"You see, I'm going to propose."
A young man wearing a tattered shirt and jeans came into the cafe with his hands full of a wide assortment of things -- a bouquet of roses, white and red petals, and LED candles. There were also balloons of different shapes which Aki had been arranging for a while now.
This customer came in a few days ago in one of his late-night shifts. He was still wearing his office uniform and was sipping his tea in silence. Nothing odd about it as some office workers tend to drop by their cafe at those times. Liam was cleaning the tables, preparing to close the store when the guy jumped out of his seat to block Liam's path.
"Can I make a reservation here? Please?"
Liam would not lie but the first thing that came into his mind was that this man in front of him was nuts. Probably. Most likely. Who in their right mind would just jump out from his previously quiet presence out of the blue?
In short, Liam freaked out and Mia cackled in delight and teased him relentlessly once the customer left. But he was tired, sleepy, and hungry. He only wanted to go home and rest, maybe chat with Aki if the other was still awake. Those were the things he was looking forward too. Not a last-minute scare at work.
Mia, being the super boss that she was, took the customer off Liam's hands and asked him the details for the reservation - how many seats would be needed, did he have a preferred area.
"Anywhere is fine as long as it's pretty private. I want to prepare a little surprise for my girlfriend." He then proceeded to tell them that it was their eleventh year anniversary and he was planning to propose.
He was beaming and it hurts Liam's eyes. He left Mia as the discussion about the details proceeded.
This customer came back after a week with all of his paraphernalia in tow. Mia reserved the seat in the corner, the one she gave Aki before. That one had more privacy and with a more decent view outside. It was also a good thing that the customer chose this hour, around four in the afternoon. Still far from the dinner rush so the couple would have the cafe pretty much all to themselves.
Liam left Aki to handle the rest of the decoration as he went to attend to other customers. Much to his disappointment, he rarely had a shift with Aki. Curse Mia. It had been a while since he had seen his friend in their uniform. Aki looked so damn good.
Well, he was always the one with the pretty face. No, the word pretty did not do him justice. He was beautiful. That was Liam's first thought when he first saw Aki in class. He was beautiful and elegant with those prominent cheekbones and deep-set eyes in that fine-boned face of his. Sometimes Liam found himself wanting to run his hand on that windswept black hair. He was such a nice specimen to look at.
Liam was worried when Aki started working in Lava Java. Not because of the possible admirers. Of course not. But Aki was not the most people person Liam knew. Despite all the people who surrounded him all the time, Aki mostly kept to himself. Liam thought that maybe that was just what he thought. But Aki's ways became more apparent when they started living together with Aki preferring the indoors more than outdoors.
But Liam's worries were uncalled for. Aki fitted in immediately. Most of the regulars loved him. He was still fumbling on some things especially when taking orders but he was learning. Liam was proud.