Song » Sunday Afternoon by Alain Clark
1
"Liv."
Liv got sucked out of her sleep, she wasn't feeling it today, so she kept quiet. The footsteps became louder. By the way, the person walked, she knew who it was.
"Liv, darling, wake up," her dad said and placed his hand on her back.
A groan left her mouth, and she pressed her face in her pillow. Her arm was pushed in her stomach because she was laying on it.
"You're already late for work. I have made you breakfast for underway. I will drive you in ten," dad said and walked to the curtains. He opened them.
Liv let out a deep breath of air and removed her arm from underneath her body. "Dad..." she hummed.
"Ten minutes!"
She pressed herself up and looked around in her bedroom. How come she was late? She was sure she put on the alarm yesterday. It was on her nightstand. She grabbed it and waited for it to light up. Instead of showing her the time and a photo of Italy, it stayed black. The charging icon showed up.
"Brilliant," she mumbled.
I forgot to put it on the charger after I came home last night.
She let herself fall again on the bed and closed her eyes. Going to Glastonbury and working the day after that, isn't the most significant thing on earth.
"Liv!"
She got up. "Yes!" She yelled. "I'm already up, easy," she mumbled and walked to the closet.
A yawn left her mouth when she ran her hand through her brown hair. She got a black jeans and a white shirt where she quickly changed into. Her eyes felt heavy, and her mind was still not working correctly. She got her shoes on and grabbed her bag in a hurry. Her phone wasn't necessary, it wasn't charged anyway.
She walked downstairs.
"Good morning, darling," dad smiled, who was standing in the hallway. "How did you sleep?"
"Probably not for long."
Dad smirked. "Let's go." He grabbed the keys of his car. "How was Glastonbury?"
Liv grabbed the cheese sandwich from her dad. "Thanks," she said. "It was fun, The Killers are amazing," Liv smiled and opened the car door. Her father started the car, and her eyes felt on the time. "It's only 9:40, I'm not late." Liv squeezed her eyebrows together and fastened her seatbelt.
"You would be late if I didn't wake you. And you'd absolutely be late if you had to take the bus. Be grateful," dad said and started the car to drive away.
Liv rolled her eyes and brushed her hair while taking a bite from the sandwich. She put her hair in a low bun and looked in the mirror: tired, but makeup wasn't necessary. "Yea, yea" she mumbled.
"Mum and I watched The Killers too. I remember when they got big," dad continues.
"Hmm-hmm," she hummed.
Her mind was back at the festival. Although she wasn't a big fan of festivals - being surrounded by a lot of people, she was glad Oliver begged her to go with him. The boy... The mysterious boy she kissed. She bit her lip and smiled. Thinking back at his lips on hers...he was a stranger, but it felt good.
After a ten minute drive, her dad stopped in front of the cafe. "Your mother will pick you up. Five o'clock, right?"
"Sì." Liv opened the door of the car. "Thanks, dad."
"Anytime, darling. Good luck, and don't forget to smile." Her father widely smiled and winked.
Liv rolled her eyes and got out of the car. A fake smile was shown on her face when she closed the door. She waved at him and entered the cafe. The cafe she was working at was one of the best cafes in the town. It was priced for the best coffee in the area. People loved to work at the cafe, meet up with friends, have an afternoon tea, grab a coffee before work.
It was a French-styled cafe; light green counter with French pastries, golden accents en flowers. The sitting area had a few dark brown couches and tables. The long work table in the back of the cafe had the most comfortable stools to sit on. It was a posher version of Starbucks. Before Liv started to work at the cafe, she used to come often to work on school.
"Good morning Liv!" Arthur greeted her happily. Arthur was the owner of the Cafe Art, also knows as CArt, a typical owner; long brown hair - always wearing it in a bun, a long brown beard and a smile people would immediately fall in love with.
"Morning," Liv greeted him back and walked upstairs to the lockers.
"You feel like it today," Victor sarcastically and fastened his apron.
Liv opened her locker and grabbed her dark leather apron. "Very much," she sighed. "Who's on duty today?"
"Arthur, Marie, you and me. You and Arthur are counter today," Victor informed her.
2
"An espresso and cappuccino with an extra shot for table four," Liv called and cleaned the steamer.
"Liv, can you bring it? And go on a break?" Arthur suggested and padded her back.
Finally. "Sure," Liv said and left the counter. She grabbed the platter and walked over to table four. "An espresso?" She politely asked.
Oliver looked up and removed the sunglasses from her head. "How on earth can you still work?" He asked on a moody tone and sighed.
Liv smirked and placed the espresso in front of Oliver and the cappuccino in front of Isabelle.
"Good morning, loves, slept well?" She chuckled and took her apron off, making her incognito for the costumers to order something.
"What about no sleep?" Oliver said.
"The man's got a hangover," Isabelle smirked.
"Thanks." She moved to make a place for Liv to sit on the couch next to her.
"What brings you here?"
Oliver shoved a plate with chocolate cake towards Liv. "For the best espresso, of course." He took a sip before looking back in Liv's green eyes. "And because Belle said you needed to tell me something?"
Liv took a bite of the chocolate cake and frowned at Isabelle. "Needed to tell what?" Isabelle raised her eyebrows, giving the 'you know' look. "What?"
"The part you kissed that guy," Isabelle whispered.
Oliver almost chocked in his espresso. "You made out?" His eyes widened. "My innocent, shy Liv. Tell me everything. Now."
Liv placed the fork on the plate and ate the cake. "It's kinda your fault."
"How can this be my fault?!"
"Shh, we are at my work," she shushed Oliver. He rolled his eyes. "Well, you left me behind in the middle of the crowd." She gave him a fake smile. "Since I was all alone with strangers around me-"
"You decided to kiss a guy?" Oliver finished. "Yes, girl. You did well."
Isabelle smirked and wrapped her hands around the cup.
"I'm not finished yet," Liv told him annoyed. "I was alone and a guy next to me as well, and we experienced The Killers together. And in the end, he kissed me." She tried to shrug her shyness off.
Oliver proudly smiled. "You are blushing," he cried and looked at Isabelle, who nodded. "Oh, my god. How did he look like? Who is he? How did he kiss?" He placed his hands under his chin and looked at Liv with sparkling eyes.
"It was fantastic," she softly said. "I have no idea who he was, but maybe I know him. I don't know. He somehow looked familiar, but maybe he has one of those faces." Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Brown hair with curls, but not real curls, more slightly curled - if that makes sense, dark eyes - I think, he had a small gap between his tooth, it was cute. He was a few centimetres taller than me."
It was quiet between the three people. Oliver's jaw dropped but smiled when he looked at Isabelle. Isabelle proudly smiled and crossed her legs under the table. Liv first looked at Isabelle and then at Oliver to found out what kind of looks they were sharing. The steaming sound of the coffee machine killed their silence.
"I'm proud of you," Oliver said. "And by your description, I know he is your type. I can't believe that is the Liv I know." He softly laughed. "You really don't know anything about him?"
"Besides the fact he likes The Killers too, no, I don't know anything about him."
"That is a shame, you should have asked his number," Isabelle said and brought the cup to her mouth.
"I wanted to introduce him to you, but he already left."
Oliver nodded and stole a small piece of cake from the plate. "Maybe you will find him one day. He's a festival lover, those are everywhere. But I'm proud you did this. This is so unlike you, Liv. Who are you and what did you do to my Liv?"
She shyly smiled and looked at her watch. "I have to get back," she said and got up.
"Can we pay?" Isabelle said and got her cardholder out of her pocket.
Liv smiled. "It's on me." She took on the apron again.
Oliver got up and gave Liv a hug. "Thanks, babe. And make sure you read your messages on your phone. I have been texting you all day."
"It's at home. I will look at it when I am home." She gave him a smile to secure him.
"See you later," Isabelle said and padded Liv's shoulder.
Liv winked and cleaned the table. "Get well soon." Oliver held his arm up in the air as thank you and left the cafe with Isabelle. Liv's head was glowing, knowing she was blushing.
"Excuse me," she politely said when a customer was standing in her way. "Can I pay?"
3
When Liv got home, she went to her bedroom to pick up her phone and charger. After her two best friends left her work, it became quiet. Sundays are often a quiet day. Usually, it was annoying because Liv got bored quickly, but she didn't mind today. She could progress Saturday without forcing herself to help costumers.
"Verstappen knows when to attack. I surely didn't expect his win today, not after his bad start," dad said and twirled around with his glass of wine.
Liv rolled her eyes when she entered the kitchen, Sunday was race day.
"You should have seen Leclerc's face. It could be his first win in Austria, but Verstappen took it from him," Liv's brother Jasper laughed.
Dad nodded. "Rookie of the day?"
"Norris, definitely Norris."
"Hey love," dad said when he noticed his daughter in the kitchen. Liv plugged in the charger in her phone and joined her family at the kitchen table, she sat next to her brother and in front of her mother. "How was work?"
"I absolutely do not recommend working after five hours of sleep and a day at a festival," she yawned. "But overall fine."
"It was your choice," Jasper snorted and ate some crips.
She rolled her eyes. "At least I have seen The Killers. And Hozier and Liam Gallagher."
"Darling, you have to call back grandma. She said she called you a few times, but it went straight to voicemail," the mother of Liv said and nodded at her.
Liv got up again and walked to her phone. "I will, I have left my phone at home today." She pulled her shirt out of her jeans and redid her bun in her hair.
Her phone went on and typed in her passcode without thinking. She squeezed her eyebrows together when it didn't unlock. Her body leaned against the kitchen counter. She filled in her passcode again, but it still didn't unlock it. Her fingers hovered over the screen to see the home screen.
Her heart started to beat faster when she saw the photo; it was a standard Apple background. This was not the photo she took in Italy last year. This was not her background. This was not her phone.
"What the... This is not my phone," she spoke. Everyone around her stopped talking and looked at her. She parted her lips and scanned her family. "This isn't my phone."
"Where are you talking about?" Jasper frowned and took a sip from his beer.
"I...I..."
"Liv," her mother said and lowered her eyebrows.
Liv swallowed and looked at the phone. "I got home last night, put it on my nightstand and went to sleep. I swear I had my phone last night." Jasper got up and walked to her. "I can't unlock it."
Jasper grabbed the phone from her hand and studied it. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, one hundred per cent." She placed a piece of hair behind her ear. "This isn't mine."
"The sim is locked, meaning we can't make an emergency call," Jasper mumbled.
"Bollocks," Liv breathed.
Her mother sighed. "Liv Di Costa, language please." Liv brought up her hands to her head and closed her eyes. "Jas, can't you look on your phone? That programme to see where your phone is."
"I can try?"