Milk And Cardamom | S. Brown ✔

[17]

Stephanie quickly got dressed and slung her small bag over her shoulder as she dashed downstairs to grab a quick breakfast before leaving for the subway so that she could catch the train to the suburbs. Since she hadn't had any classes to tend to, she had joined Dora's Coffee Haunt in order to help Dora and Alex.

With the addition of desserts to the coffee shop's menu, the influx of customers had increased and Dora's Coffee Haunt was doing great business. Despite being located slightly away from the city center, it was always crowded and a very cheerful place to spend time in.

The light music, the delicious aroma of the baked goods and the coffee was soothing making the shop a must visit for a large number of Gotham's population. By then Alex and Dora had a small staff to help them as well and with the profit they were making, Alex did not have to overwork himself juggling multiple jobs.

Stephanie helped Dora with baking the cakes and pastries, Alex looked after the coffee, they had staff for taking and serving orders and so far everything was looking up for the Dora's Coffee Haunt.

Along with those additions, there were a few extra features added to the place as well such as the bookshelf where people could donate books and magazines, more than half of the donated books came from Tim's private collection.

The shop also had a small cozy nook set up with pillows and blankets away from the main area for anyone who wanted to rest for a while or take a short nap. It was a secluded corner and extremely comfortable, probably Tim's second favorite spot, the first being the kitchen.

In short, Dora's Coffee Haunt was quite like a heaven for all coffee lovers.

The bell at the door chimed as Steph stepped in, a little before shop hours started so that she could help Dora with the desserts. The delicious aroma of coffee and cakes had diffused through the entire kitchen and both the Beaumont siblings were getting everything ready for yet another busy but pleasant day.

As Steph came in to the kitchen, Alex greeted her, the familiar welcoming smile playing upon his lips. He had stepped out to unlock the door and check the shop area while Dora was icing the cupcakes that had cooled after she had taken the tray from the oven and put it out for a while.

Out of habit, Steph had abruptly hugged Dora and though a laugh ensued from the latter, her hand slipped slightly, "wait a second, Steph, let me ice these first."

"It can wait," her lips had puckered into a slight frown which made Dora laugh even more.

"Aw, Steph, you look so cute like that," she pinched her nose gently, causing a smile to break out on her features at last.

"And you're too adorable for your own good," Steph replied, "do you know, Tim can't believe we haven't gotten into a fight even once."

"And why is that so? Should we have argued about something by now?"

"Nah, he just thinks of me as a banshee who loves to scare her own friends away," she remarked nonchalantly, "though to be honest, he's not that wrong."

Steph might seem like a huge social butterfly at first sight but deep down she knew herself that she never let people get close to her. In a sense Tim was right, most of the times she scared people away or shut them out if they got too close. The only few exceptions were the Waynes and the Beaumont siblings.

Steph couldn't recall the last time she had had a friend other than Tim with whom she could share anything and everything without the fear of being judged. Dora had become that sort of friend to her and she was thankful for her presence.

But other than Tim and Dora, she didn't have enough friends she could really count on. True, she knew almost half the population of Gotham and was on amiable terms with most, but none had reached that level of friendship with her because she didn't trust anyone else.