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Wednesday came around fast, the days slipping out of Gaia's reach as she spent each one muddling alongside Max in sweet harmony before she dragged herself home to the family she missed when she was working all day. As much as she adored each hour that she spent with Max, slowly building up a picture of who the girl was, she still missed bumping along next to Evan as they worked and laughed and spent almost every hour of the day together. For many couples, that would be a death sentence, trapped in each other's company for so much of each day, but for them it had been a blessing. It was only after they had begun dating that Gaia realised he wasn't just her boyfriend, he was her best friend too. It was a title he had to share with his sister, but it was one that fitted him like a glove.
Today, Gaia was off the hook. Zara and Stella worked behind the counter with Max, the three of them like a group of best friends who had somehow found themselves in charge of a café, and it made Gaia smile to watch them as she sat at a table, feeding Clover from a bottle of formula. It felt alien to do so, as though she was betraying her daughter, but she still cherished the first and last feeds of the day as their bonding time. Alfie sat beside her, a cushion helping him reach the table, and she broke up his banana with one hand while he munched on a sandwich. Evan had slept badly, hardly catching a wink but what little respite he had got had been ruined by a cricked neck and an unshakeable ache in his ribs. While he rested at home, Gaia relished in the role of mother.
She wasn't needed in the café. Stella still couldn't make a drink but she was an expert with the till, ringing up orders that Max and Zara competed to make, serving up line after line of customers as though it was the easiest thing in the world. It was an odd feeling, she thought, not to be needed. It had been inevitable with Zara's maturity and her age that she would soon be independent but Gaia had never imagined that neither she nor Evan would be behind the counter and things would be running smoothly: not a single drop had been spilt and there was no shortage of goodies on the counter. With the growing demand for Max's creations, she had come in an hour early to decorate the cakes she had made after closing last night, slowly spending more and more time in Coofee than anywhere else.
"Max?" Gaia called when the queue died down and Alfie had finished eating, beckoning her over. She swept around the side of the counter, her apron flowing, and approached her boss with a bright smile.
"Hey," she said, and her attention flickered down to the children she already adored.
"Are you three ok back there?"
"Us? Yeah, we're great," Max said with an enthusiastic nod. "You alright?"
Gaia nodded and glanced down at Clover, who was ready to fall asleep with her belly full and her nappy clean. "I was just thinking about heading out to give the kids a bit of fresh air, but I don't want to leave you guys in the lurch."
"Oh, no, don't worry about us!" Max looked over her shoulder at her new coworkers. She had proved to be incredibly adaptable, whether she was working alongside Gaia or Zara or trying to show Stella how to use the coffee machine, which levels of patience that could rival Evan's seemingly limitless tolerance. "We're absolutely fine, Gaia, if you want to go out. We're totally in control." She wore a convincing smile that soothed Gaia's quandary and her mind was made up. After only ten days, she had already put an immense amount of trust in Max and so far, it had paid off. Max was the perfect employee: eager, friendly and dedicated, and Gaia struggled to find fault with her. If being a little private was the worst thing that could be claimed of her, then that was pretty impressive.
