Third World Café: A Book of Short Stories

By Anthony Maillard

The Third World Caf is a quaint coffee shop that specializes in coffee and tea from
around the world. The Caf has twenty-fi ve tables for seating approximately one
hundred patrons. In addition to the special teas and coffees, they also serve various
desserts muffi ns, from plain to sesame-seed and blueberry; and cakes from
cheesecakes to various chocolate-covered delicacies.
Third World Caf is a book of fi ctional short stories based on this caf in Toronto,
Canada. Moving from table to table throughout the caf, the author eavesdrops
on the various conversations at each table. With a clientele that is mostly ethno-
Canadian, the conversations make for engaging stories with a wide range of topics
from homosexuality, inter-racial love; abuse, infi delity, and just plain boring love.
The interaction at each table makes for exciting reading as the author chooses to
identify the patrons by name only. The challenge to the reader is to identify each
participant based on their names and their conversational style.
Each table not only provides a new conversation but a new perspective on many
subjects as the customers come from various walks of life. Some come for the tea,
coffee and desserts; others make it a casual place for a regular rendezvous; some like
the non-alcoholic nature of the establishment; some like the maturity level of the
clientele; and others come to enjoy the quiet atmosphere with its lavish murals. Most
of them return because of the take me away atmosphere that the owner worked so
hard to create.
The author leads you through fi fteen tables of unexpected twists and turns as you head
to the surprise ending. Welcome inside the Third World Caf.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483655505

Anthony Maillard

Anthony Maillard is a Business Analyst, writer, photographer and musician. In the early nineties, he published a small magazine entitled If Yuh Int’rested – providing news from the Caribbean to West Indians in North American. His recent (Not so idle) Thoughts and Questions continues to be listed on Amazon and Xlibris web sites. Third World Café is Anthony’s second book and represents a new venture into fi ctional short stories based in a small café in Toronto, Canada. Once again, Anthony displays his ability to ‘engage souls’ as he eavesdrops and documents the conversations at each table while heading to a ‘well thought out’ surprise ending.

Book preview

Contents

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

FOREWORD

TABLE 1

Closet Confession

TABLE 2

Come Back Liza

TABLE 3

Going to the Next Level

TABLE 4

Ming and Sonji: A Love Story

TABLE 5

White Diamonds

TABLE 6

The End of the Road Less Travelled

TABLE 7

My Mother, My Self

TABLE 8

The Way to a Man’s Heart

TABLE 9

The Return of Mr. Bridges

TABLE 10

Obsessive Possessive

TABLE 11

The Gate

TABLE 12

Nightmare at Pelican Cove

TABLE 13

Sharon’s Dilemma

TABLE 14

Having My Baby

TABLE 15

The Gift of Discernment

TABLE 16

The Yellow Apron

For my sisters:

Keitha

Molly

Monica

Patricia

Victoria

and

Jeanette

It is through their love and guidance that I learned to

enjoy life and appreciate people as characters

in the play entitled

My Life.

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

All photographs were taken by Anthony Maillard, except Plowing the Field on page 39 by Philip Bryde-Hennessey; and Carnival in Rio on page 95 by Bernard Fernandes.

FOREWORD

The Third World Café is a quaint coffee shop that specializes in coffee and tea from around the world. The Café has twenty-five tables for seating approximately one hundred patrons and in addition to the special teas and coffees, they also serve various desserts — muffins, from plain to sesame-seed and blueberry; and cakes — from cheesecakes to various chocolate-covered delicacies. All of these can be purchased by the slice with your favorite coffee or tea.

Eight waiters and waitresses dutifully try to satisfy the needs of the patrons. Like every business establishment, their goal is to sell as much tea and coffee as possible — the more exotic, the better and the more expensive. And don’t forget the desserts.

The Café is located in the corner of a busy mall near downtown Toronto, Canada. An entrance to the mall as well as to the parking lot allows easy access for the evening crowd when the mall is closed. The serene atmosphere in the Café is in stark contrast to the bustling activity in the mall.

Once inside the Café, the walls are painted with a continuous mural reflecting life-styles in various Third World countries. Depending on your assigned sitting area, you could be engulfed by a sprawling beach; an outdoor café in France; Pike Market in Seattle; a long wooden bridge; a mangrove of coconut trees with an ocean backdrop; a forest of various fauna; or even a gondola in Venice. All of the individual murals blend seamlessly to create a single mural that the casual onlooker would have to carefully inspect, to identify where one mural ends and the other begins. A specially designed lighting scheme adds an additional unique effect to each mural. The minimal overhead lighting is subdued enough to create an open ambiance while still providing each table with privacy.

For his final touch, the owner placed a six-CD compilation of music from various Third World countries in his jukebox. The music is subtly piped through twelve carefully placed black Bose speakers that are hung from the ceiling and discreetly hidden from the customer’s view.

The customers at the Third World Café come from various walks of life but increasingly over the years the clientele have become more ethnic-Canadian. Some come for the tea, coffee and desserts; others make it a casual place for a regular rendezvous; some like the non-alcoholic nature of the establishment; some like the maturity level of the clientele; and others come to enjoy the quiet atmosphere with its lavish murals. Most of them return because of the take me away atmosphere that the owner worked so hard to create. His success is proven by his return business.

This Friday evening, we join some of the patrons of the Third World Café as we meander from table to table eavesdropping on their conversations. We choose to identify the patrons by name only, thus allowing each conversation to provide a different insight into the person, their lives and their heritage.

Welcome inside the Third World Café.

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TABLE 1

Closet Confession

This must be really heartbreaking for you eh?

Heartbreaking? It’s devastating! I can’t believe she would do this to me. I can’t believe that after all these years… Joe shook his head in disbelief and took another sip of his English tea.

I don’t mean to make you talk about this if it’s too painful, Phil said, trying to be inquisitive but supportive at the same time.

It’s all right. I asked you to come and talk to me, remember? This may be painful but I have to tell somebody and I have to expect that you will have questions. Hell, I have to tell somebody, eh. I’ve kept this bottled-up inside me for a week now. I just can’t believe… .

Take it easy, take it easy, Phil tried to calm him down as Joe was becoming more distressed. I’m here for you. If you can’t call on your friends at a time like this, who can you call, eh? Phil paused a while not really expecting an answer, then joked, Ghostbusters?

They both enjoyed a momentary laugh and sipped their drinks quietly. Although he had a million questions, Phil didn’t want to interrupt Joe’s silence. He could see that Joe was mentally processing the situation and patiently waited for him to re-initiate the conversation.

Joe gazed around the Café scanning the other patrons. Finally, he turned to Phil. Do you know what it’s like to have your whole life gutted from you? Phil slowly placed his cup on the table and stared blankly at Joe. Do you know what it feels like to have your entire stomach turned upside down in one swoop and on top of that, have the person who just happens to be the guilty party, try to convince you that it’s all normal?

Phil didn’t know what to respond or if it was the right time to jump in with one of his million questions. Instead, he repeated, this must be really heartbreaking for you? Even in the dimly lit room, he could see that Joe was almost in tears. He decided to venture… . But I don’t understand what happened? You and Jackie have been married for a long time.

Thirty-seven years, Joe confirmed.

Thirty-seven years is a long time. I’m sure that you guys were the perfect couple. What happened? How long has this been going on? How did you find out? Phil couldn’t control himself any longer.

Perfect couple? Yeah, we were a perfect couple. Everybody thought so. I even thought so. We had everything. Did you know we were High School sweethearts?

No, I didn’t know that.

"Yeah, we were almost first loves. They sat silent again as Joe stared away from Phil as if gazing into his past. Upon his return, he continued, I’m thinking back to see if there was ever any hint of this and I can’t for the life of me find any… I mean, do these things just happen and people just… go on with their lives? What do we tell the kids? Bobby’s ready to move out any day now — he’s the youngest. Did I mention that he got a scholarship to play with the Bruins? Their farm team… He’s really lucky. He’s been playing hockey since he was three… From the day he got his first hockey stick, you could see he was a natural. Now he’s going to live his dream. I’m really excited for him." Joe was smiling with pride.

That’s excellent! You’re a very fortunate man. I may have to pay to go see your son play some day, Phil ribbed.

Unfortunately, Joe paid no attention to his humor as his sullen mood returned. Yeah, he’s gone soon. He’s waiting for the final call or letter or something. Then Jackie and I will have the house all to ourselves. I thought this was the time in people’s lives when they were supposed to be excited about their kids leaving home so they could get back to spending more time together and rekindling that old flame.

Did the flame go out over the years? Is that it? Phil persisted.

To a certain degree. You don’t last almost forty years in a marriage without some ups and downs, especially with five children.

And Jackie never worked, eh?

Not a day in her life! We agreed from the beginning that she would stay home and take care of the kids. She almost insisted on it. It never bothered me. Sure, there were times we could have used the extra income… with five kids, who couldn’t? But, in the end even though you have to give up a lot of things, you convince yourself that it’s worth it, for the sake of the kids — at least until now. Now, I just get a sick feeling thinking that it was a massive waste of time.

Come on, it wasn’t a waste of time. You have five beautiful children. Phil tried his best…

Yeah, did I tell you that Jennifer finished her Masters?

No, that’s excellent! That must have cost a fortune.

Yeah, fortunately her husband is okay job wise, you know?

Yeah. She ‘lucked out,’ eh. Phil commented.

Yeah, Joe agreed. "She played her cards right. Too bad the others can’t seem to get their lives together. Joe Junior is wasting his life away somewhere. Last I heard he was playing guitar in some Rock and Roll band. He’s ‘doing gigs . . .’ he says. Joe shook his head in disgust. The twins are working in the Zellers warehouse. I think they’re doing tag-team fork-lifting, Joe burst out laughing. Our only hope is Bobby," Joe concluded.

Phil didn’t know how to react to Joe’s sudden outburst of laughter. Once again, he tried to put a positive spin on things. You have five beautiful kids and they love you to death. They get along well together and they always come home for the special occasions — you said so yourself.

Yeah, you’re right. I just don’t know how I’m going to tell them about this.

Why do you have to tell them?

Joe was adamant, well I’m certainly not going to stay married to their mother in this situation. They’ll have to find out sooner or later.

I guess so, Phil said dejectedly. He let a long silence pass before finally asking, So what happened?

Joe took a deep breath and let the air out slowly through his pursed lips. I have never been sick a day in my life — not to the point where I had to leave work and go home anyway… but last Tuesday I was just feeling so sick, I couldn’t take it anymore. It must have been something we ate at lunch because I was hurting to the point where I couldn’t stand up any longer. My manager saw that I was in pain and insisted that I leave for the rest of the day. Thank God my job is secure enough that I could take the afternoon off eh.

You’re still at Moore’s right? Phil asked.

Yeah, on Kennedy…

I remember.

Anyway, Joe continued, let me ‘cut to the chase.’ I got home and I guess they didn’t hear me come in. I walked into the bedroom and there they were on our bed — Jackie and Ricky.

Ricky? I thought you said it was a woman?

Ricky is a woman! They’ve been friends for over ten years. She comes over to the house all the time. Could you imagine? I never suspected a thing.

How long has it been going on? What did they say? Phil was eager to hear the entire story.

Well I was so shocked that I yelled, ‘what the hell are you doing?’ — which was a pretty stupid question when you think about it. They rolled over, surprised of course. My wife jumped out of bed and grabbed her robe. Ricky just rolled over and continued to lay on the bed… naked… like nothing was wrong. The three of us stayed there staring at each other — me at the door, Jackie standing at the side of the bed with her robe on and Ricky, lying on the bed as if inviting me to join them. Huh! It was an awkward and ugly moment that I’ve replayed in my mind several times over the past few days. I wish the image wasn’t so burnt in my memory.

So what did you do? Phil jumped in.

I walked out of the room and headed to the living room for a stiff drink. I really didn’t know what else to do. Jackie followed me; yelling that ‘I didn’t understand.’

You don’t understand? Phil couldn’t hold the astonishment.

Could you believe that? ‘I don’t understand.’ I find my wife of thirty-odd years in bed with another woman and she tells me that I don’t understand. What the hell exactly was I supposed to understand? Phil remained silent and Joe saw the questioning look on his face. Apparently this had been going on since they’ve known each other. Yeah really, I should have suspected something. Now I know why Ricky is always dressed like that eh?

Dressed like what?

"You know! She’s always dressed like a man and she’s got this short boy-cut hairstyle. I should have suspected something. I’m just a fool not to think…"

Not every woman who has a short ‘boy-cut’ hair style is a lesbian, you know, Phil corrected.

Maybe not every woman but the one I found my wife in bed with is certainly one and I have the visual proof burned in my memory forever.

And you never suspected anything, eh? Phil tried to get back to the situation at hand.

What’s there to suspect? I have a wonderful, happy wife and five beautiful albeit strange kids. Her lifestyle is her lifestyle. I never judged… Jackie and I talked a couple of times about why Ricky had no boyfriends but Jackie always played it off saying that she was too hurt from her previous relationships. Who would have guessed? Joe shrugged his shoulders. The stupid thing about this is that Jackie keeps trying to explain the situation to me as if there could possibly be any justifiable explanation… She keeps saying ‘you don’t understand.’ And I keep saying ‘you’re right, I don’t understand.’ I mean, how do you understand finding your wife in bed with another woman? How do you understand your entire life thrown down the drain? How do I face my friends? How do I face my kids? I haven’t been back to work since Tuesday. That’s three days more than I’ve taken off in the last fifteen years.

They sat in silence for a while then Phil, sensing the need to turn the conversation around asked, So what are you going to do?

Joe was emphatic. I’ve called the kids… We are going to have a family meeting this weekend.

You’re going to tell them all together?

No, I’m not going to tell them anything about that. I don’t know whether I’m too embarrassed or just downright humiliated. Besides, I wouldn’t know where to start.

So what are you going to tell them?

I’ve been thinking about that… I’ll let Jackie tell them whatever she wants to tell them. I’m just going to say that their mother and I no longer see eye-to-eye and we’re getting a divorce.

A divorce? That’s sudden. Are you sure you want to do that? After all, we are not youngsters anymore you know. Phil tried to lessen the impact of