Hello coffee lovers and avid readers! Welcome to Olive’s Library at Olive’s Café, where you can read the stories of adventurous characters as they explore life.
Here’s a story of Vivian meeting three women at her favorite coffee shop.
Vivian rushes inside the coffee to get out of the storm that could be close to a hurricane with the wind blowing fiercely. She sighs as she closes her umbrella, but not out of relief that she got out of the rain. More like sighing out of stress after leaving her best friend’s house.
She left her best friend’s house upset after arguing about Vivian’s boyfriend and his immature behavior. Although Vivian finds him comical with his behavior, even learning that he was the class clown in high school, Bella, and everyone else find him annoying to the point where they want to return him to the toy shop. Bella pointed out that Vivian doesn’t see that his immaturity gets on everyone’s nerves, even crossing the line with his offensive jokes.
After leaving and driving around, she decided to go to her favorite coffee shop to order her favorite drink and do some thinking. What she loves about this coffee shop is the fact that it’s been around since the Great Depression and holds historical pictures of customers, employees, and even the phases the coffee shop went through over the years. Not only that, but their beverages are also delicious; brewed with so much love, hope, and joy. There are days when she would just come to the shop and enjoy the background music, jazz and the blues flowing from the speakers throughout the shop.
But today, she’s here to clear her mind and calm down from being upset about her argument.
As she stands in line waiting to order her drink, she hears laughter on her right side, and she turns to see three women laughing and talking amongst each other. Vivian watches as the three women are in their own world sharing a moment that would last a lifetime in their memory. Something that Vivian has shared with Bella since high school, and she smiles at the thought. Then, she frowns as she remembers the argument over someone that she’s been with for a year.
“What am I gonna do?” she asks herself as she sighs and moves a little closer to the register. She rubs her forehead in distress, stuck in a dilemma between fearing the end of her friendship of 17 years and admitting that her boyfriend’s behavior is rubbing the wrong way.
After she orders her drink — white chocolate latte — she waits to the side and looks around the shop. Her eyes sparkle as she sees the decoration of pictures and memorabilia that hang on the walls. She absolutely loves this coffee shop, the old school charm with a touch of modern. Then, just as her mind begins to wander towards the memories between her and Bella, tears begin to form, and her heart begins to ache.
“What’s wrong, darling?” Vivian hears a voice calling for her. She wipes her eyes dry as she shakes her head and smiles. “It’s nothing, I’m okay,” she says.
“Oh, darling, you can’t fool us. When we see someone down and out, something must be wrong,” the woman says in her delicate voice.
“Here, why don’t you sit with us?” the other woman says as she pulls out a chair next to her.
Vivian hesitates, contemplating whether she would want to converse with three strangers.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to sit with us. We would understand,” the third woman says as she smiles.
After a moment, Vivian finally decides and sits in the empty chair. “Thank you for inviting me to sit with you,” she says as she scoots in.
“It’s our pleasure. Now tell us, what’s got you crying? Is it the rain?” the first woman says.
“Nancy, don’t you think we should introduce ourselves?” the second woman says.
Nancy claps and nods as she says, “Oh, right! So, my name is Nancy, this is Pearl and Joanne.”
Vivian smiles at the second and third woman as she greets them. “I’m Vivian.”
“So, Vivian, what got you down?” Pearl asks as she leans on the table.
“Well,” Vivian begins to say, “I got into an argument with my best friend about my boyfriend. She told me that his behavior is getting out of hand and that his jokes are getting offensive. I told her that it’s nothing too serious and that he was just being funny. We argued as she even pointed out that he’s made some comments about me that aren’t too nice. I mean, I can’t take him too seriously when he makes those comments. There was even a time when they argued because he made fun of her and her nationality. I even defended him as I thought it was harmless. But the more I think about our argument, the more I realize that she’s been hurt, and his behavior affected everyone around us.”
Vivian bows her head down as she thinks about Bella’s reaction to that argument. Just as she envisions her reaction, she begins to cry again. “I mean, I feel like my friendship hangs by a thin thread after that argument. I know that she’s right about him, but I really like the guy,” Vivian says as she lets the tears run down her cheeks.
“Oh, darling, I’m so sorry you’re feeling upset,” Nancy says as she gently grabs her hand to console her.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Joanne asks, “how long have you been friends with her?”
“17 years. Ever since our sophomore year in high school,” Vivian answers in her raspy voice.
Pearl rubs her back to console her. “And how long have you been with your boyfriend?” she asks.
“A year.”
“Well,” Nancy begins to say, “I know that this may be hard, but your friendship with your best friend will not deter just from one argument. If anything, your friendship grows, even with a disagreement. Friendships that last a lifetime won’t even falter.”
“How do you know for sure?” Vivian asks as she wipes her tears with Pearl’s handkerchief.
“Well, Nancy, Pearl and I have been friends for over 30 years. We’ve argued sometimes, but we don’t let that get in the way of our friendship. I mean, we’re practically family,” Joanne shares. “Although we’ve had some downs, our ups would always win.”
“Oh yes,” Nancy says gently, “We’ve been through so much over the years, but no matter what, we stuck together even to this day. We’ve celebrated, mourned, and reminisced through the years.”
“And when we did meet, it would always be at this coffee shop. You remember when the coffee shop celebrated its 10th anniversary at the same time, we celebrated Nancy’s son’s sixth birthday?” Pearl says as she turns to Joanne and Nancy.
“Oh yes! That was spectacular! It was such a big celebration, I even forgot about my argument with George the night before,” Joanne says as she giggles.
Vivian smiles as she watches the three women laughing and sharing a memory that they shared. “That’s so nice. I just hope that Bella and I will last as long as you all. I love her like my own sister, and she’s been there for me whenever I’m down. I’m just afraid that she may never want to talk to me after this argument.”
“Oh, honey, you’ll get through it. It’ll take some time. Maybe take your best friend’s words into consideration. If his behavior is affecting everyone, maybe it’s time you also talk to him about it,” Pearl says.
Vivian nods as she listens to every word.
“Now, we’re not to tell you what you need to do but think about what can be done between you and Bella. And considering your boyfriend, if his jokes hurt your best friend, maybe those aren’t jokes after all,” Nancy says.
“You’re right. His jokes are offensive, and his behavior does seem annoying. I can’t even forget the time he and I argued about his comments about my appearance. I mean, I may not be the prettiest girl in the world, but I do have feelings,” Vivian says.
“Now wait a minute, Vivian, you are a beautiful woman. Never let anyone tell you different,” Joanne says in a stern yet gentle voice.
“That’s right. And you know, maybe consider your relationship with your boyfriend. Just from talking to you, he doesn’t seem like a great catch to me,” Pearl follows.
Vivian begins to think about what the women have shared with her, and she weighs in on the relationships in her life. As she finally receives her latte from the barista, she looks at her drink and thinks about Bella and her boyfriend. She may have been with her boyfriend for a year, but her friendship with Bella is far too important for her to let it go. As she talks to the women at the table, she listens to their story of their lives, their careers, and their friendship with each other. Listening to them share their stories makes her heart sing in joy, and she becomes hopeful about her and Bella.
Vivian looks outside of the coffee shop window and sees that it stopped raining, with only some drizzling outside. She smiles at the women and tells them, “Well, I better get home. I have to call Bella and apologize.”
“That’s a good idea, darling. I hope everything turns out fine for the two of you,” Pearl says as she gives her gentle, bright smile.
“Thank you, Pearl. And thank you for this lovely afternoon. I hope to see you again in the future,” Vivian says as she gets up from her seat and takes her latte with her to finish on the way home. “I hope you all have a great day.”
The women wave to her good-bye as she walks out of the coffee shop, and just as she reaches outside, she grabs her phone from her purse and calls Bella. “Bella? Hey. Um, I just want to talk to you. I’m so sorry about our argument. You were right. I should talk to him about his behavior.” Just as Vivian walks to her car talking to Bella, it completely stops raining, and the sun shines brightly over the coffee shop.
What would you do if you had an argument with your best friend?
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