Chapter 5

[Amanda]

“Here’s the apron”, Cassey flung the piece of cloth at me as soon as I entered the changing room. Thanks to Tracy, the blondie who showed me the way. I gave her a sidelong glance as I wound the ribbons around my narrow waist. Then I proceeded to tie my hair into a tight bun. I took a deep breath as I heard Tracy call me from behind. A new job, a new beginning. Saying a silent prayer to whoever was ready to listen in the Heavens above I left the room.

By 9, the cafe was almost full. The clinking of porcelain mugs and forks and spoons against the plates teamed up with the soft background music, for some reason,  had a somewhat calming effect on me. I was asked to refill the mugs when needed and asked to clean the dishes later. Since the cafe was new they were short of staff even now. There were only four of us excluding our employer. Trevor, a guy in his 20s, was in charge of making coffee. Cassey sometimes waitresses and sometimes helps with the stocks. Sammy or Samantha, the cashier whom I met the other day, was well...in charge of the cash. Tracy waited tables because she was as I could see popular among customers for her bubbly nature.

I pasted a smile, trying to be jovial with the customers. It wasn’t hard. I just hoped that I wouldn’t have to deal with someone who tested my temper and be able to keep this job until I could get a better one. 

~~~~

It was a crisp Friday morning but I was running late. I somehow managed to slip on the sneakers and rush out. I gave a swift glance at my watch, it read 7:30. Dang! How on earth did I sleep in? I cursed the gin that I had yesterday as Tracy, Trevor and I made a detour to the local pub. My head was hammering and the whole bus ride was made even more tortuous by a wailing kid. God, I need to remember that I have low alcohol tolerance.

I stumbled into the cafe and thankfully did not face Mr. Brown’s’ wrath immediately. Trevor greeted with a huge grin, “Hey Many”. I groaned a greeting in return as I hurried towards the changing room.

“She finally decides to show up”, Cassey snarks the moment I stepped in. “Cass, please”, Samantha warned. My head was throbbing now.  My gaze flitted towards Tracy who smiled apologetically. I remained silent, all the while listening to Cassey’s grumbling. The last thing I needed was to argue with a coworker and get fired. For some reason, Cassey did not like me. She just thought that I was not cut-out for this job which I wasn’t but do I care? Nope.

Mr.Brown did not surprisingly say anything to me. Maybe because I was late for the first time. I had diligently filled the cupcake trays, ground the coffee and cleaned the counter. I had also re-checked the cleanliness of each table. At 8:30 he flipped the sign and we got ready for business. 

I should have known that when your day starts badly, it somehow manages to maintain that status. My day had turned from bad to worse. First I managed to spill coffee on one of the customers - totally not cliche. I blame it on my hangover! The guy was cute and courteous but what made me feel bad was I had spilt coffee on his dairy, a certain portion of the page was stained and the ink was blotched. We had to compensate for it with free breakfast.

This earned me a good lecture from Mr. Brown and I silently listened to it. I deserved it after all. But that wasn’t the worst highlight of the day. It was when all of sudden, a girl shouted, “Oh my gosh, it's Dominic!” I stilled. I heard excited whispers and saw several pairs of eyes turn to look out of the window.

I did not once turn my gaze towards that direction. Instead, I concentrated on cleaning the counter and grounding more coffee. “Can’t believe the guy is here”, Trevor gushed. So his charm works on other guys as well. Interesting. The bell jingled and by the soft, collective gasps I knew he had entered the cafe. Thankfully my back was turned to him.

“Oh, is that his girlfriend?” I heard Sammy whisper excitedly. My back tensed. My heart gave a painful squeeze. Why was I feeling this way? I shouldn’t. He was after all, not mine anymore. 

I clenched my teeth and took the coffee kettle to refill the mug of table number 4. I deliberately avoided looking at their direction. I threw a surreptitious glance at their way, his face was obscured by a brunette. Mr. Brown was attending them, a huge smile on his face. My heart was pounding as I was called by another customer - a middle-aged man, for a refill. His table was right next to theirs. He wouldn’t recognise me, would he?

Mr. Brown had also waltzed away as I reached the designated table. Damn he, at least he could have distracted them. My pleas were heard as two girls went up to him and asked for a selfie. In the meantime, I hurriedly refilled the mug and went back to the counter. For the moment it was my safe haven.

I refused to listen to his voice or look at him even though he was sharing the same space as me. “Oh they are arguing”, Trevor whispered to me. I jumped, not having noticed when he had sidled up next to me, “So?” He gave me a funny look, “You don’t like Dominic?” 

I opened my mouth to say an answer but couldn’t give any. My feelings were still complicated. So I settled for, “I am not nosy enough to pry into his personal affairs”. He scowled, “You’re no fun”. I shrugged nonchalantly. He didn’t know what I was feeling at the moment.

I did not need to know or want to know who he was with now or was with earlier. Who he sleeps with or who is his current girlfriend. My heart was battered enough and was still in the process of healing. Deep down I knew I hadn’t moved on. I did not need more reminders about how that wasn’t the case with him. 

After idling for a while since everyone seemed to be too engrossed by the superstar’s presence, I decided to clean the dishes. Just to do something. 

As I was  about to leave, Tracy suddenly came into my line of vision and said, “Amanda can you please take this to table no.8?” Handing me the tray filled with food, she chirped thanks and scurried to wait at the other tables. I was too baffled and too shocked to protest.

Now I had to serve food at Dominic’s table?  God really hated me.