Learn to Love Again

Chapter One: The One with the News

"One caffeine-free cappuccino for you, my dear, got it. It's coming right up!"

"And if you could, would you mind giving me that sweet little yellow cup, darling? You know the one with the pansies on it?"

Gigi pulled out a small, hand-painted porcelain cup from underneath the counter: "I already set it aside for you, Fran. I know it's your favourite."

The old lady gave Gigi a grateful smile: "And that is why I like you the best, Georgina. You know me so well!"

She rummaged around in the woven basket that she carried everywhere until she found her purse.

"You go and buy yourself an ice cream with this", she said, putting a handful of pennies in Gigi's piggy bank with shaky hands. A few coins fell down on the floor and Fran tried to get down to pick them up but someone else was faster than her.

"Oh no Mrs. Wilde, I'll get that for you!" A woman a few years younger than Gigi had come into the shop with a joyful stride and helped the regular pick up the coins.

"Nice to see you've finally made it.", Gigi tried to put on a condescending tone and raised an eyebrow but she's never been one to hold a grudge. Alice knew that so she was not in a hurry to collect all the coins and get behind the counter to start her shift which had actually started 15 minutes ago.

"Oh please, you can drop the act. You know you can't fire me, you need me too much.", she winked and once she had helped Mrs. Wilde, she went to wash her hands and put on her dark blue apron which was way too big for her.

"Well, I could've needed you about ten minutes ago, it was quite busy.", Gigi pointed to a group of elderly women who were sitting in the corner by the window laughing and playing cards.

Alice looked over to the women, "How was I supposed to know they would be here this early? Don't they usually meet at 5?"

"Usually, yes, but you see, Martha has moved the afternoon tea from 5 to 4 to accommodate for Claire's nursing home schedule. They have dinner there at 7 and if they start their tea time at 5, Claire doesn't have enough time to get from here to the nursing home back in time before dinner.", Gigi repeated what the ladies had told her earlier. Alice shook her head: "You spend too much time here, not only do you know all the regulars on a first-name basis, no – now you also know their nursing home schedules."

"Not all of their schedules, I don't know their bedtime yet!", the barista joked and finished up the cappuccino. Mrs. Wilde gladly took the cup and admired the little tulip Gigi had managed to put on the coffee. "I don't know how you do it every time! You are an artist, really you are!"
Gigi laughed and blushed a little. "I can only claim the artist title once I manage to pour a pansy for you but I am still working on that, so far the closest I have come was a poppy."

"Well, I love them all, I would love a poppy just as much." Carefully, the old woman carried her cup to the corner table, joining her friends for the next round of bridge.

"Alright," Gigi now turned to her co-worker "you know I love you a lot and you are right, I can't and would never want to fire you but you have been late for all your shifts this past week and that's just not okay. You have a responsibility to be here on time, what would you do if you had a busy shift and I just didn't show up?"

Alice sighed and avoided looking at her boss. "You're right. I'm sorry, I've never been known to be punctual to anything. That's just part of my personality."

"No it is not, being late is not a character trait it is something you can work on and something you will have to work on if you want to be successful in life.", Gigi hated having to tell of her best friend so to ease the tension she just slid over one of the cups of coffee she had been making during their conversation. "And now drink your coffee and get to work, you gotta stay hydrated."