Riddle

VI. Cash or Credit?

Elizabeth's POV

I was greeted into the wonderful Monday morning by the sound of my alarm screeching. I groaned and glanced over, the numbers "5:30" flashing bright red. Sighing and pushing my covers onto the floor, I felt the cold air hitting my bare skin. My bones cracked and cold water splashed onto my face as I stepped into the shower. As I dried off, I stared in the mirror, glancing at all the scars that ran along my stomach and back. Sighing in frustration, I threw the towel into the laundry basket and slipped into an outfit. I stepped outside, heading towards the local cafe, which was three blocks down. I waltzed into the shop, the aroma of coffee surrounding me.

"Hey Liz! Early as usual. I swear, if you add up all the minutes that you're early to work, you've probably been here longer than I have. And I opened up this shop!"

"You're hilarious Amelia. You know how much I love working here. And no, that was not sarcastic," I joked.

She threw her head back and laughed, tossing the rag into the sink. 

"Well, might as well start pulling the chairs down from the table. Customers should be coming in around ten more minutes. Make sure you get the co-"

"The coffee pots warmed up, the ice machine started, the syrup bottles filled up, yaddy yadda, I know Amelia, it's not my first day."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, sitting down at her computer and checking to make sure we weren't running low on anything.

"Hey Amelia, we're kinda low on-"

I was cut off by the sound of bells ringing. Looking over, I saw a man with a top hat covering his sunglasses. He walked over to the counter and pulled out his wallet.

"Just a venti sized bold coffee," he muttered.

I quickly tapped his order on my cashier.

"That will be $3.25 please. Cash or credit sir?"

"Credit."

He pulled out his wallet and a very familiar black and gold card stood in the front pocket. I gasped and nearly dropped the credit card he handed me.

"A...Alex?"

He was putting away his wallet and froze mid-way. Looking up, he tilted his hat back and raised his sunglasses.

"Elizabeth? I...wasn't aware that you worked here."

"Yeah. I only started this month so you probably haven't seen me around," I said nervously.

Hearing the bell jingle, I quickly slid the card down the cashier and handed it back to Alex. 

"Your order will be right up sir."

After taking the next few orders, I set into my usual routine of shoving ice in blenders, coffee beans in coffee blenders, etcetera, etcetera...

"...two pumps of vanilla, thirty seconds in the blender, extra nuts, no whipped cream..."

Within five minutes, I had all orders completed and waiting on the counter.

I looked over the counter and saw Alex getting into his black Maserati. For some reason, I felt a tug at my heart. He didn't even say good bye...

"Excuse me miss? Can I have a grande double macchiato with almond milk and extra whipped cream please?"

I snapped out my thoughts and put a smile on my face.

"Of course sir. That will be $4.69 please. Cash or credit?"