Notre Petit Lieu

Cheesecake [1]

This once bright and lively town was now rather close-mouthed and shaken, only just passing over the horrific week of the Orlando shooting. Sorrowful crowds of citizens were still mourning over their loved and lost ones, wearing sentimental badges and wrist bands in their memory. Mayfield was therefore covered in rainbow flags and flowered wreaths to show their great support.

On the mounted chalkboard, where Kate would usually write the 'Drink of the Day', was #LoveWins with website details about donating signed at the bottom. As well as this, the shop also released a rainbow cheesecake in the shape of a heart of in remembrance of the shooting, so half of the money could go to aid the LGBTQ+ community; it was something Kate felt she needed to do to help.

The time would passed on as the streets further still remained awkward, anxious and inaudible, but not for the people who's lives were wrongfully taken away - their time would stay halcyon as everything was peaceful.

Hopefully to lift their spirits, was the gleaming colours festival, that was to be held at the end of this month in memory of the cruel shootings and for the pride of the community. Even though this town was small in size, it was known for it's captivating celebrations and news coverage was a definite for these types of festivals.

Each of these brimful events would be astonishingly tightly packed with people from around the country, with the store and public preparing the town well. Every now and then a few new and different faces would breeze-in and appear by Kate's shop, which was her signal to know that the festival was at close quarters.

Fleur and Evelina had walked in just two weeks before the festival. Both being the complete opposite. Fleur had smokey, grey eyes, almost the same colour as a polished shard of metal. With short, golden hair that draped down softly along her shoulders, and slightly curling at the ends, whilst Evelina had sleek, glossy, chestnut coloured hair with long flowing locks cascading down her back, just reaching her chest with dark, icy, blue eyes, sparkling like storm clouds right before the Lightning would erupt. Complete opposites.

"Hey!" Evelina greeted warmly as she got to the counter, "Could we have one of your Rainbow cheesecakes? They look amazing! I love cheesecake too so it's double incredible!"

At first her loud personality seemed a little overbearing, but when Fleur spoke she calmed as if she felt at ease when hearing Fleur's voice.

"Could we have two spoons too? We'll be sharing it." Fleur said as they were paying for Evelina's order.

Kate nodded while scribbling down their order before going into her pristine white kitchen holding a sweet and delicate buttery aroma that she loved dearly to serve her customers' requests. The cheesecakes themselves were already made and ready to eat, as she came in the early hours of the morning in case of any unpredictable rush hours to make them. All she now needed to do was serve her crumbling master piece on a plate.

Walking out and breaking her out of her easeful trance, was overhearing a muffled whine of a voice.

"Fleur! Why are you going to eat my cake?"

"Well technically it's my cake, I'm the one who paid for it."

"But I ordered it!"

"Yes, But I know and you know that you can't really eat a whole one by yourself, and neither can I really. If you really think you can finish one Eve, you can order another."

There was a slight, calming pause.

"Fiiiiiinnnee then." A defeatedly exasperated voice answered, showing the some disappointment in the conversation.

"If you complain then you won't get any at all..." Fleur said with a slight giggle knowing that this was Evelina's usual character.

Afterwards, flowing confabulation and chatter between the two started to pick again as Kate carefully placed the cheesecake down on the table hearing the soft clink the plate made whilst landing on the wooden table.

"Are you guys here for the remembrance?" She asked curiously, seeing as they didn't look of any familiar face as she scrolled through her memory of regular customers.

"Yeah, we've always wanted to go to pride together but never got the chance to until now. Plus, everything will be donated which is so caring!" Evelina's gushing words streaming out of her mouth, with the sound her bubbly personality coming along with it.

The café was rather busy today, busier than the usual, admirably filling with people of all sorts. With Kate seeing so many people coming together and to see how much support they showed from meeting with them was pleasingly wondrous to her. From finding out their coming out stories, to relationship advice, to just general life advice. Concluding that everything at this moment was so elated and blissful.

Orders came in left, right and centre and Kate was unable to keep up with so many of them. However by making new friends with Fleur and Evelina, Evelina  practically begged Kate for both her and Fleur to help out. After hesitant politeness to finally giving in, Kate decided that it would be much of a great help to her and reluctantly agrees. Pretty soon, the chaos died down thanks to the help of her new acquainted friends.

After the drawn out and hectic day, the sun was starting to graze the horizon, showing that night was approaching. Soft musical hums came from the couple and Kate felt like she could breathe again, she loosened her apron and began to pack up around the café.

"So..." Kate began awkwardly, unsure on what she was going to say next was going to be too blunt and abrupt, "Are you guys together?"

Evelina blushed a deep crimson red as she turned her head down to study the patterns of the floor, whilst Fleur's usually stiff face softened.

"No... Eve and I are just best friends." The word best friends sounded rather harsh and forced, at least to Kate. They would have made a perfect couple, she thought, complimenting each other very well with their flushing chemistry.

Maybe it was the fact that neither of them would take the first leap? Both being too scared to ruin the friendship that they had developed.

"Oh... Anyways, I just want to thank you guys for helping me today, things would've gotten pretty chaotic. Is there anything I can do for you in return?" Kate said thankfully, she knew that if the two hadn't stepped up she wouldn't have been able to cope and would have been behind on orders. Usually Jamie would be here to help her but he was unfortunately on a business trip this week. Quickly she made a mental note to herself to save a cheesecake for when he returned. Without their help: she would've collapsed after the last customer left.

"Well, we were wondering if you knew any good places to stay over night. This was a spur of the moment trip and we didn't actually book any place to stay." Fleur explained. They stopped wiping the tables and looked Kate into her eyes as they spoke.

Evelina decided to bluntly say it "Could we possibly stay over at yours?"

Fleur gritted their teeth, "That wasn't what I was going to ask!" Her voice was like a parent scolding a child. "I was going to ask whether you knew a place that isn't booked up, but Eve finished my-"

"Sandwiches!" Eve bursted into laughter at her own joke.

Fleur's stern face slipped off and they began to laugh also.

Kate gladly welcomed them into her home as thanks and the two were prepared to help out at Notre Petit Lieu, on busy nights, until Jamie came back from his business trip.

Things at the shop were handled much more quickly with the three of them together; before long Kate was driving two strangers, whom she had never met before, to her home.