"Emma, meet my grumpy soon-to-be husband, Nathan Adams," April beamed.
She was right. Damnit!
Emma's mouth did not know how to lie, "We...We kn...know each other."
"What! Wow, that's wild!" April exclaimed.
"We attended the same primary school," Nathan said, sending a chill down Emma's back even on that hot Summer's day.
"It's a small world isn't it," Joel said.
"Yeah," Nathan replied.
"Emma, let's begin with the consultation," April said, removing her hand from Nathan's and placing it ontop of Emma's, "I can see that we'll be good friends. It's a pity that I had to drag this man to South Africa. He wants nothing to do with this beautiful country."
Ruth interrupted them, placing complementary drinks on the table, along with some cake that they've ordered earlier on. April and Joel were thanking her, but Nathan was silent, staring at his long fingers on the table. Emma looked at him, she was trying to see if her friend was still in there, but only got a wall. Ruth touched her on the shoulder, ending her daze.
Emma opened her laptop and placed it between April and Nathan. On it were more designs that were not in the brochure or menu, she had made them for other clients. She even had unseen ones.
"Extravaganza Desserts, cares not only about the look and taste of our goods, but also about the quality of the ingredients. We have products especially geared towards the health-concious, gluten intolerant, diabetic and other bloodsugar related illnesses."
April looked impressed and so did Joel, but Nathan looked disinterested. In fact, his attention was on his phone's blank screen.
"Our healthier options include vegan treats, low glycemic and low glycemic load desserts as well as gluten free, sugar free and dairy free alternatives. Of cause, portion size matters and even a good thing can turn bad without self control and monitoring portion sizes."
"Gosh! I love what I'm hearing. I don't think we need to look any further," April said looking at the two men.
"I agree," Joel said, smiling brightly at Emma.
Everyone was staring at Nathan, who was staring at a man that was looking at Emma. Emma's face scrunched up when she noticed Alexei staring at her. April turned around to see what had gotten Emma and Nathan's attention.
"You can go and talk to him, if it's important. We don't mind waiting," April said.
"No, he can wait. Let's get down to business," Emma replied.
April looked at the cake designs and asked questions about the prices and sizes, whilst Nathan's eyes were stuck on Alexei.
Alexei Popov was Emma's other employer. She worked at his bar after hours. The wages were reasonable, but the tips were much better. The bar had a large expat European clientéle, and they had no problem parting with their money for good service.
Emma wondered why he was at Extravaganza Desserts. Whatever it was, he just had to wait untill she was finished.
April was overwhelmed with all the options, she wanted another session with Emma.
"I'll tell the receptionist to scedule an appointment for you. She'll take your time and availability into consideration. Thank you for giving us your time, it is much appreciated," Emma said, smiling at April and Joel, ignoring Nathan, who's attention was on his phone and Alexei.
"Meeting you was our pleasure," Joel said, giving Emma a toothy grin.
"I agree with him," April said, "I want to take you back to Australia with me."
Emma smiled while catching a glimpse of Nathan staring at his feet.
"You can always invite her over for a holiday," Joel suggested.
"No, absolutely not," Nathan answered, shooting daggers into Emmerentia's eyes. "She has her own life here."
Emma watched as April placed her left hand into Nathan right, he looked to April before looking around.
"Don't mind him, Emma. He is generally grumpy, but I think that call has gotten to him, I swear after that phone call he became extra grumpy," April said, an apologetic smile adorning her skinny face.
"I understand. Thank you, again, for coming."
"It was a pleasure," April and Joel said simultaneously, however, Nathan let go of April's hand and left the café.
Emma excused herself and went to the restroom, she could feel the pricking on her waterline. She did not want to cry in front of the clients, especially not in front of him.
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"Dude what is wrong with you?" Joel asked his best friend.
It was two hours later and the two of them were sitting on a park bench in the Company Gardens, Nathan on the left and Joel seated right. April was in a designer boutique buying new clothes.
"Extravaganza Desserts is by far the best option," Joel continued, "Yes, they're a bit pricy, but I remember you saying that money was not an issue."
"Yes, but we can find the same things at another place, much cheaper. And, remember that the budget has to cover everything not just the dessert. People are not just going to eat dessert, we're going to have a five course reception. Don't forget that we have to find accommodation for all the overseas guest. All of that will be very expensive," Nathan concluded.
Nathan threw some nuts to a squirrel sitting at his feet.
"When you put it like that...still I think that you should go with them. The baker is pretty clued up on current trends, and my mom would love the healthier options," Joel said.
Another squirrel joined the first one and Nathan threw more nuts on the ground.
"They will have plenty of other food to choose from, they won't even miss dessert," Nathan countered.
"Well, then you'll have to inform April yourself and do it before she get's a second appointment," Joel replied.
Emma looked for a quiet leafy spot to sit under, but with the tourist season in full swing finding such a spot in the Company Gardens was next to impossible. Her eyes finally landed on a bench with only two people on it, their backs faced her. Hopefully they would not mind sharing their space with her. She walked over to them, all the while checking incoming text messages on her phone.
"Excuse m-" Emma swallowed her words.
"Hey, fancy meeting you here," Joel said, rubbing the back of his head.
Both of the men rose to their feet, and both had their eyes on her. Only Joel had a smile on his face.
"I'm so sorry, I thought that you were two strangers. Sorry for the intrusion. I'll find another seat," Emma said looking at Joel.
"No, sit with us," Joel replied.
"It's fine, I don't want to disturb," Emma said.
"You're not disturbing," Joel insisted.
Both of them had been sitting on the edges when Emma arrived. There was space in the middle. Emma nodded her head, and sat down closer to Joel, both of the men sat down after her.
"It's nice getting fresh air in such a beautiful setting isn't it?" Joel said to Emma.
"Yes, too bad lunch passes by so quickly," Emma said, giving him a smile that did not reach her eyes.
Emma took her lunchbox out of her bag, it consisted of a brown wholewheat sandwich with pieces of avocado, tomato and a sliced chicken breast. A small apple was next to the bread. Nathan eyed her lunch as she took it out, but averted his gaze when she bit into it.
"How long have you been working at Extravaganza Desserts," Nathan inquired.
"It will be five years in February," Emma replied.
"Do you like working there? You seemed very passionate this morning," Joel said.
"I love it. It allows me to escape reality for a few hours every day," Emma realized that she had shared too much. " I mean, it makes me forget that I'm an adult. Life can be stressful."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Nathan and I deal with the worst of life on a daily basis," Joel said, a melancholic look covering his features.
Emma wanted to ask him what he meant, but a female voice interrupted them.
"Oh my gosh, Emma!"
Nathan got up from the bench to help the approaching April with her bags. It looked like she had shopped for the whole Africa. She plopped down next to Emma, with Nathan sitting down next to her.
"I was just thinking about you," April said, smiling like she's seeing her best friend after years of being apart.
"Really?" Emma asked, she could think of nothing else to say.
"I was wondering if you can cook, or do you only bake?"
"Cook?" Emma asked, with Nathan so close her brain had all but stopped functioning.
"Yes, like Jamie Oliver."
"April, we need to go. You can talk to her some other time, she's on her lunch break," Nathan said, taking a hold of April's hand in an effort to get her off the bench.
"Yes, but -" April started.
"Let's go," the look in his eyes and the finality in his voice was enough for April.
"Yes, I'll see you Emma. This grumpy man of mine always gets what he wants. I just can't refuse him," April said.
April surprised Emma with a hug, which she did not reciprocate, her lunchbox was on her lap. Emma was also not fond of touching strangers.
"Bye, Emma," Joel said, taking some of April's shopping bags from Nathan, who had already started moving along.
Emma watched as they walked back to the city centre. April looked back at her with a smile, but Nathan never looked back. Emma figured that it was probably better that way. She left the other half of the sandwich and the apple, and went back to work, her appetite was spoiled.
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It was an half hour after the bakery closed at 18:00 when Emma and a co-worker walked out of the doors of Extravaganza Desserts.
"Do you think that the Aussie couple will sign on the dotted line?" Gertrude, a forty five year old widow asked Emma.
"I don't know," Emma replied, sighing.
"I hope so," Gertrude said, "I can't see how this place will survive otherwise. I've been looking for a new job for the past six months, but with no luck."
They stopped at a crossing and waited for the lights to turn red before Emma spoke.
"Finding reliable employment is getter harder and harder," Emma said.
"Atleast you have a second job," a sighing Gertrude replied.
"Maybe not for long," Emma admitted.
"What do you mean?" Gertrude asked.
"Alexei might be selling the bar. He says that the highest bidder wants to demolish the place and start with his own staff," Emma said.
"Hoelieha!" ( Oh my word! ) Gertrude exclaimed, "And here I was hoping to ask him for a job. Maybe there's still hope..."
"I won't dare to hope for a different outcome, hope has already broken me apart," Emma responded wiping a sweaty brow with a tissue.
"What do you mean? You've been off all day, has something happened.
"No, it's just this hot weather getting to me."
Gertrude nodded her head and stayed silent. It was clear that Emma was not in a talkative mood.
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An hour and a half later and Emma had her apron on busy serving her first table at Popov's. There was hardly space for a mouse.
Emma smiled extra sweetly remembering Alexei's words from the morning.
*Flashback Starts*
Emma left the ladies' restroom after giving herself a peptalk. She had been successful in keeping the tears at bay, but only just.
She went over to Alexei's table. He looked like he was ready to kill. The man did not like to have his time wasted, in fact, Emma was surprised that he hadn't left earlier on. Either Christmas had arrived earlier or it was her lucky day. She hoped for the latter as she took a seat opposite him.
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, Mr. Popov," Emma began, her head bowed.
"Let it be the last time," He said. "Anyway, I might not be your boss for much longer."
Emma looked up at him, her heart beat excellerated."I beg your pardon?"
"I've come to warn you, the people who are interested in buying Popov's will be there tonight. You need to be on your best behaviour. You have a beautiful smile, use it to your advantage."
"I thought that they were coming with their own staff?"
"They are, but who knows, they might need extra hands. However, it would be better if you started looking for a new job."
"I'll be on my best behaviour, Mr. Popov."
"That is all I wanted to say. By the way, don't wear any make up tonight," Alexei said getting up, "You look far more beautiful without it, anyway."
Emma got up silently as Alexei left the Café.
He was a strange man. The man ran his business with an iron fist. Emma was convinced that Gordon Ramsay would shiver in his presence, yet he took time out of his day to warn his employees. Well, Emma assumed that he had given the same advice to the other staff members.
*Flashback Ends*
Emma came out of the kitchen with a full tray and served her four tables. Her cheeks were burning from all the smiling when Alexei pulled her aside.
"A problem has arisen. Nokubonga won't be here tonight, apparently her child has fallen ill. I need you to take one of her tables as well, take table seven."
"Yes, Mr. Popov."
"Continue putting your best foot forward. The prospective owner and his friends have arrived."
Emma took a deep breath whilst watching the Russian disappear into his office.
She turned around and walked to table seven, her eyes mostly on the other tables. She only took notice of the occupants when she was in front of them. Surprise was written all over her face.
"Fancy seeing you here."
Emma wondered what she had done to deserve such a horrible day.