Cinderella sat down at the table and leaned back in the rickety wooden chair.
The middle-aged hostess placed a wooden cup on the table and asked, “Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.” Cinderella wrapped her hands around the cup and held it tightly.
“You want me to put in an order for some food for you?” The hostess leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “You look tired and hungry.”
“I look that bad?” Cinderella pulled her hair to the side and tried to ignore the gray hair she saw.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way. From the look of your boots and cloak, I can see that you’ve been out in the rain. There’s mud all over you and you just look tired. That’s all.”
Cinderella took a quick sip of the lukewarm water and nodded. “I did get caught in all that rain. It’s pretty bad on the roads.” She did her best to stay cheerful and asked, “What would you recommend I eat?”
“You’ll want to try the home fries. They’re cooked just right and just a bit spicy.” The hostess thought a second and added, “And I’d recommend the roasted chicken.”
“Sounds delicious.” Cinderella put her cup down and smiled at the hostess. “I’ll take that, please.”
“Here’s some bread and some honey butter to tide you over before the meal comes out. You want anything else to drink?”
“May I have a mug of your hot cider?” Cinderella rubbed her hands together and shivered. “I could use a little something to warm me up.”
“Sure, I’ll bring it right over.” The hostess pointed across the room and added, “Why don’t you go and sit by the fire? I’ll bring the cider over to you and I’ll mark this table as taken, so you won’t have to worry about losing your seat.”
“That’s very generous of you.” Cinderella got up and turned back. “What’s your name?”
“Belinda.” The hostess smiled and waved. “Go get warm and I’ll be right over with your drink.”
Cinderella walked across the width of the inn and headed toward the large fireplace on the opposite side of the room.
Packed in with tables and lots of people, the overall din of talking filled the large space. Careful not to bump into anyone, Cinderella navigated around the tables, and eyed an open spot by the fire.
She headed in that direction and turned right abruptly as a man backed up his chair in front of her. She narrowly avoided a collision with the man in the chair, but bumped into a man holding a beer.
He tried to steady his arm, but the mug tipped and spilled beer onto his plate of food.
Embarrassed, Cinderella stopped and tried to clean up the beer with her hands. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you.”
He placed his mug away from the spill and replied, “It’s okay. It was an accident.”
When he glanced up, Cinderella hesitated like a cat had caught her tongue.
Her heart beat fast as she recognized him. “Henri, is that you?”
Not having seen her in more than a decade, it took a moment for him to recognize her and he nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”
“How have you been?” She started off with a safe question as memories of his kissing her rose to the forefront of her mind. His tenderness toward her became rekindled as she struggled to fight off the memories of their shared past.
“I’ve been good.” He leaned back in his chair and used his napkin to stop the beer from spilling off the table. “I’m in town on some business.”
She tried her best to clear her memories, but found it harder to do so than she had expected. For a few seconds, she traveled back in time, when they had been together, in love, and the world seemed like an open and wondrous place. Her heart ached as she remembered their breakup. “I’m happy to hear that you’re doing well.”
To be polite, he asked in return, “And what about you? How have you been?”
“Things have been great.” She lied so quickly that she hoped that he couldn’t see through her. “I’m on my way back home, but needed to stop here for the night.” She thumbed toward a window. “With the rain coming down so hard, I couldn’t see anything in the dark, so I thought I’d get some food and a good night of sleep.”
“Yeah, the rain was coming down pretty hard earlier.” He placed his wet napkin off to the side of the table and added, “You stopped at a good place. They have great food and I’ve never had an issue with any of their rooms.”
“Would you mind if I sit down and join you?” Cinderella regretted what she said as soon as the words came out.
Henri ran his hand through his beard and hesitated.
From behind her, a young woman gingerly navigated around Cinderella and put her hands on the back of the second chair at the table. “Hon, who’s this?”
Henri cleared his throat and replied, “She’s an old friend.” He stood up and said, “Julia, this is Sophia. I met her on one of my first excursions in the French court many years ago.”
Cinderella reached out her hand and said, “I don’t go by Sophia much these days. You can call me Cinderella.”
Julia warily took her hand and shook it like she would a dead fish. “That’s a weird name.”
She quickly let go of Cinderella’s hand and sat down. With long, curly blonde hair, green eyes, and beautiful face, Julia settled in her chair and glanced down with a grimace on her face when she noticed the remnants of the spilled beer.
Henri quickly sat back down and changed the conversation. “It was great seeing you. I hope you have a safe journey home.”
Taking the hint, Cinderella backed away from the table to give them some space. “Yes, it was great seeing you as well. I hope you both have a great stay in the city.”
She waved and took her leave, spinning around before she embarrassed herself even more. When she arrived at the fire, she took the spot furthest from Henri’s table in the hope that she could hide herself among the large crowd of patrons in the inn.
She sat down on an open stool and leaned down toward the roaring fire with her hands outstretched. The heat from the fire washed over her and she closed her eyes.
Memories of Henri came to her, and she banished them as quickly as she could.
“Miss, here’s your cider.” Belinda came around to Cinderella’s left side and held the mug in both her hands.
“Thank you.” Cinderella sat up and turned toward Belinda and accepted the mug. The warmth felt good in her hands.
“Are you okay?” Belinda asked. She leaned in closer. “I saw you had an accident at a table. Was he mean to you?”
Cinderella shook her head and sighed. “No, he’s someone from my past.”
Belinda chuckled and replied, “From that look on your face, I think he was more than ‘someone from your past.’”
“I loved him with all my heart.” Saying the words did not make her feelings of unease go away.
“Well, if he’s no longer in your life and he’s with that waif of a thing now, I can pretty much bet that he’s not the sticking around kind of man.” Belinda glanced back over her shoulder at Henri. “Yeah, I bet he broke your heart.”
“Yes, he did.” Cinderella wallowed a few more moments in the past and kept quiet.
“Look, if it were me, I’d be happy that I didn’t end up with him. My grandmother used to always tell me that there were plenty of fish in the sea.” Belinda gently placed her hand on Cinderella’s shoulder. “Pinning away for what once was only gets you stuck. Trust me, I’ve done it often enough to know that it’s always a waste of time.”
Cinderella looked up and smiled. “I know. I know. You’re right. I just didn’t expect to bump into him out of the blue like this. I hadn’t thought about him in years. My mind did a few tricks on me, making me think that I could recapture what we once had, even though things all fell apart horribly.”
“I hear you. I have a proposition for you.” Belinda took her hand away and pointed at the fire. “How about I bring a high top table over and you can eat your dinner here? That way, you’ll be away from him and can stay warm. It’s the best of both worlds.”
“That’s really generous of you. I’d love that.” Cinderella put her hands together and said, “Thank you for being so kind to me. It’s been a rough day and you’ve really helped me.”
“We girls have to stick together. Men like him leave broken hearts all over the place.” Belinda winked. “I’ll be right back with that table.”
“Thank you.”
Cinderella turned back toward the fire and she took a deep breath. The smoke from the fire wasn’t too bad, and she did her best to clear the cobwebs within her mind. Feeling sorry for herself and trying to reclaim the past wasn’t going to make her feel better.
As vulnerable as she felt, she needed some food and a good night of sleep.
After Belinda brought over the high top table, she took a chance and glanced over at where Henri ate. He and Julia had already left. A pang of hurt washed over her, and she quickly turned away.
“Your food will be out in a few minutes.” Belinda positioned the table on the right side of the large fireplace and helped Cinderella drag over the heavy stool.
“No, I’m good.” Cinderella did her best to make the lie a truth, but even she knew that she had failed doing so.
Belinda put her hands on her hip and started to say something, but changed her train of thought and lowered her voice. “Be easy on yourself. You’ll feel better in the morning.” She placed her hand on Cinderella’s and said, “When I run into an old lover, to clear my head, I think about one good thing that came out of my time with them. That helps me see the bigger picture. So, what would that be for you?”
Cinderella’s face lit up and she could not hide her smile. “That’s easy. It’s my daughter.”
Outside, the rain had begun to come down again. But in the warmth of the inn, with so many people together eating and drinking, Cinderella could not hear it.
Instead, she patted Belinda’s hand in response and let the past go. For good or for bad, she couldn’t change any of that now. All she had was the present.
And for her, that would be good enough.