Every Wednesday, he came in with drawings on heavy paper and ordered black-and-white copies. Alma noticed that he wore the same sweater, carefully counted his change, and always thanked her as though she had done something special. She assumed he was an artist going through a difficult time. That assumption soon became an entire story she told herself.
His name was Roko. Once, he stayed longer because the paper jammed, and they talked about old buildings. Alma said she liked drawings in color. He replied that sometimes one wrong color changed everything. To her, it sounded like a beautiful sentence from someone who could not afford color printing.
When he left his documents the following week and asked to collect them before closing, she decided to surprise him. She lightened the background, colored several areas, and removed small marks that looked like smudges. She made a fresh, tidy folder. Beside it, she placed a coffee from a nearby café.
Roko went pale when he opened the folder. The marks were not smudges. They showed the difference between an existing wall and a proposed alteration. The documents were for an anonymous competition with precise presentation rules. The deadline was that evening. Alma listened, her face burning, realizing that he had asked her to copy his work and she had decided she knew his job better.
"I thought it would help you," she said.
"I know. But you didn't ask."
The original files had been saved. Alma closed the shop, left one light on, and reprinted everything at her own expense. Roko stayed to arrange the pages. They did not speak until they had checked the final mark. He then submitted the documents through the official portal, and she refunded his entire order.
Only afterward did she learn that he wore the sweater because he liked it, collected the coins from his car, and worked as a reasonably well-paid architect. He did not need a patron. Alma admitted that she liked him and had chosen the worst possible way to show it.
For the first time that evening, Roko smiled. He said the coffee would have been enough if it had not come with a redesigned project. The following Wednesday, he arrived without any papers. He asked whether she was free after six. Alma looked at the clock, then at him. "I am. And this time, I'll ask how you take your coffee first."