"Finally it's over!" -Adelaide exclaimed with a sigh and slouched down on the nearest set of tables and chairs. She could feel her sore traps, biceps and thighs. Stretching her legs under the table she moved her feet in a circular motion with hopes of relaxing them and her stiff calves.
'The heels made things worse.' -she thought to herself as she looked back on the day.
-Day One, Afternoon-
As though they were ready by the dot, the clock struck thirteen and it was time for Tackles to await its customers. Mr Riccardo in his sepia-brown trousers and black buttoned-up shirt, stood behind the counter waiting for his customers, while Adelaide and Dylan were on and about checking the ingredients and gates respectively. Soon, they too assembled near the counter. The site staff had long gone and only Dylan stayed behind, much to the surprise of Adelaide.
The cafe was lifeless for another half an hour or so.
"Were you getting my hopes up when you talked about rush hours?" -Adelaide, who was tired of waiting, spoke under her breath, conveying her annoyance to Dylan who sat beside her in his usual 'all-mighty' posture.
"Impatient much?" -replied Dylan while taking a look at the time by his watch.
"Yes, yes I am." -Adelaide huffed out.
"Well, I guess the wait is soon going to end."
Adelaide turned to face Dylan with a confused look.
"Look at the door." -came Dylan's calm, unfazed voice.
As Adelaide turned to face the door, her sight fell on the group of office workers who stood by the door surround near the gate. They eyed the small wooden board and the mahogany wooden pillars before saying a few words to each other and making their way into the shop.
Adelaide quickly got up from her seat, put the chair in and went to the door. Her eyes fell on three men and four females, all dressed in formals, come by and walk in through the doors. She welcomed them before guiding them in and to one of their larger set of tables and chairs. The group casually smiled and took their seats before quickly taking and screening through the menu.
Adelaide decided to inform Mr Riccardo, who was in the kitchen cum storeroom, about the group's arrival. After quickly updating Mr Riccardo, she glanced in the group's direction and noticed that the group was yet to decide on their order and so, she turned her attention to Dylan who was seated.
"What are you, a ghost?! Damn, the timing with which you predicted their arrival." -Adelaide spoke, knowing very well that the man before her had probably planned and arranged for things beforehand.
"It's called advertising and observation Ms Adelaide."
"Oh! Do you perhaps know of a term called 'joke'? It would be great if you search it up, you know, in case you don't know when to interpret them."
Saying so, Adelaide hurried off to attend to the customer who called for her. Taking a note of their order, Adelaide scurried off to Mr Riccardo, all the while ignoring Dylan's displeased gaze.
And just like that, Adelaide continued to serve her customers along with Mr Riccardo. To her surprise, 'Tackles' was busy tackling a swarm of customers until five in the evening. The numbers were so overwhelming when compared to their past week that many customers ordered take-aways and the shop had run out of chocolate and egg tarts. Adelaide was quite pleased to look at the simple, last minute, orange-soda coloured stickers of 'Tackles' that were used on their takeaway, coffee paper cups and dessert boxes. The promotion had gone exceptionally well during their allotted golden hour.
-Back to present-
Adelaide with her head resting on the tabletop looked around her in an attempt to find Dylan, who hasn't been in the shop for quite a few hours now. It wasn't that he was liable to stay and look out for anything, let alone, go out of his way and HELP them keep up with their customers but, now that he had, Adelaide, who couldn't say anything before, wanted to thank him. Mainly because he reduced her workload by a whopping thirty percent, to say the least.
Getting her out of her searching spree was Carson, who placed a cup of cappuccino before Adelaide and knocked on the table near her ear. Lazily and with much strength, Adelaide lifted her head, held the warm cup in her hands and mouthed a small 'thank you' to Carson who took a seat opposite to her.
"So how'd it go?" -Carson spoke while taking a look around the now empty shop.
"Where do I start?" -Adelaide sighed out, evidently tired from the unusual work.
"From wherever you wanna?" -Carson spoke with a stifled laugh.
Taking a big gulp of her drink, Adelaide looked at Carson.
"It was hectic. I mean, it was great but so draining. I have no idea how waiters and waitresses in famous diners even hold out. My entire body is like withering in pain. But then! I feel so accomplished? No. Satisfied. Yes, satisfied. We literally served nearly a hundred customers within the span of nine hours! can you believe it? In a MERE NINE HOUR time span! Mr Riccardo was so happy that he almost declined my offer to help him with the dishes. Maybe, I should've just stuck with his rejection."
And just like that, Adelaide who had no idea where to start her banter spoke spontaneously without a break. She ranted about her difficulties, about the help she unexpectedly received, about the sales, about how their menu updates consisted of her 'customize your break' price-effective combo, which to her pleasure benefitted them well. She was only but stating that before today, Tackles oddly had the right number of customers visiting in consideration to the staff and service they had to provide, when, she saw a dark tall figure get out of his car and approach the cafe.
As the silhouette of the assumed man came to light, Adelaide saw Dylan, with his brown coat in hand, and a slightly exhausted expression held by his face. Like always, he was seen checking the time by his watch all the while taking long strides across the pavement. Adelaide's gaze didn't leave Dylan's moving figure as her eyes followed the route he took until he walked in through the wooden door of the cafe. His eyes that were screening the shop fell on her as they held an eye contact for a few seconds before she looked away and continued to sip on her drink.
Dylan took notice of the manly back that was between him and Adelaide and without any deduction, went on to take a seat at the table nearest to the one in which Adelaide and Carson were seated. Adelaide's eyes yet again followed him.
There, for a few fleeting seconds, lay thick silence in the cafe which seemed unsettling to Adelaide. She was just about to break the silence when Dylan beat her to it.
Catching the attention of a fidgety Adelaide and a Carson engrossed in his phone, Dylan spoke in his calm and soothingly deep voice.
"Is Mr Riccardo in the kitchen?"
"No, he stepped out for a moment."
To Dylan's and Adelaide's surprise, it was Carson who responded all the while frantically tapping on his phone screen. Flabbergasted for some reason, Adelaide seconded Carson's response.
"Ah... yes, Mr Riccardo is out. N-Not really sure when he'll be back though." -she completed her sentence with an awkward smile and quickly passed a glare at poor and ignorant Carson's busy body.
"I see. Well, I came for the wrap-up, the staff will be here soon to collect the items as it isn't safe to let them be overnight." -and yet again, he took a look at his watch and soon removed his phone. Excusing himself, he left the cafe, sat on an outside chair, and made a call.
Realising that she still had to thank Dylan, Adelaide slumped herself down on the table and heaved a deep sigh. She had no idea how she would thank that arse of a person who ticked her off for absolutely absurd reasons. It had already gotten quite awkward with Carson's intervention that she was even more puzzled about how she could randomly blurt it out.
"I'm sure he's not even expecting it, right?
Would that be more of a reason to just spit it out and be done with it?
But why do I sound like I'm doing him some sort of favour?
Ugh."
"Just say the two words, Addie." -Carson spoke before sighing, scaring Adelaide, who was oblivious to the fact that she was speaking out loud.
"How are you so stupid? You literally make me question why I am friends with a dummy like you." -Carson stated with a 'so done' face.
"You speak as though you don't know how easily that man gets on my nerves." -Adelaide replied with an annoyed smile and glaring eyes.
"Does it change the fact that you are grateful to him for helping you out?!" -Carson spoke with a 'duh' tone.
"Grow up, and do so by thanking him properly." -he sighed again before completing his statement with "I can't believe I am advising a twenty-five year old on such matters."
Hearing his comment made Adelaide pouted in anger, but knowing that he had a point on his end, Adelaide glanced at the picture windows, beyond which Dylan was seated. To her unprepared luck, Dylan had just finished his conversation and was seen coming back indoors and taking the seat from before.
A moment of silence passed by.
Another moment of silence passed by.
Carson now felt weird. He wanted to laugh in this situation where he didn't know what else to do but, he held back his urge and slightly kicked Adelaide under the table. Adelaide of course got the signal and the meaning of his actions and thus, determined she turned to face Dylan.
Dylan, upon feeling eyes on him too turned to face Adelaide, who looked oddly fierce and adamant to put something in action.
'Here we go' -Adelaide inwardly spoke to herself and spoke aloud the words which were far from the ones she intended to speak.
"Would you like a cup of the usual?" -she squeaked and immediately cursed herself under her breath. She could even hear Carson sigh out loud, evidently defeated by her statement. Dylan too was puzzled by Adelaide's question but gladly accepted the offer as he really did crave a good dose of caffeine.
"I-I'll go make it then." -Adelaide spoke with little confidence and got up from her seat to head to the kitchen only to be held back by Carson. Carson was confronted by not one but two, confused looking faces.
"I'll do it. Why don't you rest? You're tired right?!" -is what Carson had spoken out loud, but from the way he looked back at her, she knew he was telling her to finish what she had to. But that wasn't all. His taunting smile spoke A LOT. They screamed how she could probably kill Dylan with her splendid barista skills. Defeated and angry at Carson's taunting look, Adelaide nodded her head before taking her seat and glaring at Carson's disappearing figure.
"Your friend?" -came Dylan's voice from behind her, diverting her attention.
"Uh, yeah." -Adelaide answered with a smile and a subtle nod.
And there stood silence between the two, yet again. Adelaide could feel the seconds pass by as she could hear the faint ticking of Dylan's watch. She bit her lip, collected the courage within her, got rid of her awkwardness with a 'Fuck it' and was about to thank him properly, when, the realisation of the words being spoken out aloud dawned on her with a response.
"Sorry?" -came the voice of an astonished Dylan, baffling Adelaide.
"I- I meant, Thank you. Yes, thank you for your help earlier today. It felt like I'd go crazy if I tried to do more than I was doing back then, and so, thank you." -her sentence ended with fake dry laughter and Adelaide felt like she just wanted to hide. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to go about it but, she was glad to have said it.
Dylan smiled a small smile that looked like a mere use of facial muscles before replying, "My pleasure, Ms Adelaide."
And as if on cue, Carson was seen coming in and handing Dylan his cup of espresso and getting back to his work. Soon, the staff and Mr Riccardo had returned to the shop and after storing away the decor for tomorrow in the cafe, Mr Riccardo locked the shop and bid the three farewell after extending his never-ending appreciation to Dylan.
Before driving off, Dylan stopped his car in front of Adelaide, called out to her and told her a sentence she probably didn't want to hear and anticipate.
"Wear comfortable shoes tomorrow, things could get out of hand."
And with those random, not so positive words, Dylan signed off from work.