02 Familiarity

No one could replace Evan in Grace's heart. Even though she didn't know how he had been, she still hoped that he would be okay. In fact, she continued to pray that their communication breakdown was not because something bad had happened and taken his life.

Nevertheless, a man came into Grace’s life almost a year ago, giving her warmth and filling her emptiness. His name was Anthony, several years older than Grace, and was the owner of a grocery store in her neighborhood. He and his family only moved here a year and a half ago.

The two met for the first time when Grace bought some groceries at his store. But there was no TV series scene where one could fall in love at a glance. Their closeness only started when they were appointed to organize the Independence Day celebration.

Grace discovered that Anthony was a hard worker, the breadwinner of his family. Her father was sick and her mother was gone, and he had two younger sisters who were still pursuing studies and needed a lot of money. That's why he was not married even though he was already in his thirties.

This year's Independence Day celebration was said to be entrusted to Grace and Anthony again. It was because they really turned the past celebration into a success that it was memorable for the people.

"But it'll be exhausting, Ant. I've got much busier this year." Grace complained, leaning her head against a pole in front of Anthony’s grocery store.

Meanwhile, Anthony just chuckled as he closed his store. "Well, all you have to do is tell the neighborhood head that you're not available, Grace," said Anthony. "Someone else would happily replace you and help me."

"Oh, yeah. The girls in the neighborhood are head over heels for you, aren’t they? Surely they'd say yes right when you ask for help," she wittingly commented. "Anthony, please choose me to be your partner." She mimicked the way those girls would say and then laughed in satisfaction.

Anthony ruffled Grace's hair. "Don't go too wild with your imagination. You just sounded like the girl in the TV series my sisters watched," she said. "Let's go." He walked over to his motorbike and started the engine. He gave the helmet to Grace.

Instead of putting the helmet on right after receiving it, Grace stood in front of the motorbike. "But really, I will just decline the request. I need to focus on work first," she said, underlining her intention.

He nodded. "Okay, okay. Just say it. It's okay. But after that, you may not buy groceries at my store. And don't invite me to that cafe anymore," he threatened jokingly.

"Oh, no. This big boy is sulking." Grace chuckled and moved over to the other side, getting on the motorbike right behind Anthony. "Okay, we'll talk about it later at the cafe." She patted him on the shoulder as if telling a bike driver that she was ready to go.

Still not moving, Anthony slightly turned to Grace. "What is it that makes you love visiting that cafe every week?" he asked. "I’ve asked you about it several times, but you haven't answered my question."

"If I answer it, you have to treat me to whatever I want at the cafe." Grace played around, still trying to avoid answering.

"Easy. You may get anything you want, as long as it's not more than five bucks," said Anthony, who then received a light blow on his shoulder. "Ouch."

"What the fudge? What can I get with five bucks? Geez." Grace once again hit Anthony on the shoulder.

"The longer I’m with you, the more my body will crumble, Grace." He stroked the part where he was hit like he was in actual pain.

"Come on, you're a strong guy. You lift many rice sacks every day. You can even beat those gym-goers, you know. There’s no way your body will crumble." Grace sneered, replying to Anthony's joke. "Let's go now." She put on the helmet.

Complying with the girl's wish, Anthony started his motorbike, leaving the store. Passing through the rather narrow streets of the neighborhood, they finally made their way out onto the main road.

Kuta Cafe, as the name implied, was located on the edge of Kuta Beach. It was a place Grace and Evan used to visit every weekend. They would just enjoy the sunset on the beach while chatting about small things and even the future.

Evan's leaving her left a very deep pain in Grace's heart. A year after the communication breakdown, she never came to this cafe again. It was only after she met Anthony that she came back here. The reason was that she didn't want to shed tears if she spent time alone there watching the sunset.

Luckily, Anthony's presence led Grace to be more cheerful. The loneliness she felt slowly faded away. In fact, she did not deny her feelings that had once been dwelling only on Evan slowly shifted toward Anthony.

The ten-minute journey was enough for Grace and Anthony to arrive on time. The sun was just beginning to move down past the horizon. They quickly sat down on two wooden chairs beside the cafe.

Dahayu, the woman who owned the cafe for years, already knew what Grace would order. She only asked what Anthony wanted, because he kept changing orders on each of his visits.

"Grace, I’ll be back in a moment. I need to go to the restroom." Anthony got up from his seat while the order was being delivered.

Grace just nodded. She was still engrossed in this twilight scene.

Seeing that his regular customer was alone, Dahayu placed the order on the table and sat on Anthony's chair. "Miss, are you dating that man?" she asked in curiosity.

Grace shook her head as she corrected her sitting position, respecting her elder. "Oh, no, Ma’am. We happen to be close because we live in the same neighborhood," she answered, with doubts hanging over her mind.

"I thought you two were dating," continued Dahayu. "Actually, I used to think that you would eventually marry that sweet best friend of yours."

"Huh?" Grace was taken aback, not believing Dahayu had such a prejudice.

Dahayu nodded. "That's right. You used to be very attached to each other, as if inseparable. Well, such a perfect couple you were," she said. "But Evan lives overseas now, doesn’t he? How's he doing?"

Grace took a deep breath. She never really talked about Evan again to people who knew him. She might just leave people with their own opinion.

Imitating the youth, Dahayu put her L-shaped fingers under her chin. "Let me guess. You guys broke up?" she guessed as if knowing the fact.

"Eh? No, Ma'am. We were not even dating,” said Grace with a sudden thumping heart. 'Gosh, it's been a long time since I've seen Evan, why am I still getting this nervous when being assumed to have a relationship with him?'

Dahayu looked up, then back to the young girl. “In the past, ‘dating’ was not a popular term. If you were close with someone, always together, compatible with each other, that was when you dated someone. So I thought you were dating him,” she explained with a meaningful smile.

"Who's Evan?" As though a magician with his ability to appear out of nowhere, Anthony was already standing near the two women who were chatting.

Dahayu got up from the chair. "Ah, you're back. Please have a seat," she pleaded. "I'm leaving then. Please enjoy the view and the meal.”

Grace smiled at the woman who witnessed her friendship with Evan. "Thank you, Ma’am," she said before Dahayu left.

Anthony, who was already sitting on the chair, took his drink from the table. "So, who were you talking about? Evan? Who is he?" He again reminded her about his unanswered question.

"My old best friend," said Grace, taking her drink. She stirred the young coconut water in the glass while recalling the good memories she had with Evan.

Anthony frowned. "Old? Is he not your best friend anymore?" he asked.

Grace shrugged her shoulders.

“What does that mean?”

"It's been years since he left and stopped talking with me," Grace said weakly. This reality was bitter that she couldn’t accept it.

"Perhaps he's forgotten you," said Anthony without thinking. It was really typical of an aloof and straightforward guy, as in Korean dramas, that girls adored.

Grace threw a sharp glance at him. "Why are you so outspoken? What a meanie," she replied in a cold tone too.

Nevertheless, they weren't fighting. The two of them used to throw around such words at each other but didn’t really mean it.

Grace's past personality, being inconsiderate when it came to talking, had once changed because of Evan. She was taught how to behave well and refrain from offending others. Unfortunately, losing him brought back her old nature, and in the end, made her go along with Anthony.

"Well, then what's the reason?" Anthony turned to Grace and raised an eyebrow. "Let me tell you from a guy's perspective. If a guy doesn't want to have anything to do with a girl anymore, he will cut off their communication. No matter what the reason is."

Grace didn't reply to his words immediately. She processed Anthony's opinion in her head and linked it to the possibilities that could happen.

On one hand, Grace thought that losing contact was the first possible reason. However, she always kept up with technological developments and Evan knew it very well. He should have been able to find her social media account. If Anthony was right, it would only mean that Evan wanted to forget their friendship.

Nevertheless, on the other hand, Grace didn't believe that Evan could be such a person. He had once saved her life as well as her mother’s. Through the years they spent together, she learned his true nature. She believed that forgetting her was an impossible reason.

"Hey. Why are you down in the dumps?” Anthony nudged Grace's arm. "Don't overthink it. Am I not here with you?" He wiggled his eyebrows and put a smile on his face at the same time.

Grace also smiled, then nodded. "Yeah. Thank you, Ant," she said. She gulped down the young coconut water until it was finished, leaving only the flesh of the fruit. "Well, it's finished. I’ll be right back, Ant. I want to have more coconut water." She rose from the chair.

"Grace, please buy some fries too, okay?" Anthony asked with one thumb raised.

Grace chuckled, finding his love for fries funny. "Geez. Okay, okay," she agreed.

As the sun was disappearing on the western horizon, Grace walked into the cafe. She showed her glass to Dahayu from outside the window with a smile. Her gaze was so fixed on the owner of this cafe that she didn't pay attention to where she was heading.

Grace almost bumped into a man in a long shirt coming out of the cafe. Fortunately, her reflexes were good so she could maneuver swiftly to avoid a collision.

But just as she was about to step into the cafe, Grace's eyes caught something that had fallen in the doorway. She picked up a worn-out keychain made of clear resin with half a seashell stuck in it.

"Could this belong to that person?" Grace muttered. She immediately turned to where the man had gone. “Hey, Mister! You dropped something!” Her shout, which sounded quite loud, didn't seem to successfully make the man stop walking.

Grace quickly ran toward the man to bring him this possibly important item. Unfortunately, she had to give up chasing him when he got into a car. It would be impossible for her to reach the car at such a speed.

“How do I return this item? Perhaps, I'll just keep it. Maybe one day it can return to its owner." Grace opened her right palm and stared at the keychain. "Anyways, why does this thing seem to be familiar to me? Hmm, whatever. It might just look similar to those at the market.” She didn't want to think about it and walked back to the cafe. Her stomach couldn't wait to be filled with more coconut water.

[ABY]