes were blazing with fire of desire. And that’s also the reason why that fire dimmed from her wife’s eyes. She no longer looked into Irene’s eyes. There were no sparks, only assumptions and tears until they both finally realized that the love between them was long gone.

 

“I guess.” Irene finally responded with a slight stammer in her voice.

 

“Well, your mood changed all of a sudden. I'm sorry if I offended you.”

 

“No, no, it’s alright! I guess I need a reality check. And I would never guess I would get it tonight.” Irene laughed nervously. Although she wanted to hide her feelings, Wendy could see them.

 

“Hey, whatever happens with your life, this place will always welcome you every time you need a friend and a good drink.” Wendy tried to lift up Irene’s mood.

 

“Yeah, as long as I can get a discount.”

 

“I can make a signboard ‘Cat lovers extra 5$ for every drink.’” Then they laughed together and took another gulp. Wendy took a long sigh, tonight’s gonna be interesting, she thought. She saw Irene’s beer was already half-empty in her hand.

 

This girl really…

 

“Want another bottle?” She offered.

 

“Sure,” Irene replied immediately. Then Wendy stood up and walked to the bar. “So what happened tonight?” She asked as she opened another bottle of beer for Irene.

 

“I think I got stood up,” Irene answered her nonchalantly. She almost forgot that she was supposed to meet someone in the last couple of hours before Wendy asked about it again. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel sad or anxious anymore. Huh, funny...

 

“Online dating?”

 

“How’d you know?” Irene asked the manager curiously.

 

“I know the look,” Wendy walked back to the table, then put the new bottle on Irene’s side. She smiled. Not the kind of belittle smile, but more of a sympathy. “A girl who is waiting for someone they know won’t wait until the place closes. So, I bet you don’t know their number and cannot ask them either.”

 

“Hmm, you’re good.”

 

“Well... Five years in this restaurant will teach you about people.”

 

“Yeah, looks like I got swipe-lefted in real life.”

 

Wendy laughed, “You know what they say, ‘there is plenty of more fish in the sea.’”

 

“Do you believe that?”

 

“What? Plenty of fish in the sea? Yeah, I believe that.”

 

"So, now the question is how you're gonna find that perfect fish for you?"

 

"No one in this world is perfect. Maybe you call it perfect, but for me, it's called compromise. That man may be handsome, but he only takes a bath twice a week. But because you love him, you see way beyond that weakness. Am I right?" Wendy spit the logical truth. But, Irene seemed to have another perspective about that.

 

"You may be right. But, have you heard about 'the perfectly imperfect? If you're interested in the zodiac, you must have heard about the opposite attracts. It's when two people are different from each other but often make a great couple. Thanks to their differences, rather than in spite of them."

 

"So, you're a zodiac girl, huh?" Wendy asked with a hint of teasing.

 

"Yes, I am. What about that?"

 

"Nothing…" And suddenly Wendy was laughing. Irene seemed confused with Wendy's act because she felt like there's nothing funny with what she said earlier. After Wendy finished with her antics, she looked at the man in front of her. "You're very interesting, Irene." She said.

 

Irene blushed at hearing that kind of compliment. The edge of her lips were slightly pulled to the side showing her shy smile to the manager. Wendy was enjoying her reactions, making her want to tease the brown hair even more.

 

"You're unpredictable. Who knows, it might turn out that you're an earth-flatter who also believes that aliens exist."

 

"Umm.. well… I'm not an earth-flatter but I do believe that there are aliens on ther planet."

 

"You like that kind of conspiracy theory, don't you?"

 

"I don't know. Somehow they show some crazy, interesting theory that blows my mind. And I am like… what if it's true?" Irene seemed like an innocent child who excitedly told her friend about a sci-fi hertory lesson. On the other hand, Wendy just nodded her head softly. Once in a while she would smile hearing Irene rambling on and on about random topics. But it didn't annoy her one bit.

 

“How about the one? You believe that, too?”

 

“The one? Like, God?”

 

"No, The One… like a soulmate."

 

"I don't believe that. It's just a scam, my friend.”

 

Irene only stared at Wendy in confusion, “What do you mean?”

 

“Yeah, it’s a scam. Just like a valentine. It's a marketing technique from the chocolate company for people to buy more chocolate. There's no deeper meaning than that.”

 

“Don't you believe that people who come to this world are meant to be together, to become a couple at the end of the day? We are searching for the missing piece that can complete us.”

 

“If humans are supposed to become soulmates and live as a couple at the end of the day, why do we hear about divorce every day?”

 

Irene started to feel slightly hurt with the girl in front of her. The words that came out of felt like a trigger, ready to shoot directly to her heart. She played with her fingers, her mind was spinning in search of answers.

 

As Irene became speechless, Wendy realized that her questions might be too insensitive. Because she could feel an air of tension prevailing in the room.

 

“Sorry, I don’t know what happened to me. It’s like a sensitive issue for me. I'm sorry...” Wendy's eyes immediately went down to the beer that she had been holding on to for a while. She felt guilty for making the mood uncomfortable for both of them.

 

Irene had already clenched her teeth as she held back her emotions. But, looking at how anxious the manager was, Irene could only feel pity for her. She just realized that the woman before her was just an ordinary person who also had her own reasons for her opinion. Somehow, she could understand. “It's okay. It's a new thing in my life I guess.” Irene said.

 

“Well, for me... shouting, swearing, and door-banging is just like a routine. I know what it feels like to be in a room where you are not wanted. It's all because of two people who act so stupidly in the name of love and then don't want the result of their love. So, yeah, I'm sorry if I'm a lil bit skeptical about 'the one'…" Wendy gave a quote sign with her finger to underline those specific words. "But, hey, at least I can be a good listener for my guests.”

 

Irene only smiled and nodded while she's playing with the bottle in her hand, swirling the beer inside of it.

 

“A good manager with an ear for her guests. You must be popular with men.”

 

Wendy laughed, “Not exactly. I've had no luck with them. Maybe I pushed them away before they could come any closer to me.”

 

Irene scoffed, "Don't play hard to get."

 

"No, I don't. I'm just not into men."

 

Irene turned into O-shaped, realizing the meaning of Wendy's words. On the other hand, Wendy just realized that ther was the first time she could talk so comfortably to a person she just met.

 

“Truth be told, this is the first time I can talk with someone ther long for a while now. I've been swamped with work for a couple of years. Running a restaurant is not as easy as it seems, you know.”

 

“Wait, is this your restaurant?”

 

“Yeah, it’s been my dream to open my own restaurant. Since I was a little kid I've always watched cooking channels on TV and that's grown in me even more. But I could make it work just about five years ago.

 

“That's cool!”

 

“What about you? Had any dreams? Or you still want to be an influencer?" Wendy chuckled.

 

“No, no, no. It was actually my ex's.” Irene was a little bit surprised after she realized that the word 'ex' could casually come out of . But, not long after that, Wendy immediately asked again before it got awkward.

 

“So what was yours then?”

 

Irene took a deep sigh.

 

"Please don’t laugh, okay? But I kinda dreamt of becoming a preschool teacher.”

 

"No kidding?"

 

"No, I actually love kids. Can you imagine when you witness so many groundbreaking moments of someone? Isn't it cool? You may witness the kids finally start to talk or walk, counting numbers, drawing cute animals, seeing them grow, and so on. Plus, many people said that I'm incredibly patient, so, yeah…" Wendy could see Irene's eyes were sparkling when she told about her dream. She never expected someone who had that gorgeous face had a dream to become a preschool teacher.

 

And she had to admit that Irene is more than patient. Well, she had just waited for some stranger for almost 3 hours. Wendy would never do that thing if she was in Irene's shoes.

 

“So what happened next?”

 

“Reality, I guess. Although it's rewarding, there's not much money in that job and at that time I really needed money. So I’m stuck with corporate law now.”

 

“Wow, a lawyer. I bet a lot of men are waiting in line for a girl like you.”

 

"No. It's a waste for them to wait in line for a girl like me."

 

"Why not?"

 

"Because I'm into girls." She chuckled, laying her back comfortably against the back of the chair. "Besides, I'm married," Irene paused for a second. “...was married.”

 

"Oh…" Wendy was silent. Not because she knew that Irene was gay but more to the truth of Irene was once married. She should have just said 'I'm sorry', but somehow she wanted to know everything about the woman in front of her.

 

“Divorced?” Wendy finally asked her but was only answered by a nod.

 

“I'm not gonna pry, but if you wanna talk about it, I'm…”

 

“Did you ever feel betrayed, Wendy?” Irene suddenly cut her off.

 

Wendy fell silent to her seat, thinking deeply about how to respond to that sudden question. Before Wendy could give her answer, Irene continued, “Not that kind of betrayal. Betrayed by your judgment. Betrayed by your expectations.”

 

“It's like you thought you knew about somebody, you thought you knew about what’s gonna happen next. But one day, it’s all different. You don’t know in this life. Life can spit at you at anytime. One day you’re happily married and another day you’re sitting in a restaurant waiting for a crappy blind date to show up. I don't know what to expect anymore."

 

Irene then fell silent for a while and looked at Wendy. “I'm sorry I vented out to you."

 

Wendy immediately shook her head to convince Irene that it's okay. But, Irene felt sorry for Wendy that she suddenly became the target of her vent. She closed her eyes, trying to calm down. Because she's not supposed to let her feelings burst out like that. Especially, when Wendy is kind enough to accompany her tonight when he could go home and have a nice sleep.

 

"I- I think I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Irene stood up and left Wendy sitting alone with her beer. She needed to cool down for a second.

 

She washed her face as she got to the sink.

 

It's not right.

 

Guess she still has unfinished business that needed to be solved. Not with her ex obviously, but with herself. She stared deeply at herself in the mirror, with a face from which water droplets were running down in the sink.

 

She was disappointed. All she had to do is chin up. Meeting someone new is not easy. But, at least she tried.

 

Because she still believes in love. No matter how y it was, she just wants to be happy. And that's what matters.

 

Irene took her handkerchief and wiped her face. She's finally calming down. But she still needed to say sorry to Wendy for what she had said earlier.

 

Her mind was occupied by thinking of what she had to say to the blonde girl after she arrived at their table. But, to her surprise, Wendy was already standing next to her seat, smiling and ready to welcome the guest who had just come from the bathroom. Irene didn't realize it before but Wendy actually has a charming smile. On their table, there's her phone playing a song.

 

What was going on? She thought.

 

Then he saw Wendy giving her hand, “Shall we?”

 

Irene was stunned for a moment, trying to understand what Wendy was trying to do. She hesitantly stepped in front of the blonde girl.

 

“What happened when I was in the bathroom? Am I in a different universe?” Irene made a joke to lighten up the mood. Wendy only laughed hearing that silly joke.

 

“I think beer and a slice of cake won’t be enough to make my guest happy. So, I am trying another method.”

 

“By asking her to dance?”

 

“Let’s think of it as my way to give you special service.”

 

Irene smiled, “It’s my pleasure to be the first customer who gets this special treat right from the manager.” Then she took Wendy’s hand as Wendy gently pulled Irene closer to her. They both danced slowly following the song’s beat.

 

There are so many things I have to say

I'll stay up all night to hear about your day

We do the best we can in a small town

Act like kids in love when the sun goes down

 

If it's not too late for coffee

I'll be at your place in ten

We'll hit that all-night diner

And then we'll see

 

They didn't dare enough to see each other’s eyes, but one thing was for sure. They enjoyed this comfortable silence.

 

“I looked so hopeless to you, right?” Finally, Irene broke the silence.

 

Wendy shook her head. She took a deep breath. Then slowly she said, “I cannot say I know how betrayal feels like, but I know what it feels like to be hopeless." This time Irene could hear the calmness in Wendy's voice. "When I was little, I woke up every day with the expectation that that day would be a happy day. No more fighting. No more flying plates in the dining room. I grew up limiting my expectations. Because I finally learned that expectations kill.”

 

Irene didn’t respond to it. But she understood Wendy’s point of view. It felt like she finally understood that love never killed you, expectation did. Like Wendy said. People would say that they divorced because they’ve been cheated on. Because they only expect that in marriage you should be loyal to your partner without considering any hidden problems that cause it to happen in the first place. You can’t divorce your partner for cheating. You must divorce for not trying to root out the cause of that infidelity.

 

For some time, Irene always asked herself how did they get to where they are right now? How did her wife end up leaving their marriage bed to find joy elsewhere? Feelings during divorce can be highly illogical, complicated, and extremely confusing.

 

"Last year, I was so upset because bad things kept happening to me. That's when I caught my ex-wife cheating on me with some girl she met at a club, at her friend's birthday party. I thought it was just one time, but it turned out she kept occasionally meeting that girl behind my back…" Wendy glanced sideways to the woman in front of her. Irene smiled telling her side of the story, but she could feel a deep hurt in her voice.

 

"She said that she will end it all. I trusted her. I trusted her because I loved her. Because I believed no matter what happened her love was only for me. 'It's just a mistake,' I told myself every day." Wendy started to hear a little tremble in Irene's voice.

 

"But, marriage is complicated. At the end of the day, I couldn't blame her. As I recall everything, I might have done something that also caused all of this to happen. I might have done something that made our house no longer a home for her." This time Irene finally dared to look directly into Wendy's eyes. "We both failed... at something that we had built for a long time."

 

Wendy was stunned to see the woman in front of her as she saw tears starting to well up in Irene's eyes.

 

"I should have taken the hint when she was often coming back home without her wedding ring." Irene laughed at her dumbness as she let go of Wendy's grip to wipe away her tears. But before she touched her side-eye, Wendy's finger had already wiped her tears away.

 

"It's okay."

 

That's all Wendy said.

 

Irene stood bewildered on her feet.

 

"It's okay, you can cry as you want. I'll be here."

 

And just like that, just a few simple words could make her burst out into tears. Wendy was trying to give her some moment to cry. She stood up close to her and lent her a shoulder. Irene couldn't think of anything besides taking out all of the ugly feelings that had been kept for a long time.

 

Beer, cake, and attention were good to comfort her broken heart. But crying is a very powerful thing in situations like this. Nothing's wrong with that.

 

Luckily, the restaurant was empty. All the staff already went home when she talked with Irene hours ago. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to her staff if they knew some woman was crying on her.

 

A moment later Irene seemed to have calmed down. Her eyes were red. She rubbed her nose, tried restraining her sniffle.

 

"How're your feelings?" Wendy asked her.

 

"Better," Irene said shortly. "Well, I'd never thought tonight would be like this. Dancing with the restaurant manager and ending up crying in front of her."

 

"Yeah, you look like a preschool kid right now. Are you sure you wanna be a preschool teacher?”

 

That joke immediately made Irene laugh as she hit her lightly with her fist. Of course, Wendy needed to exaggerate it. She yelled while touching the spot that was hit before. She took the opportunity to get back to her seat, which was followed by Irene.

 

Their hands quickly grab the bottle in front of them and finish the beer in one gulp.

 

"Irene, can I ask you something?"

 

"Shoot."

 

“With all the stuff that happened to you, do you still believe in the one?”

 

Irene was quiet for a moment. Once in a while, her eyes looked up like she was thinking so hard searching for an answer.

 

“Honestly, I don’t know. A part of me was gone after divorce. I'm still trying to figure out what that means.” finally Irene replied.

 

“Uumm… when I was in high school, I heard that love is just a chemical reaction between two people. It's like, when the reaction is strong, it's like you two are perfect for each other. But someday the reaction will go away. Your love will expire." Wendy curiously waited for Irene to respond. "Don't you think so?"

 

“I disagree," Irene said. "There will always be that feeling. Love will never die completely. Like, I'm so mad at her for what she has done, but I still love her. Maybe it will thin out by time, but that feeling will always be there.”

 

“That… because you’re a hopeless romantic, you know?”

 

“I know." Irene smiled, realizing the truth of Wendy's jokes.

 

“I still cannot grasp the idea of your optimism for love. I'm still searching for that feeling, though. To love and to be loved. I'm jealous of you, Irene." Wendy chuckled, thinking about how she became the coldest person towards romance after all ther time. It's very opposite to Irene. "I used to think that when I was older, the world and everything inside it would make sense to me. but the older I get, the more confusing it is to me.”

 

“You’re right,” Irene responded quickly.

 

Wendy was dumbfounded for a second, “I'm right?”

 

“Yeah, I think your view on ther world has a good point. It is confusing. It is chaotic. But it’s our job to untangle it. It's not easy, and yes sometimes the world is trying to break you into pieces. But when you’re broken into pieces, you can always try to put the pieces together again. To make things whole again.”

 

Irene realized there's a sudden change in Wendy's face after she said what she said earlier. Like there's a hint of disappointment showing on her face, “I know you’ve tried. Maybe countless times... But you’re not alone, Wendy. Let others help you pick up the pieces. Let someone help you make it whole again.”

 

“I don't know, Irene. Maybe I'm not ready.”

 

“There’s no such thing as ready. There’s only willing.”

 

“I guess you’re right.” Wendy scoffed hearing unexpected wisdom coming from someone who just cried because of love a minute ago. Guess this time the table has turned.

 

Irene smiled and looked around. The moonlight was really bright tonight. Its shine was coming through the window as it was telling them to get a peaceful night. That's when she realized that it was already past midnight, “Hey, are you guys open again tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah, we’re open around 11 am. Why?”

 

“I should go. It’s getting late.”

 

“It's already late, Ma’am.”

 

Irene was laughing, “But honestly, thank you for tonight. I thought tonight will end badly. But, hey, it’s one of the best nights since my divorce.”

 

"Just like how good things aren't always necessarily good, I guess bad things aren't always bad either."

 

“You sure know what to say to a sad customer. Consider you have a new regular to this place.”

 

Wendy then took something out of her wallet, “Here's my card. In case you need a reservation or maybe a friend to talk to.”

 

Irene took it and read the name that was boldly written on the business card. Wendy Son, it said.

 

“Well, thanks again, Mrs. Manager. See you.”

 

Just as Irene was about to open the door, Wendy suddenly yelled,” Maybe we are the pieces?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“You know when you say that when the world breaks us down into pieces, we can try to put the pieces back together..." Wendy was silent for a second. Hesitation still showed up both on her face and her voice, "What I'm trying to say is, maybe, what we’re supposed to do is sit together, trying to figure out our little pieces together.

 

Irene didn't answer it right away. Instead, she just smiled at the blonde girl and said something before she finally closed the front door, "Maybe. Just maybe."