Golden leaves fell as I walked down the road, the cool autumn air brushed against my skin. I was on my way to start my shift at the cafe. I left Tobias and Rebecca behind at the junction, she dropped us off at home as often as possible. I remember Tobias protesting, it wasn't on her way so she didn't need to burden herself with the extra pressure of taking us all the way. Tobias the lovestricken fool he is could not hold his ground against her and lost the argument shortly after it had begun. I didn't mind, the car ride gave me more time to rest, more time to ponder.
I pushed the door open, warm fragrant air washed over me as I stepped through the doorway. Mrs Alba was already busy moving from table to table, taking orders, delivering the food and socializing with her customers. "Good afternoon Mrs Alba." I called out, she paused her conversation and smiled at me. "Good afternoon Luke, you're here a bit early today." For some reason she seemed much more cheerful today, excited about something. "I'll get ready now." And with that I went in to change and get the ingredients ready.
'That's odd.' there was a big cake sitting on the table, it was frosted with a generous amounts of cream and had a wide variety of toppings on it. It was odd because we didn't make those, it was most likely a special order. Now to the cooking, 'Hmm we're out of cookie dough, the chocolate cake is almost finished, the vanilla ice cream's gone and the fruit smoothie going to finish soon.' Based on the current metric I inferred that the cafe had a very busy morning. I spread my veil over the cafe and got to work.
First was the cookies, we needed chocolate chip, marshmallow and . Ingredients drifted out the cupboards, bowls and wisks rose from beneath. 'This was oddly relaxing.' Most of the time I just sat in a corner and closed my eyes while my mind focused on the task at hand. After carefully measuring out all the ingredients I stirred them and put it in the fridge.
Second was the smoothies. The fresh fruits answered my summons, all of them rushing over for a wash then a quick dissection with my knife. The machine greeted them, they were churned by it's crushing embrace. Their life blood flowed into cups ready to be stored in their frigid prison. The fridge was always ready to welcome new guests.
I started on the cake and ice cream, while also cutting out the cookies and putting them in the hot oven to bake. I was almost too easy now, once you master a recipe it impossible to mess up. Especially if you can put in the exact amount of ingredients every single time. Mrs Alba commented on my baking a few time. She described it as perfectly consistent but also monotonous. I guess being in perfect control didn't make you a perfect baker.
"Luke I want you to make a smoothie, put in extra strawberry, some kiwi and a bit of lime in." Mrs Alba said, reaching over the counter with the orders. Another special item we didn't have on the menu. Most likely a very important customer if she was going out of her way to prepare this much. I got to it instantly but stopped to ponder as I got the ingredients out. Strawberry, kiwi and lime, I'm not sure how those worked together, it didn't seem like something I would like to try either. This person sure had interesting taste, something told me if I cut into that cake I would also find a bizarre mix of flavors. The raisins on the cake told me enough.
Time passed, more customers came and went. All of a sudden Mrs Alba was a blur of brisk movement. She jumped into the arms of the man that just came in and buried her head in his chest. I walked over to get a good look at him, he was probably the person she was waiting for all afternoon. He was a tall, muscular man, his dark skin bore a sharp contrast to Mrs Alba's alabaster. His dark brown hair was in long braids that stopped below his shoulder blades. His looks were just as impressive as his build. Thick straight brows, sharp jawline, full lips and finally calm gentle gray eyes. "It's good to see you Gloria." His voice was just as calm and gentle as his eyes, deep and powerful but still relaxed. Mrs Alba walked him over to an empty table by the corner, gave the clean table another wipe and sat him down.
I retreated into the kitchen, giving them the privacy they deserved. Minutes later she walked into the kitchen grabbed a plate and sliced into the cake. The cake was certainly special, it had multiple layers each a different color and flavor. She also pulled the smoothie out the fridge. "That must be the special guest you've been waiting for all afternoon." She glanced at me and smiled, "Yes that my husband. I'll introduce you to him later. If you don't mind Luke can you handle the orders, I have a bit of catching up to do." She said, the plead in her voice. "It's not a problem ma'am." "Thanks Luke." And with that she rushed out the kitchen with the desserts on a tray. She was very giddy and the look in her eyes, I've seen it somewhere. Oh it was the same head over heels look Tobias and Rebecca gave each other. She certainly loved her husband, and if that short look I got at him were evidence enough, he certainly loved her too.
*Sigh* Love, why did humanity crave it so deeply. The hundreds of history books I've read describe just how far people have gone for love. In fact most of our history was either made for war or love. I still didn't understand though, in my perspective the risk far outweigh the gains. Just one rejection, or the death of the one they loved sent a person into madness. I couldn't support it knowing how much I was risking. I explained this to Tobias many times but he didn't head my warnings, now he had himself completely hooked, not even knowing how soon everything could go wrong. I moved around the cafe, taking orders, the Alba couple laughed frequently.
"Hello Luke." A familiar voice called out to me. I turned to observe the colorful Jess walking up to me. She was dressed quite nicely today, her hair had been sectioned off using colorful bands. "Good evening Jess, have a seat I'll be with you shortly." She walked passed me and took a seat at an empty table. Shortly after I walked up to her, "What would you like to order?" She glanced at the menu for a moment then at the desserts on display. "I'll have some ice cream, 2 scoops of chocolate and 1 of strawberry." She said, a cheeky smile stretching out on her face. She had made it very clear that she loved ice cream. I walked up to the counter, her order of ice cream already prepared and waiting for me. I brought the serving and she started savouring it instantly.
A short while later she signalled for me to come over. I'd wondered if she had anything to say to me, possibly a message to deliver. I stood watching her, waiting from across the table. She beckoned me even closer wiggling her finger at me. "Is there a problem Jess." She shook her head in response. "You finish your shift soon, don't you?" I glanced at the Alba couple, ideally yes, I should be done soon. But Mr and Mrs Alba were still engaged in conversation and I'd already planned to stay a bit longer today. "There's something I'd like to talk about when your done." Jess elaborated. "Yes I'll be done soon, I just need to confirm something."
"Sorry to intrude, I just wanted to know if you need anything." I asked Mrs Alba. She stopped and did a quick once over, her eyes widened when she saw how late it was outside. The sun would set soon. "Ohh Luke, no we're fine we don't need anything. Let me introduce you to my husband, Dwight. Dwight this is Luke, he's been working part-time here for over a year now." "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Alba." "The pleasure's mine Luke, thank you for helping my wife around the shop." His voice was calm, composed, the voice of a man who had everything figured out in life. Based on first impressions alone, I would say that Mr Alba was a very kind person. "Ohh would you look at the time, your shift is already over Luke. Head home I'll finish up here." "It fin—" she cut me off, "Don't worry Luke I'll be closing early today, besides your colleague is waiting for you, isn't she?" My eyes met Jess' ,yes she was waiting for me.
"I'm all set, we can head out now." I told her, as I braced myself for whatever news she had to tell me.