Sisters [book one]

Chapter Ten

Dedicated to @rubystar21 because I love her and she has been caught up in some nasty arguments on here. Well done for sticking through!

Chapter Ten

My second Saturday at All Things Sweet turns out to be as worse as the first. But I make it through the day without a panic attack and I'm better at handling the till. So much so that I don't have to keep calling Katherine every time a customer walks through the door.

Fifteen minutes before closing time, Zac walks in, carrying three Starbucks coffees. "Hi," he says. "I bought coffee."

He sets the coffees beside the till and says, "Which one would you like? There's a Peppermint Mocha, an Iced Caramel Latte and a Hazelnut Frappuccino."

"The Peppermint Mocha," I say, and Zac slides a cup from the cardboard cut-out and hands it to me. "Thanks."

He ties an apron around his waist and pokes his head into the kitchen. He says something to Katherine and loses another coffee. Then he stands beside me behind the till.

I take a sip. I'm not sure what blend of drink a mocha is but it's not too hot on the tongue and the peppermint is soothing.

"How was your second day?" Zac says.

"It was good."

Zac nods. "Good."

I make the mental note of buying Zac a coffee one day, to implicitly pay him back.

A woman enters and I grip my coffee cup that little bit tighter. She eyes the gingerbread men next to the fruit cake and Zac says, "Good afternoon," and the woman smiles.

"Can I have six gingerbread men?" she says.

"Sure!" Zac beams. I take the opportunity to clear away some plates and silverware from a table, leaving Zac to tackle the till.

I balance the plates on my forearms and the silverware rattles. I forget there's a step a few metres in front of the till and I trip up. Surprise leaves me flailing through the air with no way of regaining my composure. The plates slide out of my hands and my eyes widen. My mouth gapes open. I land on my butt. Hard.

"Are you alright?" Zac says, at my side. The gingerbread-staring woman frowns worriedly and I turn a deep shade of red.

"I'm so sorry," I say, and my eyes well with tears. There's broken glass and crumbs all over the floor. Katherine bursts through the kitchen door.

"What happened?" she says, but she doesn't need an explanation. The evidence of my not-so-graceful stumble is bright as day for anybody to walk through the shop door and see. I start picking up shards of broken glass but Zac puts his hand on my arm.

"Don't, I'll get a dustpan and brush," he says, and he squeezes past Katherine to the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" the gingerbread woman says, and I nod.

I try not to blink and I think Katherine's going to shout at me but instead she says, "Step away from the glass," so I stand up and shuffle behind the till.

Zac returns with a dustpan and brush and cleans up the mess. I want to tell him I'll do it myself but I know if I try and string a coherent sentence together, I'll cry. Instead, I pull a half-smile for the gingerbread woman and drop half a dozen gingerbread men into a box.

"That'll be sixteen dollars," I say. After an exchange of money, the cash machine spits out a receipt and I give her the box. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you," the woman says then she exits the shop. Katherine's gone back into the kitchen and Zac's kneeling on the floor, his back turned to me. I put my head in my hands. My cheeks burn.