Get It Straight, Or Say Good Night

Tea and Trouble

The tiny Punch and Judy café was devoid of customers. It sat just down the slope from Lime Street Station, the trains weren't running at regular intervals at this late hour so that meant that neither was the foot traffic. The cafe was quiet as they entered and most of the tables had the red vinyl chairs stacked up on top of them.
The waitress grumbled to Louise that they were in the middle of closing and she was about to mop the floors, although the shut time was not for another few hours. Louise ignored her, huffed and sat at the first table she came across.

Louise stared at John like he had two heads. Eyes unblinking, she watched him slowly unwind from the man that showed up in her parents lounge-room back to the young terror that hounded Liverpool, but some of the man still lingered and quietly he laid the documents on the table in front of her, a small royal blue box beside them.

"What would you like" The annoyed waitress arrived for the late evening order.

"Tea, pot of tea, please" John grinned like his devilishly handsome self and the waitress changed her attitude and giggled. Louise rolled her eyes as John returned his gaze to the girl seated across from him.

Louise stared agog at the waitress as she openly ran an eye appreciatively over John, the waitress finally got the hint to go make their order when Louie cleared her throat rather loudly.

John glanced at Lou, smirked then turned and leaned his body round to look at the waitress sashaying away from him. Her retreating rump swaying invitingly as she went to fetch his tea.... Louie kicked him.

She ignored the box, he knew she would.
Instead she read every word on every document slapping each page back on the table with a loud resounding smack.

Anticipating the long wait, he lit a smoke. Lou rather stealthily snatched it from him with lightning fingers, drawing a long lungful. He let her go, she wasn't a smoker but tonight was a night to break rules and cross lines. Coughing, she poked her tongue out when he laughed.

"Are you daff?" Louie muttered across the small table, her tidy self, retrieving the haphazardly placed papers, neatly stacking them to the side. She pulled her pea-coat off, the room was warm and her own body temperature wasn't helping it seemed to be all over the shot lately.

John tapped the box, one, two, three taps on the little lid.

She groaned and moved her hand to pick the tiny box up then had a reprieve as the waitress set the pot and two cups, saucers, milk and sugar on the table. A small plate of biscuits next to John.

"Thanks luv" He gave the waitress an overworked wink and turned back to Lou, basically letting the waitress know she was no longer required, or indeed, wanted.

"Biscuits?" Louie questioned "you didn't order biscuits"

"What can I say, luv" John grinned cheeky hands widespread ".... Charm" He then dunked his free, sugar topped biscuit in the pale tea, gobbling half down quickly.

"You- charm!?" Lou snatched a small oatmeal biscuit and grinned back "more charm in the statue on Penny Lane roundabout"

"Now, now. I seem to have charmed your dear Mum" John tapped the box again, Louie nodded agreement to his charming her ma and finally picked up the box, not however, opening it.

"John, you can't actually be serious. You and me, married?! It would be World War 3 in under a week"

"Just open the box it isn't what you think, Mabel"

She glared at him but decided to open the box.

Possibly Pandora's box, the way this night was progressing thus far.

Pandora opened the box and all the evils flew out, leaving only "Hope" inside once she had closed it again.

It didn't open to release evil onto the world thank goodness.

All that sat inside was a page folded repeatedly, the slip of paper had been inserted into the cushion a ring would have once sat securely.

Louie still shut the box to at least contain any hope that might actually remain.

"Well someone's been busy" Louie flattened the sheet out. Staring back at her were loads of Johns famous- in their circle anyway- doodling's, cartoon pictures, all signed in the corner JWL.

"Other side, woman" John grumbled, then tugged the page and, as Louie was holding it on her side of the table, it tore along the bottom "Well that's a great start, ain't it"

"Well lucky it isn't the Magna Carta then, aren't we"

"Magna whata?"

Louise started her history class "It's an important document signed between America and England, firstly signed by King-"John's eyes glazed over "never mind"

"Don't know the kings' name then?!" He dared her.

"King John" Louie frowned, he knew, the bugger, his grin was a mile wide and he puffed his chest out as if he was king "Not you, idiot"

"Arrr, spoil sport" John was still grinning when Paul appeared, quickly grabbing a chair and turning it round to lean over the back and look back and forth between the 'happily' sparring couple .

"She read it then" Paul nodded at the torn page, grabbed a biscuit then looked again between the two. John blew a puff of smoke out toward the ceiling as Lou pinched the last remaining biscuit.

"No, she has not" Louie turned the page over and carefully tried to decipher the chicken scrawl, this would take a while.

"I'm King John, Louise here says so" John puffed his chest up again.

"No I didn't, shush I'm trying to work out if this is in English or not" Louie grinned but never looked up from the page.

"Got a bit of the cheeky back then Lou. Good to see" Paul said as he patted her shoulder.

"Where's my brother? You better not have left him on the floor of the bar" Louie put a finger on the word she was stuck on and looked up at Paul, they grinned at each other.

John scowled, Paul was a fucking babe magnet with his prissy lips and oh so cute doe eyes and those eyebrows- well that's what the girlies giggled about didn't they. Not that John was interested in Lou in that way of course.

"No bother Louise, Georgie Boy is tucked up in bed"

"Whose bed?!"

"His, silly" Paul smiled sweetly and tapped the page "What ya stuck on then?"

"Umm this here..... I will not... something... Louise ever" Lou frowned this could mean anything or just the one thing she hoped it wasn't or hoped it was, now who's confused; she rubbed the nape of her neck.

"Oh, that's easy" Paul winked then punched John playfully in the shoulder then John grabbed Paul in a head lock which then turned into a full-on wrestle on the café floor. Louise packed up everything on the table, slipped on her coat and got change out ready for the tea. Placing the few coins on the table, they would be kicked out in five, four, three, two, one-

"Right! Out now you two trouble makers, you can stay love" The hulk of a man growled at the boys and then smiled at Lou, he was covered in grease splatter and his beard contained something akin to fried egg, ugh, Lou thought.

"No, it's ok. My two disabled patients here need their nightly electric shock treatments anyways, thanks for the tea. Goodnight"
Lou marched past the boys as they stood gape mouthed at what she had told the cook... They then stumbled and trotted out the door to where she stood by the front of grimy café window, gazing down at the sheet of chicken scrawl.

"Electric Shock. I'll give you electric shook" John picked her up and ran down the street Louise clinging on for dear life banging his back, wiggling her legs and trying not to scream, and equally, trying not to laugh or grin broadly, either.