Jily oneshots

Her Oddest Customer

by sunaprincess7

Installing a little gold bell above the door of her shop had been the best decision she'd made yet, Lily believed, as she gazed up at the small object and enjoyed it's shiny appearance.

She'd always worried that her idea of a coffee shop and bakery in Knightsbridge was too unoriginal and uninspired to attract customers or, more importantly, repeat customers. But, knowing that her father had left her the premises to do what she wanted with and knowing that, if she failed, she could still sell the building for a decent amount, gave her a certain freedom when deciding on her business.

Lily could always bake. And at uni, she'd tried to learn about coffee. At the very least, she knew what she liked and didn't like. And more importantly, she adored tea. She would never have believed that trying 300 different flavours of herbal tea would give her such joy but here she was. Out of each of the 300 cups of tea floated the steam and the scent that let Lily know she was making the correct choice in opening her little shop.

She'd tried to make 'Lily's' as like it's owner as possible. The lower level at the back kept the shelves that had previously housed most of her father's bookshop offerings. She'd filled these shelves with books again - not the precious, original edition or leather-bound books that her father sold - but lighter, yellower and flakier paperbacks that you could put a coffee ring on or dog-ear the page and no one would care. She chose books that she hoped would cater to every taste but kept a small section for herself near the corner wall on the right hand side. At least, if no one came in, she could read.

Near the front of the shop, Lily had a bar bench and stools by the window as well as a few tables and chairs. One table and two chairs sat directly beside her counter. Behind the counter there was a coffee machine, her hot water dispenser and her refrigerated glass cabinet which housed the baked goods she made each morning in the kitchen behind the counter. If they didn't look completely professional, they tasted as good and that was all Lily cared about. She kept the frosted glass that her father had installed, if for no other reason than it was too expensive to replace just yet.

She had only been open one month and business had been steady. She still hadn't taken down the 'congratulations' cards from Mary, Emmeline and Dorcas that she'd decorated the top of the shelves with. She enjoyed looking at them every day, reminding herself of what she had accomplished just by getting the place up and running. And the main reason she adored that little bell was because every time it rang, she knew that someone else was coming into her shop. What she knew now, and what she didn't know when she installed the bell, was that she had never truly expected anyone to want to come into her cafe and that bell proved her wrong every time it sang.

Her opening hours were usual for a business but seeing as how it was she was the only staff member and could run the place for a minimum during daylight hours, Lily also opened the shop at 8am on a Sunday morning. She baked some fresh pastries and doughnuts but also sold any leftovers from Saturday at a discount.

Most Sunday mornings she didn't see anyone before 11am. Except for this one. This Sunday morning, the little bell rang at 8.30am.

Lily started as a tall young man with impossibly messy black hair and glasses came into her cafe. He hadn't exactly ran in the door but the way in which he arrived made her think he had been running. The man shut the door behind him and eyed the shop front for a few seconds, seemingly completely oblivious to Lily's presence as she leant against the counter.

"Hi," she said in what she hoped was a friendly manner although it was more to get his attention than anything else.

The man span around on his heel, eyes wide at first as though she had scared him and then calmer almost instantly as he finally took her in.