Her Safe Haven

Twelve.

< 2 years ago>

Out of the ten tables inside the café, two separate tables were occupied, and [Name] couldn't be prouder. She was grateful to have any customers within her first two weeks of opening, and the goofy smile on her face made that evident. With her hair pulled up in a messy bun, she wiped the sweat off of her forehead, the oven in the back doing overtime. While not that many people chose to hang out in her café, a lot of the other small businesses around her had placed bakery orders; their way of welcoming her to the local market.

Her newly recruited employee, Aphelandra, was out for her break, which forced [Name] to tend to the front of her store. She was happy she did now, after seeing those customers enjoying her pastries and coffee.

Ding~ Ding~

Her attention turned to the front door, watching as a new customer walked in. "Hello~" She greeted, internally cringing at the over-excitement in her tone. Her excited smile faltered when the greeting was not returned. Aside from the blank expression, [Name] was drawn to edgy appearance, which clashed against the preppy elders who currently sat in the café.

With his messy dark hair, sharp tired eyes, and obvious tattoos- [Name] was confident in deciding this was his first time at her café. She would have remembered him.

He walked over with his hands in his black hoodie pockets, a small swagger to each step. The only greeting she received was a slight nod of his head.

"Hi! What can I get for you today?"

He glanced over the menu, eyes drifting from the board above her head to the glass pastry case to the side. His gaze slowly trailed back to meet hers.

"What do you recommend?"

[Name] blinked, his voice matched his looks perfectly.

"Well," she quickly attempted to break out of her momentary trance. His gaze was intense, and she had to recover from the intimidation. "I suppose that depends on how sweet you like your pastry?"

A lazy smile formed, and her heart fluttered as his entire demeanor seemed to change; it was amazing what his smile could do. "As a surgeon, I try to eat less sugar. Practice what they preach, and all that." [Name's] eyes light up, her smile broadening.

"Very smart~ well in that case I recommend our almond croissant? Or our lemon tart? We have a coffee that pairs well with both of them- oh unless you prefer tea? Because we have a green tea that pairs well with the lemon tart." His smile slowly lifted to a smirk as he watched [Name] list the many options she had to offer. When he didn't immediately reply, she added, "but if you're more of the zero-sugar doc then we also have a date square," she pointedly eyed him, "but if I'm being honest, no one really likes the date squares. I really only have them for the extremely healthy customers."

"With sale tactics like that I'm sure they're your best seller."

"Oh yes, as you can see from that perfectly full pile, the date bars are a huuuge success~"

"I can see that. But I'll go for the lemon tart instead, with the tea please." With a nod [Name] set to arranging his order, the entire time going over their banter. It was nice to bond with a customer like that. Although, she's surprised to know he wanted tea; he seemed like a black coffee type.

With the tart boxed up and the tea ready, she turned to hand the man his order. She got a glimpse of his knuckles- 'death'- odd for a surgeon? He didn't say much, just grabbed his order and sat at a table to eat. [Name] watched him pull out a note book, and begin to write.