In A World Of Our Own (Westlife Fan Fiction)

Chapter 2

Ellen couldn’t help herself; she started to tap her feet.  Then she started to hum, and then she broke out in song as a new customer walked in through the door. They looked startled, but Ellen didn’t notice them there. She continued to sing in her angelic voice and they smiled so sweetly. Emma walked over to the counter with her empty plate and clashed it down on the counter so that it would distract Ellen’s singing, but Ellen didn’t stop. Ellen turned around, grabbed the knife and started doing neat little tricks with it. That made the woman on the opposite side of the counter smile even more, and she laughed a little. Emma kicked the record player and it squeaked to a halt. Ellen shot an evil glare and then smiled as she realised the customer was looking directly at her. The other waiters just shook their heads and continued to sweep up and count the money in the till.

 “Hi, I’m Ellen, Diner owner, and I apologise for my outburst of singing, I’m a sucker for that song.”

“Me too, don’t worry, although it was never Nicky’s favourite”

“I’m Sorry?” Ellen now wore a confused expression which made her look like a lost puppy.

“Nicky Byrne, I believe you have heard of him”

“The only Nicky Byrne I know is from Westlife, and lives in Ireland” The woman’s soft Irish accent came through in her laugh and she looked deep into Ellen’s wide eyes.

“Yep, that’s the one. The others and I are on our way to meet them over in a nearby café, and I thought that it might be this one, sorry to bother you but have you seen any members of Westlife roaming the streets?”

“No, sorry but if I do I will be sure to inform you.” Ellen struggled to speak and almost fainted as Gillian, Kevin and all of the Westlife kids wandered into the diner.

“Are they in here Georgina?” Gillian spoke as she looked around the diner.

“No, but look at this place, what does it remind you of?”

“The Uptown Girl Diner from the video the guy’s made years back” Gillian stared in wonder at the diner, and Ellen managed to focus on what was going on.

“That’s the idea. I’m the owner, Ellen, I’m sorry but I haven’t seen Nicky, Shane, Mark or Kian” As she said Kian she squeaked and Emma let out a little tut. “And if I had, trust me, you would know”

“How so?” Gillian looked amused at Ellen’s last comment.

“Because she would have fainted on the floor with a dazed look on her face, I’m Emma, best friend of the owner, who by the way is Westlife’s biggest fan!”

“Is she now?” Georgina moved her eyes and set them on Ellen’s red face.

“I am yes, but I hardly think that is necessary. You say they are meeting you in a café; well I can give you a map of the local area if you wish, and you might be able to find where they are from there.”

“Thank you, yeah that would be so helpful.”

 Ellen disappeared under the counter and popped back up producing a folded map with the locations of every diner in the area.

“Why do you have a map under your counter?” Kevin asked.

“Because I like to keep an eye on the competition in the local area” Ellen replied as some sort of answer.

“Cool, a little weird, but cool” Kevin laughed, and Ellen smiled sweetly at him.

“You can keep that map if you like; it saves you from spending any more time in this weird place.”

“Thanks, but we are all really thirsty and wondered if we could have some coffees?”

“Yeah sure” Ellen got to work making coffees and soon brought them over to the table where the three adults sat.

“Thanks sweetie” Gillian said

“Would the children like one of my speciality milkshakes?”

“Yes that would be great thanks”

Ellen nodded and brought over the milkshakes to the table where the children sat and they all said thank you in unison. Ellen smiled and walked back behind the counter. Kevin came over and pulled out his wallet and tried to hand Ellen a £20 note.

“Keep that change” He said willingly.

“Keep it, you don’t owe me anything”

“No that’s not fair, you are helping us out of a tricky situation, and we have to repay you”

“No you don’t, I won’t accept it, you don’t owe me anything, and all of this is on the house”

“Why?”

“For making one of my dreams come true, meeting the people close to Westlife”

“Okay, if you insist, but if there is anything you need, just ask”

“Actually, there is something you can answer me, if you are willing”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Where are Jodi and Koa?”

“Ah, well you have to promise not to tell anyone”

“I promise”

“Jodi broke up with Kian a couple of months ago, just after the birth of Koa”

“Why?”

“She said she didn’t love him or Koa anymore, she wanted a new life. She just dumped the kid with Kian and she hasn’t been seen since.”

“Poor Kian, poor Koa”

“I know, tell me about it”

“Where’s Koa now then?”

“Probably sitting on his daddy’s lap, Kian hasn’t left him out of his sight since Jodi left”

“That is so sweet”

Before Kevin could continue the rest of their party started to pack up their things and walk out of the door. They thanked Ellen for the drinks and the map, and she thanked them for the gift of meeting them.

 When they left the diner Ellen saw their minibus driven by Kevin pull away, they were all waving as they left. Ellen gave a little wave and then slumped down in a chair next to Emma. Emma burst out laughing and Ellen couldn’t wipe the large grin off of her face.  The record player was still playing in the background and song ‘The Easy Way’ came to play. Ellen jumped out of her chair and Emma joined her in singing along to the song. Ellen stood by the record player clapping her hands singing along whilst Ellen grabbed her broom and swept the floor in time to the beat. Ellen shuffled between the tables and chairs whilst singing loudly and all of the waiters just laughed and carried on with their work, which there wasn’t much of seeing as the diner was temporarily empty.

When the song came to finish, the diner floor was sparkling and all the staff were left with grinning mouths and wide eyes. As it was a Sunday, the diner closed earlier and all of a sudden it was four o’clock and it was time for all of the staff to bid their farewells to their crazy boss. Ellen hugged each of them individually and held the door open for them as they left. Once they had all gone, she said goodbye to Emma who was going to be late for her evening shift as a nurse at the hospital. She squeezed Ellen tight and skipped out of the door. Ellen locked it behind her and switched the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’. She switched off the grill and all of the electrical equipment behind the counter, made a final count of the money in the till before taking it out and dividing it into wage packets for all of her staff. She carefully placed the money in the safe and made sure that it was firmly locked before closing the cupboard.

 After another successful day at the diner, Ellen could now go home on her Vespa and put her feet up and relax. Ellen smiled and thought: My luck is finally changing for the better…