Café Q

Chapter Sixteen

Winnie stared in the mirror before throwing the ponytail out of her hair. After we catered for Lucas party, she has been thinking about the date she agreed with Lucas. She got off early so she arranged her date for today. Caspian and Ember both wanted to dress her up for this event and made me help out.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help that your hair is long," Caspian said. Winnie sighed as she stroked her hair. This was my first time seeing Winnie with her hair down. It was really long so I see why it's in a braid or in a bun. "You used to be a hair stylist, find a way" Ember scolded Caspian. She sat in front of Winnie, doing her makeup. "Not too much" Winnie recoiled as Ember put a brush up to her face.

"Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself?" I said to her.
"Sorry but this is my first date in five years" Winnie apologized as her eyes shifted to the side. Is that true? Winnie is only 22, one year older than me. Her last date was when she was 17. How could she not have a date for that time being? "That can't be true," I told her. "Don't try and flatter me" Winnie countered.

"Stop trying to get yourselves shipped together, I ship Zach with Jemmie" Caspian complained. I threw a lipstick at his head. Why do people always say that? Ember grabbed a mirror from her bag and handed it to Winnie. Her reaction was both amazed and surprised. "Wow, this looks really good" Winnie complimented Ember's work. "Aw, shucks" Ember tried not to act too modest.

Caspian used a curler on Winnie's head. He tried to stay patient but her hair was really long and it took him too much time. "Trust me on this" Caspian said as he put her hair in a ponytail. I wasn't going to judge what he his doing since he was a hairstylist and I don't know how to braid hair. Winnie was looking down at her yellow dress.

Caspian layered Winnie's hair with hairspray. "I hope that can stay," Caspian said. Winnie's hair was in some kind of princess bun. Like she didn't look princess enough. "Gosh, I'm late" she looked at the clock. Winnie didn't hesitate to grab her stuff. "I'll tell you everything when I get back," she said before making her way towards the back door of the café.

"She's nervous" Ember smiled as she looked back at Caspian. He nods in agreement as he put the hair products and makeup in a bag. The door quickly slammed open and Mrs. Cheryl was present. "What are you two doing in here!? We've been open for an hour and Toru has been cooking the food, do you know how many complaints we got about how bad the food is?!" Mrs. Cheryl ranted on about Toru's bad cooking. Nobuo told me Toru was a horrible cook but is this seriously true.

Ember and Caspian tied their aprons on before rushing to the kitchen. Mrs. Cheryl turned towards me with an irritated expression. You could tell she was upset about confronting customers over the food. "And I expect you to work hard too, with Winnie gone need to take over for her" Mrs. Cheryl said to me before taking a sharp turn out of the break room.

I entered the dining hall to notice that a lot of tables were filled with dirty dishes. Clifton was busy assisting customers to their seat, while Rhett was sweeping up crumbs from the under of booths. I picked up dirty plates, bowls, and cups, then took them to the sink where Nobuo cleaned each of the dishes. Everyone else in the booth was busy cooking or serving the people in front. The day felt normal except most of us are thinking about Winnie's date.

Jemmie eyed the door almost all day. She was mostly waiting for Winnie. Jemmie turned her head to make eye contact with me and gave a glare. "Don't you have anything better to do than watching me?" She hissed.
"Shouldn't you be working?" I snarled back.
"I would if you did your job" Jemmie retorts.
"Ooh~" Nobuo interjected. He raised up his gloved hands with bubbles flying everywhere.
"If you were waiting for Winnie, she would be back pretty late" Toru joined the conversation.
"She could bail at any minute!" Jemmie jumped up.
"Winnie is not that type of person," Nobuo told them.
"Your right, she's too nice"  Jemmie sighed.
"Do you have something against Lucas?" I asked her.
"She's too young" Jemmie folded her arms.
"She's a year older than you," Toru said.
"Does that even matter?" Jemmie retorted.
"Technically, no" Caspian joined as he set a tray of food on the window. Then he stated rapidly hitting the bell.
"I'm right here!" I told him.
"I know" he smiled as he walked away, where I can't see him. Everyone one was quiet for a second, but then Nobuo and Jemmie started debating for ages. I took the tray of food, checking what table it goes to. Clifton was rushing around the dining hall, taking care of the tables that were calling for help.

It was about closing time. Ember, Caspian, Jemmie, and I were sitting in the dining room. Jemmie got a text from Winnie: saying that she would be back in an hour. Rhett was wiping the tables until he reached out table. "What are you guys still doing here?" He asked.
"Waiting for Winnie" Jemmie answered.
"Isn't it her day off?" Rhett asked, clearly confused.
"Did no one tell you?" Caspian questioned him.
"Tell me what?" Rhett asked.
"Winnie's on a date with that boy named Lucas" Ember piped up.
"You know, the party that we catered" Caspian added.
"Seriously...? Good for her" Rhett smiled, but I could tell it was forced.
For a second, I didn't understand what was bothering him, then it hit me. On my first week at Café Q, Rhett wanted me to tell him whenever Winnie talks about him.
"You should join us, Winnie would be thrilled to see you," Jemmie said, "And I would be thrilled if you get me a drink."
Rhett playfully rolled his eyes and said, "I'll be right back." He then proceeded to head towards the kitchen.

A few minutes later, I heard the doorbell ring and we all knew who it was. Everyone jumped out of their seats to go greet Winnie. We were all bombarded her with questions."Enough! Winnie needs time to settle in" Jemmie said as she led Winnie to the table we were sitting in. She sat down at the table, relieved after being smothered with questions. Winnie had her hair down but she still looked nice.

"So, are you two... you know?" Ember was able to pop the question.
"No, we agreed to stay friends... which I'm up for!" Winnie quickly said the last part, afraid someone got the wrong idea.
"Why didn't you two want to date?" I asked curiously.
"He is moving out of his brother's apartment and wanted to move to a place two cities away. I'm not ready to move out of my place" Winnie explained to us.
"As long as you're still happy" Jemmie smiled in her direction.
"Thanks, I'm looking for a much slower relationship, so who knows it could be awhile until I start dating again" Winnie gave a slight shrug.
"I respect that, I wouldn't be comfy dating someone I barely know" Ember agreed.

Caspian took a glance at the clock before clapping his hands together. "We should get going if you want my mom to redo your hair color" Caspian got up from his seat. "I almost forgot!" Ember jumped up. Both of them grabbed their stuff. "See you tomorrow" Ember waves before she and Caspian left the café.

"Here's your drink" Rhett walked up to our table and set the cup in front of Jemmie. "Hi, Rhett, I didn't know you were here," Winnie said. "Yeah... I decided to tag along" Rhett said, sheepishly. Jemmie took a sip from her drink before pushing it in front of Winnie. "Here. Relax and we'll leave you two alone" Jemmie gave me a quick look. I could tell that she figured out Rhett's secret.

Winnie couldn't say anything as Jemmie left the dining room without saying a word. I also got up and put a hand on Rhett's shoulder. "This is your chance" I whispered to where Winnie couldn't hear. Rhett stared at me for a second and gave a quick nod. I left the café and walked back to my hotel. Deep down I wanted to tell Rhett what to do but knew that he must stay true to her.

The whole elevator ride was me just walking around hoping that everything went well with those two. It stressed me out too much. Winnie's a sweet person and could never harm anyone. Rhett was a protective and caring person, both of them deserved to be together. The thing is I don't know how Winnie feels, she never got too in depth with her emotions, Rhett could be the person that would do that for her.

Once I was in my apartment, I jumped right on my couch. Nine months have passed when I got here. So much has happened and more is still to come. But I only have three more months before I go to college.  I didn't want to think about it. Almost a minute passed and my phone was getting spammed by Rhett and Winnie. Both had the same good news.