The Phone Call

Monday, the 2nd of May.

03:13pm

The coffee shop on Hudson street was not a really fancy one but it was one that many people loved to come and get a cup of coffee and some snacks, because the customer service there was top notch, rated a plus ten out of ten. The coffee shop had been on Hudson street for only two years but its customers spread further than that. The coffee shop had its must busy times in the morning when people going off to work would stop by for a cup of coffee and some snacks. In the afternoons like this, it was not as busy as that as most people placed orders over the phone and in the evenings it was almost empty, people only came by for the snacks. No body wanted to drink a cup of coffee right before bed time.

"One with extra cream Gabby?" He beamed and winked at the elderly lady as he decorated her cup of coffee. Gabby winked back and laughed out loud, placing one hand on her chest as she did so.

"You are such a silly young man." She admonished playfully. "You might just make me laugh to death!"

He smiled back and placed the cup of warm creamy coffee in front of her on the counter. "Now, now Gabby, I would not be much of a son in law if I did that now would I?" He winked again which earned another round of laughter from Gabby.

"Oh not again." She picked up the cup and while admiring the grain shaped design on the top of her coffee, she said. "I have just one daughter and she is already married."

"Oh no..." He said and grabbed the part of his chest above his heart and faked a pained look. "You just broke my heart again."

"Oh stop it already!" She giggled. "Stop with a your fanatics and tell me how much does this work of art cost."

"For you Gabby, this one is on the house." He lifted both hands up to demonstrate.

"All the coffee I have ever bought from you have always been on the house." She smirked at him. "But I could at least drop a tip? Do not say no."

He shrugged his shoulders in defeat and nodded. "Well al-right Gab."

The elderly lady smiled and shook her head, then went over to the tip box and put in a five dollar note, then she looked back at the young man who was already attending to another customer and smiled before going off to a seat by the windows side.

As soon as he was done attending to that customer the phone rang, he went away from behind the counter to the back, where the phone hung on a wall and snatched it from its cradle, bringing it to his ears.

"Hi, you have reached Rain coffee shop, how can I be of service?" He spoke into the receiver. The next voice he heard was not one he was expecting to hear and the smile immediately fell from his face. He held the phone to his ear for a couple more seconds before the line went dead and he replaced the phone back in its cradle.

For right years he has not heard from him and now, all of a sudden he wanted him to return back home.

"Ameila." He called to an attendant and a cherry girl with deep brown hair turned to face him, she smiled.

"Yes Chester?"

"I need to head out some where and I may or may not be back. Take care of things here for me?"

"Yes sir!" She playfully replied and went back to attending to the customers.

Chester took off the apron he had on and threw it onto the hook just by the exit door before he stepped out, the cool breeze of the Tribeca spring season welcomed him into the outside world. Chester shut the door behind him and stood there for a while, looking ahead of him but not exactly taking in the scenery, his mind was elsewhere. Why would grand father call him? He sighed and began to walk, he needed some time to himself, he needed some time to think and clear his head, mind and thoughts and nothing sounded better right now than going for a long drive.

His mid night blue Honda FCX clarity had been the lone car parked on this side of the street when he had drove in earlier in the morning, but now it sat in between a mini van and a yellow taxi cab, giving him very little space to maneuver his way out from between them, but there was enough space for Chester, just enough space which he needed to move out, it had been just the exact space he had needed to get away from his over bearing and controlling grand father and his “supposed” duties towards the company. He got into the car and took a while to calm down, steadily breathing in and breathing out before he drove off.

Chester Hunt, a self made business man, owner of The Rain coffee shop and a number of other booming and widely growing businesses abroad, an under cover billionaire, legitimate grand son of the well known and renounced Mr. Colin Hunt and the sole inheritor of Skyline businesses. A thirty five year old handsome man that had the ability to make women turn their heads in his direction more than twice. Despite the wealthy family and extremely influential background he came from, Chester was too humble and it was this humility of his that had his grand father screaming down at him that he had to be strong and bold and man up to his duties. But Chester was all that, he was strong and not just physically, he was bold and he was wise too, Chester just did not believe in throwing his weight around and looking down on other people just because he had more money and more power and a higher status that the others. Grand father did not follow his logic, he had seen every thing as being weak and the last thing he wanted was to have a weak successor.

One thing had boggled Chester though, despite Grand father’s strict rules and tough exterior shell, he had not tried to stop Chester when he was leaving the house years back, he had merely even taken a look at him and it was not as if Chester had gone to meet him to ask for his permission before leaving the house any way, but still, Chester had thought that the man would have had him bound or would have kept some men on him to make sure that he never tried to “escape” from his duties. But Grand father had done none of that, even after he knew that Chester had left.

But that was eight years back, he had left Manhattan, New York for the busy California city and he had stayed there six years, being wasteful and extravagant and for the first time in his life, Chester had thrown not just his weight but also his money around. He had lived lavishly for almost two years then, in his attempt to over come whatever grief he had carried in his hear from New York and to explore his freedom, freedom from his “duties”, freedom from his Grand father and freedom from all the hate at home.

He only returned to New York two years ago and had kept a very low profile, no body knew who this Chester was, no body knew him as Chester Hunt of the Skyline group and he had also felt free so he had settled here, in lower Manhattan, Tribeca. The Rain coffee shop was his get away place, because in here, he could be himself and he could interact freely with the other people whom his Grand father would have termed “of lower status than himself”, but he was doing what gave him peace of mind and joy.

Chester was a business man and he still is, but he did not want to grow up all sad and grumpy and lonely as his Grand father did. When it was time for business, Chester knew what face he had to put on and when business was over, he could be himself. That was a weakness for Grand father.

But now, after eight years, Grand father had called him back home. He had not requested to see him and he had not exactly commanded him to come back either, all he had asked for was to see him, but Chester knew what exactly it was that Grand father wanted. He wanted his successor back into the business. A business Chester never actually could leave in the first place, he had a twenty eight percent share in the company and knowing that this company was his inheritance, he could not abandon it. He was thankful for the break though; it was something he had needed.

*  *  *  *  *

"Hi, you have reached Rain coffee shop, how can I be of service?" He had said after picking up the phone call.

“Grand father wants to talk to you.” The caller had said, Chester had not under stood what the man had meant until he heard the other voice.

“Chester.” He had immediately recognized the voice and he had been left speechless for a while. “Chester Hunt, this is Grand father.”

“Grand father…” What could he say? He had a feeling of longing suddenly and he realized that he had missed the man he had run away from. He was still family and this had been the man that had helped raise him.

“Come home Chester. Come back to the company.”

“I am not quite done with work over here…” he began to say but Grand father interrupted him.

“I know you have been in New York for two years now. I know you have been in Manhattan. I know you have been in that coffee shop. I know that you own it Chester. I have been watching you.”

“You kept a spy on me, Grand father?” It shocked him, but after saying it out loud, it did not surprise him any more, this was after all his Grand father.

“I am your Grand father,” Colin Hunt continued. “And you are my grand son, this company is yours and you have to inherit it one day and take over running it, how do you think I could just let you go off like that?”

Chester half smiled, typical Grand father.

“Come to the company Chester, there are some people I would want you to meet.”

“Grand father, I do not…”

“I do not have that much time Chester. I also want to retire and not have to die in this seat.”

Chester paused; the man was right. Sooner or later, he would have to return, so why not now? He had stayed away for the longest of time.

“Come back Chester.”

Chester sighed. “I will Grand father.” he replied and the line went dead.

*  *  *  *  *

Chester stopped at the red light. Maybe he did need to return back home, not to stay or move in, he did not think he would ever be able to move back into that house, more over, he was already an accomplished young man and he needed his own independency as well, but he needed to return back home because no matter what happened, family was still family and family would continue to remain family.

The car behind him honked aggressively and Chester snapped out of his thoughts, he looked up to the traffic sign that had changed from red to a green before hitting the accelerator. As he drove, he could not help but feel numb; he had a longing for home and then again, he did not. He turned down the next street and headed for home, headed for his own house, right now all he needed was a cold shower and a long sleep. A really long one. He twisted his wrist to look at the watch strapped to it; 03:58pm, if he slept now, he probably would remain awake all night. He shrugged his shoulders, then he would kill that much time by doing something online, maybe watch a movie?