Monday 6th of June 2013
"It's Ally!"
I hadn't even lifted my finger off Cora's doorbell, but somehow Noah was there, already on the other side. The knob rattled and the door swung open.
He was dressed in his diner uniform and a black jersey. He held a backpack in his hand and his dark brown hair was ruffled as if he had just run his hand through it.
"Good morning, Ally." He greeted as he stood in the doorway. I felt somewhat shy in his presence, not that I found him intimidating or anything but I just felt shy.
"Morning," I replied quietly, a small smile on my lips as I stood awkwardly in the doorway.
"Cora," He yelled again as he pulled the door open further and gestured for me to come in. "Ally's here."
The sound of the front door clicked shut and in the distance another door could be heard shutting, it was followed by the sound of footsteps, which became more noticeable as they got closer.
He frowned and turned his attention back to me, "I'm really sorry Ally but I have to leave. I have to open up the diner and set up." He said as if he was almost remorseful, "It was really good to see you again." He added with a smile and slung his backpack over his shoulder. I could feel my cheeks pinking under his gaze. Why was he affecting me like this? I never blush. "Good luck for today, let me know if you have any problems, okay?"
"I understand, and sure." I answered as I tucked a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of my bun behind my ear, "Have fun at work."
"You're leaving?" Cora asked Noah as she walked up to us, her words muffled by the two bobby-pins that were sticking out of her mouth, her hands, above her head, tying back her hair. She turned to face me, a smile on her face "Hey, Ally,"
"Aha, have the opening shift since Matilda is still on maternity leave."
"Oh, that's right," Cora responded as she took, the bobby-pins out of her mouth and clipped her bangs back. "She's due in a week or so, isn't she?"
Noah nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket, his face frowning as he glanced at the screen, "Sorry sis, I've gotta go." He turned to grab the door handle, twisting and pulling the door open. "Hey Ally," He said, grabbing my attention, "Don't forget what I said, okay." He added with a wink and closed the door behind him.
I caught my lip between my teeth and could feel my face turning a shade of pink again for the second time this morning, Cora was watching me, clearly amused by what she had witnessed. And for the first time, ever, I knew I was going to be interrogated over a guy.
"I just need to get my bag and then we can go," She said still amused, "I'll be back in a second," She added as she turned and rushed back down the hallway.
I readjusted my handbag strap and let my eyes dance around the entranceway. It was bright and opening, two large pot plants sat on either side of the door, the floor was white tiled right up to the doorway of the hallway and the walls were a beige colour which held pictures in black frames.
Many of the frames held photos of Cora, Noah, and another girl, who I assumed to be Bianca. Like Cora, Bianca was a beautiful, tall, and curvy girl. She had the same nose and hair colour as Cora and the same smile as Noah.
A family portrait caught my eye, each family member looked genuinely happy. Janice and Peter, Cora's parents, were sitting side by side on a black leather couch with a young Cora perched on their knees between them. Noah was sitting in front of his father, even when he was younger he was adorable. He had a huge cheeky grin plastered on his face. Bianca was sitting in front of Janice, blonde hair in pigtails and a huge grin on her face.
"It's a lovely picture, isn't it? It's my favourite family picture we have." Cora said as she quietly stood beside me, her voice startling me. I didn't even hear her enter the room. "It was at Christmas about four years ago. Mum's older sister organised all the families to have separate family photos taken."
I nodded, "Growing up I think I only had two family photos that were taken, my dad, he hated being in photos and my mum, she would always be the one taking them. For my tenth birthday, we got my first ever family photo, I had to beg for it." I said, chuckling at the memory, "And then for my thirteenth Christmas they took me to get another. I don't think they understood how important photographs are. We live and experience so many things in our lives and these photographs help remind us of what has happened, they bring back memories you sometimes forget you have. But they also give us a way to share what we have lived and cherish the moments that have gone. I have so many amazing memories with my parents but I have hardly any that I can hold in my hands and reminisce about."
"Exactly, photographs have the ability to grab our attention and speak directly to our emotions. They are powerful things."
After locking the front door behind us, we headed down the street towards Wilson's Bookstore and Café. The sun had risen in the time I had been inside and was now shining down on the town, letting us bask in its summery glow.
Around us the streets were still practically empty, a jogger was running towards us on the opposite side of the road and a dog and its owner could be seen in the distance. The streets were quiet and the only thing audible was the cicadas in nearby bushes.
"Apparently, you made quite an impression on a certain brown-haired guy," Cora stated as we reached the end of her street and moved to walk up another.
I looked at her warily. "An impression?"
"Yup," She said, popping the p. "I think he was trying to be subtle last night, but it didn't work on me." She added, clearly amused, "He kept asking questions about you. It was rather cute actually."
She lifted an eyebrow at my pink cheeks."But I only said like two sentences to him?" I urged, confused. "Why would he ask questions about me?"
"Why do you think?" She asked.
I shrugged. Why would he ask questions about me? I mean he is attractive, like really attractive and he seems nice and funny. Even a little flirty, but guys like him never have anything to do with girls like me. "I have no idea," I stated honestly.
"Well, I do," She teased, laughing at my confused expression, "What did he say to you this morning?" She asked curiously.
I looked ahead, avoiding eye contact. I was confused. Even if what she was implying was possibly true, why would he be interested? No one is ever interested. It's probably because you are new, Ally, and you're his sister's friend. That's it. He's probably just looking out for his little sister.
"He just said for me to let him know if I have any trouble today," I answered simply as I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and stared ahead. Cora was just reading into this wrong. "I think I know what you're trying to imply here, but I think that he's just looking out for you."
She rolled her eyes, "Do you really believe that?" She asked disbelief flashed in her eyes.
I shrugged, "Yeah, he's your brother, why wouldn't he?"
She shook her head, "You are hopeless, so hopeless." She muttered, her gaze fixated on the street ahead.
"Are you coming in to see your uncle?" I asked as we got closer to our destination. I could see the Wilson's sign planted in the middle of the footpath, informing customers of their daily specials.
"Yeah, I am, mum wants that new Jodi Picoult book, and she asked me to go get it for her." She turned her head to look at me, "How do you feel?" She asked, her face showing signs of concern,
"Feel?" I answered, confused. How do I feel about what? Noah? I have no idea how I feel about him, I don't even know him properly. But yet a part of me wants to.
"Do you feel anxious about starting?" Ohhh, she meant about starting work in ten minutes, "Marcus is a lovely guy." She added when I didn't answer. "You'll love him, he's a lot like Martha and Marie. He's real warm-hearted and always listens."
"That's good, I'm a little nervous. I think, I think I'm more nervous that I will be working somewhere different."
"It's always scary starting somewhere new but I'm positive you will enjoy it here," she said as we walked up to the doorway.
Cora entered first, allowing me to take a deep breath and recollect myself before following suit. I didn't feel as nervous as I thought I would and the fact that I had gotten my first decent sleep in a long time, with no nightmares helped. I guess my mind was too preoccupied with the last couple of days that it felt like I didn't need to be awoken in sweats.
The shop was quiet, for which I was silently thankful for. A tall brunette was settled behind the counter, tapping at the till machine and serving her customer with a smile, to her right was Marcus, he too was smiling and talking to a customer, whilst he poured a jug of milk into a coffee cup. As if he could sense eyes on him, he lifted his head, caught my gaze, and smiled.
"Enjoy the rest of your day, Christian, I'll see you tomorrow," Marcus said as we approached him, and handed the coffee to the man's awaiting hands. "Morning girls," He greeted whilst wiping down the steam wand with a wet green cloth.
"Good morning," We both greeted simultaneously.
"Ally, if you'll just follow me out back, I'll get you to sign a couple of forms and then we can get started," Marcus advised as he wiped out the jug and placed it on the coffee machine.
"Sounds good to me," I answered with a smile, suddenly excited to begin. The smell of coffee always relaxed me and being around books always seemed to have a calming effect on me. I was weird like that. "I'm excited to start."
"That's great to hear," He said, sounding pleased, then motioned for us to both follow him.
Following his actions, we followed him out back to his little office and sat down in the two chairs that were opposite his desk, which was situated in front of the window that overlooked the sea.
"For the next couple of days, I'll be getting you to work in the book part of the store. This will allow you to get a better understanding of how the shop runs and how things work around here. After that, we will move you into the café part, where you will learn how to use the till and serve customers whilst making sure you clean tables."
"Sounds good to me," I replied as I clasped my hands together in my lap,
"Hey Uncle Marcus, I have to go now, I start work shortly." Cora said as she stood up, "And I'll come to see you on my break okay." She added as she headed for the door. "Have fun, Ally."
"What sort of stuff did you do at your last job?" He asked curiously as the door to his office shut.
I crossed my ankles, then scratched my head, "The coffee shop I worked in was quite small compared to here. There would only ever be me and two other staff members on. I would either serve, make coffees, or be in charge of clearing tables."
"From what you have just told me, this job is going to be very similar to your old one but at a faster pace. Since Swansea is a tourist spot we get a lot more business throughout this summer season and with it being the summer school break more families come here on vacation, which means the café becomes very busy with families." He looked up as he spoke, for the first time since I had met him he had a professional look on his face, he looked serious. "Do you think you will be able to work in an environment like this?"
"Yes, sir," and I did, I knew I had the initiative and the right mindset to do so.
He lifted up the papers that were in front of him and grabbed a pen from the orange cup that was sitting on his desk.
His face broke into a smile, "Good. Let's get these papers signed and get you officially hired."
Authors note:
Yay, I updated!
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