Mia's clumsy nature has her no stranger to messes, but this is something else entirely.
She just wants to get her ex-boyfriend and long-time family friend, Colin, off her back. That's why she lies and says Silas, the guy she just met, is her boyfrie...
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Mia glances at the door every time she hears it open, which starts out fairly frequently and then slows down as it grows closer for the game to start. But every time someone walks in, she feels her shoulders slouch a bit and she has to force a friendly smile, because no one who comes through that door is who she's hoping to see.
She can't believe she's already crushing this hard on a guy she just met. Really, she has no excuses. But he's got pretty eyes and a cute smile and nice hands...
She wishes she would've given him her number, then maybe she could invite him to come hang out here with her. But like everyone else, he's probably at the game. And even by the chance that he's not, who would want to sit here and keep her company on such a beautiful day?
It's prime tailgating time right now, so it's been dead in the coffee shop. Even her manager got in on the action, apparently trusting Mia enough to leave her alone for the day. She did stop by early this morning, though, to remind Mia where the fire extinguisher is and how to use it. Not like it was necessary; certainly she can get through one shift by herself without burning the place down.
As the morning turns into afternoon and she doesn't see a single customer, she decides she's going to close up early - at one o'clock instead of three. There won't be another soul in here. No one will ever know.
So she begins cleaning the place up and putting things away. But when she picks up the iced tea dispenser, she manages to bump her hip against the counter and drop the huge container to the floor. The nozzle breaks off, along with the lid, and tea spills across the floor.
And that's when the door opens and she looks up to see Silas.
She smiles because she can't help it. In fact, she thinks she might be beaming at him, especially when he gives a shy smile in return. Then his eyes drop to the floor by her feet and her gaze follows his as she remembers the mess.
She only made half of what she usually does, but it's still a lot. It's reached the counters now, seeping into the wood.
Ohhh, she's going to get fired.
Their eyes rise to meet each other's at the same time, and there's a brief pause before she signs, I broke the tea dispenser.
He nods, trying to hide a smile.
It makes her want to smile, too, in spite of this whole situation. Don't tell my manager.
My lips are sealed.
They just look at each other for a second, and then they both start silently laughing. And she thinks there's something so sweet about this moment. She thinks she'll remember it for a long time to come. Even if she does end up getting fired.
Here, he signs, let me help.
She waves him over, and together they clean the mess in companionable silence. They go through an entire roll of paper towels and dirty two white hand towels, so she does what she can to hide the evidence by emptying the trash and laying the hand towels out to dry after rinsing them repeatedly in the sink.
