the king and the pauper

tired Days and busy nights

I was sad when I heard my alarm go off as I felt like I had just closed my eyes and work was the last place where I wanted to go to. I wanted to stay in bed until the sun had fully woken up and lit up the sky. I wanted to have a long breakfast and eat at my own pace and not have to rush it and I wanted a day where I didn't have to walk miles before my work day had even begun and after last night the thought of walking alone scared me even more than it did before. I used to be calm about walking home as I presumed that I would always be safe as my thinking was who would want to pursue me when I look so plain and ugly? Now I feel like I'm always going to have that fear.
I quickly got washed and dressed and went into the kitchen to find it empty which was strange. Mama always made sure she was up before me and had breakfast waiting for me. I think maybe the late night was too much for her and that she needed the extra hour's sleep so I let her be. I grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat down and ate it quickly and I washed it down with a glass of milk.

I left the house and began the long walk to work. It was so cold and I felt the cold biting at my hands and I wished I had a pair of gloves. The coldness was making the walk to work feel so much longer. The cold wind caressing my skin had done its job of waking me up and I was hoping that I would arrive at work a bit early so that I can enjoy a hot cup of coffee to heat me up again.

I arrived at work and realised that I had 5 minutes to get set up and open the cafe so sadly that cup of coffee was not going to happen. I unlocked the door and went straight behind the counter and brewed up some fresh coffee while that was brewing I went to the back room and took my coat off and put my apron on and I noticed a note that said my colleague had come down with a cold and wouldn't be in today so that meant I was going to be on my own. I hate the thought of having to work on my own as when it gets busy I sometimes don't get time to eat my lunch and I miss the company and having someone I could talk to. These shifts when I'm by myself can be very lonely especially if it's a slow day. I went back out to the front and opened up and began to set up the tables with clean cutlery and napkins and waited for the first customer to arrive.

My first customer was Mrs herald as she is normally always my first customer. She is an elderly lady who lives near the cafe so she always comes here for her breakfast so that she doesn't have to eat alone. She is such a sweet lady and it is always a great start to the day to see her. Mrs. Herrald is unfortunately now a widow as her beloved husband Ernie died two years ago very suddenly and Mrs herald has never been the same since. They were always together and even though they were married for over 60 years they were still madly in love with each other and would always come into the cafe holding hands. They were just the kindest and sweetest couple and they were that couple that you saw and you would find yourself wishing that you had a love story like theirs. They met when they were at school and were childhood sweethearts. They had never been with anybody else and they loved each other from the second their eyes met. They decided one day in the school playground to be boyfriend and girlfriend and they were together until the night that god called Ernie home. Mrs. Herrald is now lost without her Ernie and she is brokenhearted it breaks my heart to see her walk into the cafe now with no one holding her hand.

" Hello, Mrs. Herrald. How are you this morning?."

"I'm just fine lovey. This cold just nips at my old bones."

" let me get you a nice cup of tea to warm you back up."

"thank you," she says while sitting down at her usual table

I got her a large cup of steaming hot tea and delivered it to her.

" What can I get you to eat this morning," I say laughing as Mrs. Herrald gets the same thing every single morning which is scrambled eggs on toast with crispy bacon.