One To Remember

Alfred knew, all his life, that he never wanted to work someplace big. When he was young he wondered why the other boys would want to work as firemen or policemen, he felt like he would probably die from all the people that came with the job, too many people around him all the time left him wanting to be alone.
At the age of sixteen, he knew he wanted to be someplace quiet. Despite being a loud and exciting person himself, he would always shake his head when people told him he would be a good zoo worker or a fireman or policeman. No, no, he wanted someplace quiet and quaint.

A coffee shop was perfect, he came to find out, at the age of twenty-three. He ran the small shop with his brother in a small town in England. It was new so of course people would come to see on the first day and it was so exciting! There were so many people buying things and sitting down in their chairs to chat and have drinks, it was wonderful.

As the days passed, the groups of people died down and a few would come in during the day, some kids would come in and ask for hot drinks as the weather had now turned cold, the small town getting ready for winter. Winter in England, it seemed, was a lot different than it was in Canada and America.

His brother, who had lived in Canada most of his life, had noted how rain usually took snow's place during winter. That was fine, Alfred didn't mind as long as he had his small shop.

One particular day would be one he would always remember. The rain poured down outside, wetting the pavement and leaving large puddles in the road, small children jumping in them with excitement, their parents grimacing as the water splashed up their legs. All Alfred could do was chuckle as he watched the people from inside his warm shop, away from the rain and dark skies.

Matthew shouted from the back of the store, telling his brother he would be out for no more than twenty minutes, out to get some milk and a few other things. Shouting back, Alfred told him "Okay!" and went to watch the front of the store, the quietness of the small building he was used to enveloped him but it wasn't there for long as the loud jingle of a bell sounded through the coffee shop as a person walked through the door, greeted with warm air.

Alfred looked up and saw a person, an ordinary person, standing at the door, pushing back his wet fringe. Green eyes met his own and a warm smile with a wave followed. Alfred could feel his heart beat faster as the stranger moved toward the counter, looking down at the food under the glass case. He still hadn't said anything, or perhaps he had and the sound of his heart had covered it.

Why was he getting so worked up over a stranger he hadn't even talked to yet? Maybe it was just the guys' eyes, yeah, that had to be it, there was just something about him that made Alfred want to melt into a puddle but he couldn't place it. He was just one of those people who had that certain charm and air about them, that must be it.

The guy was smaller than Alfred was, both height and physically. He had a large green jacket on, the arms of it wet from the rain, as they hadn't been shielded from the weather. he had a soft but stern look to his face as he looked down at the food, pointing to a brownie. "Ill have the brownie, thank you."

He spoke, his voice practically filling the air of the shop, along with Alfred's lungs it seemed as his chest tightened and he struggled to speak. "U-Uh- Yeah! Yeah okay, do you want a drink with that? Its pretty cold out there, do you want a coffee or some tea?" Alfred began rambling as he usually did when people came in but this time it seemed a lot more embarrassing than usual, and all over some man he didn't know the name of!

The man smiled once more and nodded, "Some tea would be lovely."

Alfred nodded, perhaps a bit too quickly, and turned to face a machine that would make the tea for him, fully aware of the eyes staring at him from behind. He felt like the air had gotten a bit too empty, nothing being said and the rain still pouring down outside, going to say something, he found himself being spoken over.

"Alfred, huh.."

His name was said as though it was an after-thought, said a bit too lightly like maybe he didnt know he was saying it aloud. Alfred could now feel the redness on his face as he closed his eyes tightly, trying not to smile like a love-stricken teenager.
His fingers around the handle of the tea-making device tightened as he let out a sigh to calm himself. Glancing down, he noticed his name tag was firmly pinned to his shirt, 'Alfred' written on the white plastic, that must have been what he had noticed.

"Yeah! I was, uh, named after some famous pilot. You know, waaay back when naming your child Alfred was a normal thing to do." He laughed, knowing Alfred wasn't a very common name nowadays, especially for a kid. Only silence followed his comment, leaving Alfred to worry, wondering if he should turn around yet.

The machine let out a whistle and tea began pouring into a styrofoam cup, the steam nearly fogging Alfred's glasses. Turning around quickly but carefully and placing the cup on the counter, he reached into the glass case and, with gloved hands, pulled out a brownie, placing it on a small piece of tissue.

"So is that all- Oh!"

The man jolted at his shout, his eyes widened in surprise. Alfred realised that he had forgotten to ask something and that the other still hadn't replied to what he had said about his name, which left a feeling of embarrassment and anxiety lodged in his chest.

"Do you want me to heat that up? Sometimes people come in and ask for it to be heated, its been pretty popular recently." Alfred pointed at the brownie, eye's focused on the others.

The man seemed to think about it for a moment before humming in agreement and nodding his head. "Yes, i don't see why not." He began digging into his pocket, pulling out a wallet and opening it to reveal some change. Alfred had walked away, toward a small oven that was used for re-heating things, opening it and placing the brownie inside, fiddling with the knobs above the oven, he was about to close the door as the man behind the counter spoke.

"You know.." The man began again, Alfred closing the door to the small oven, feeling like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. "I think Alfred is a wonderful name."

He was very aware that he gasped, albeit a small one, the sound escaping his already tight throat. He swallowed and watched the brownie in the oven as it heated up, feeling like if he were to die right then and there, he would die very happy.
He had never had someone say that to him before, other than his parents of course. People, mainly classmates during his younger years, would make fun of him for such an "old-sounding" name, it had left quite a mark on him, causing him to make fun of his own name as he grew older.

The two stood in silence for a few moments before the oven's light went off with a loud 'Ding!', Alfred opening it and hoping that the hot air from the oven would be a good cover story for his very red face, if the man were to ask.

Making his way back over to the counter, holding the brownie as if it were his life source and that the world may end were he to drop it, he placed it carefully upon the counter, above a tissue. Noticing that the man had already placed the money needed on the counter top, he smiled sheepishly and picked it up, holding it tightly in his hand as the other picked up his drink and brownie.

"Thank you." He had said, turning away and walking toward the door, the rain still loud and heavy outside.

"Im Arthur by the way, Arthur Kirkland. I go to the college just down the street and i had never really seen this shop until now which is a damn shame because its pretty nice here, ill probably come back again." Turning away with a heated brownie in his hand along with a cup tucked into his elbow, he turned to Alfred before taking out his umbrella to open it. "I hope you have a nice day, Alfred."

As Arthur left, the rain still pouring down heavily outside, his black umbrella warding off the rain as best as it could, Alfred breathed a heavy sigh.

Placing a hand to his chest he could feel his heart pounding inside heavily, so much so that he felt like a ton of bricks were being placed on him one by one, suffocating him.

Alfred really did hope he would see Arthur again