Twelve years earlier, their car had broken down on the way back from a hike. Daria and Marko stood beneath the canopy of an abandoned gas station, laughing at rain that found its way into their shoes. He kissed her for the first time there. Later, she said she would remember that evening forever. At least she had been right about that.
Her family owned a hotel, his a small auto-repair shop. The difference itself was not a problem until other people began explaining it. Her mother spoke about the future, her father about different habits. Daria defended Marko in conversations with them, then told him they needed a little more time.
Marko waited. When he found work in another city, he asked whether she wanted them to try together. Daria said she could not simply leave her family. She did not ask him to stay. They parted without a major argument, which later allowed her to call the breakup circumstances for years.
Now he stood in her hotel lobby with a bag over his shoulder. He had come for a professional conference. The gray in his hair was more visible than his years. Daria invited him for coffee and immediately wished she had chosen somewhere less polished. Around them, people quietly moved cups across expensive coasters.
They talked about work. Marko had a partner, a veterinarian he had lived with for several years. Daria was divorced. She stated it as a fact, then felt the urge to explain her entire history, as though arranging the explanations correctly could turn back time.
Outside, rain began. Both looked toward the window and knew what they had remembered. Daria said she had been a coward then. Marko was silent for a while. Then he replied that he too had expected her to solve everything instead of saying clearly how long he could wait.
He did not offer forgiveness in the form of a new romance. She did not ask for it. They talked about that evening without trying to turn it into proof that their entire lives afterward had been wrong. When he left, Daria lent him an umbrella. He said he would leave it at reception.
The next morning, she found the umbrella and a short note of thanks. She went for a walk before her first meeting, alone and without checking the weather forecast. The bakery lights reflected on the wet pavement. She bought two bread rolls and gave one to the doorman. The other she ate while walking, still warm.