Loss

Promise

The cafe seems to be livelier today. More customers, And even a longer line. It gave me enough time to look at the barista I kept seeing when she gave me the drinks I ordered. From her looks, she seems to be a lovely brown bear, yet her fur seems rather sleek compared to most bears. She seems to have grown into her size and has kept a beautiful figure with little thickness in the right places. My mind did not wander, and saw her only as a beautiful barista, and nothing more. The last customer finally made his order, and it was my turn to come up.

She looked at me with the same bright and warm smile that she gave the last customer. "Hello again sir, welcome back." I was taken aback by how softly she spoke, Suttle, but enough for a good ear to hear her. I nodded at her as a response, and an empty smile followed soon after. Before I could speak, she took the momentary stillness and spoke firstly again, "Will it be your usual today? I've already memorized your order since you like to come here every day." 

"Y-yes, that would be lovely thank you." As I finish my sentence, a faint rumble came from my stomach, enough for the barista to hear. I look at her, holding my stomach to calm the rumble, embarrassed by the noise. "I guess I forgot to eat this morning, again."

She giggles and looks to me with a soft expression. "I'll give you one of my favorite sandwiches to make here." 

I was too hungry to refuse, and I nodded in acceptance. I insert my card, she wrote my order on the cups, then proceed to walk over to my usual table. Thankfully no one was sitting at it yet, so I placed my laptop travel bag on the table and took out my computer and turned it on. I don't usually like doing work here, but I figured I might as well, if I am going to be eating here. I could just hear her in my head; "You shouldn't be working if you're drinking. Don't want to have to tell the boss again."

I hear my name be called and leave my laptop open as I rush to the counter adjacent to the register. I grab both the drinks, and I see the sandwich, looking to be piping hot, placed on a plate. I look up, and it is the bear woman who took my order. I stare into her brown eyes, soft, and warm, just like the sandwich she places on the counter for me. "Here you go! I hope you like it. Promise me to eat the whole thing? Gotta make sure you're not all skin and bones the next I see you." She gives me a wink, then a pleasant giggle at the end. 

I smile back at her, I look down to see her nametag, "Thank you, Juliette. you have saved me from starving this morning." She winks at me once more, and walks away, going back to work. I walk back to my table, and sit down, placing my coffee on my end, and her coffee on her side. I take a bite of the sandwich, and my eyes light up, and my tail is wagging without my knowledge of moving it on my own. The sandwich was so different than what I have tasted here. a Dutch crunch bread, with salami that is not too pungent, with Swiss cheese to compliment the taste. lightly spread with mayo and, also tasting mustard with that as well. It was warm, crunchy to bite, yet soft when chewing. 

[Juliette's P.O.V]

The fox guy is kinda cute, he comes in here every day, with no one but himself. I've only been working here for a few months, and I see him in here at least 3-5 times a week, asking for the same thing. I wonder why he always orders two drinks, but never finishes the other one. At least he finished his sandwich. I go back to working the register and helping the other girls working with me. The girls working have been here for a few years, and thankfully, they welcomed me like I was family. The one who's been here the longest, Shelly, is a black and white border collie who has been here for like 5 years. She's been working for the owners since this placed opened. the other girl, Lin, is a snow leopard with long, cute hair. Many of the customers love it when she's working, and always try to give her their number.

I see Shelly doing inventory, and I ask Lin to cover while I go on break. She nods, and I go to the back. "Hey Shelly! How's the back?" She looks at me with a warm smile and goes back to counting. "It's fine, nothing too hard today" She replies. I pause for moment before asking her, "Quick question, about that cute guy who sits at the table near the window? You know, the one who doesn't finish his other drink?"

She pauses for a moment, but then replies, "Oh, Marcus? What about him?"

"Well. since you've been here the longest, I was wondering if you could tell me if there's a reason for that? If you know something? I just like getting to know my regulars, but I know almost nothing about him."

She stops counting and looks at me. "It's...not a nice story to tell."

My heart felt like it was trying to move up to my throat in that response. Then she continues, "I think it's been over a year now, and he had a wife that came here, asking for the same drink whenever they come together. Those two were inseparable. She was also a fox, but fur as white as snow. I could see why he married her, and he never looked at his phone, not once. Always kept staring like he couldn't help himself. One day, he came into the shop, with a cast and some crutches, and I assumed that he was in an accident. And I assumed his wife passed in that accident too since he came in by himself since that day. I even saw the accident on the news before that day, terrible what happened. The news said that she was pregnant as well. Didn't connect the dots until he came in the cafe. That's why he leaves that coffee on the other end of his table, to comfort him, thinking that he's sitting across from her."

My eyes fill with tears, then one blink is all it took to make them run down my face. My mouth covered with my hand at the sheer shock. "I... didn't realize. I just thought it was like a tradition, or he was just not able to finish it. I feel so bad." I feel her put a hand on my arm, comforting me. She responds saying, "Best not to ask, customers come here for different reasons. But his situation, he deserves what little happiness he has her. I don't see him smile until he sits down with his drinks."

We talk a bit more, before my break ends. I wipe my tears, and walk out like nothing happened, and went back to working, and making drinks for the new line of customers that just walked in. Lin asks if I am ok, and I nod. But when I finished taking their orders, and we gave them their drink and food, I could not help but stare at that "Rich" guy. Shelley was right, He seems really happy when he takes a moment from his laptop and looks at that drink, with no lips to take a sip from. He finishes his drink and gets up. At this point, I've been staring at him for too long. I look away to pretend I wasn't staring. He comes to the register, and I turn toward it, and look at him. "Did you like the sandwich?" I muttered. He nods and looks directly in my eyes. It was so intense but comforting. He never stared at me before. 

"You think I could have another one? I might be here for a while, and it was really delicious." My eyes light up with glee and responded, "Sure thing handsome, I'll have it ready for you soon. Anything else?" He stops for a moment, looks down think, shakes his head, looks me in the eyes one more time and smiles before inserting his card and pays for the food. My head rushes, realizing what I just said, looked behind me, and saw Shelley looking at me in surprise. I look away, embarrassed and started making his food.