A Veiled Deception [ON HOLD]

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

“I thought about how there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don't dare to let out.”

― Ally Carter, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover.

                I was just finishing up serving a customer when my boss, Mike, approached me. The coffee shop was mostly empty, recuperating after the lunchtime rush for the evening influx of customers.

                “Will you be able to work the next hour and a half Sophia? Only James has gone home ill and I need someone to cover his shift until Stacy and Felix get here.”

                I looked at my boss, Mike, and raised my eyebrows. “James is ill?” I had spent most of the lunchtime rush running around and serving customers by myself whilst James, Mike’s nephew, had spent the majority of his shift sitting in a corner nursing a cup of tea with a glassy eyed stare. I knew that with certainty that James wasn’t ill, he was hung over, broken and confused.

                Mike looked a little uneasy. “All right, all right…you know he’s hung-over. I can’t have him working here like that.  Just work overtime today – please?”

                I shrugged but agreed. “Okay I will, but this is the fourth time I’m working overtime because of James, Mike.” I hesitated, thinking about how I should words my words. “Mike… Have you thought about… you know, maybe, speaking to someone about James?” 

                I was half expecting Mike to snap at me to mind my own business, but I felt the need to speak. James had been deteriorating for a couple of months now and it was clear he needed help. The poor guy had lost his mother in an accident a couple of months ago and his dad had done a disappearing act when he was little, so as an only child, he literally had no one else except for his uncle, and countless bottles of beer. It was heart-breaking to see him like this though, because in the past year that I’ve worked here, he was always bubbly. At the moment, he was a shell of what he used to be. He needed help before he broke beyond repair.

To my surprise though, Mike slumped his shoulders and ran a hand over his face wearily. “I appreciate what you’re saying Sophia. I was hoping that he would be fine, you know he’s made of strong stuff… but it’s been almost seven months now. He needs to adjust.” Mike exhaled sharply, before turning his attention back on me. “So you’ll cover his shift then?”

                I nodded. “Yeah, I will.” He smiled and muttered something about owing me one. Truthfully, I wasn’t too bothered about it. I didn’t have any plans for the evening and it would mean less time at home with my mother.

                I lounged around behind the counter, chatting to a few customers and doing a little housekeeping at the back.  Gold Dust was quiet today, with only the sound of a couple of regulars slurping their coffee and rustling their papers, alongside a few timeless hits playing softly on the radio providing background noise. I took in the contrast between the squidgy colourful sofas and the mismatched table and chairs next to the overflowing bookshelf and smiled. This is why I liked working here. It was so cosy and cute and in rare moments like this, time stopped still.