Letters To The Mafia Don

XII

After a restless night, I had a full day ahead of work at the café. The café was busy today, far busier than it usually was, I was rushed off my feet and there was only two of us today including the two chefs in the Kitchen. "Linda, we have to be quick today, no texting." I tell the seventeen year old girl who was bent over the counter resting on her elbows typing away at her phone.

"Sorry." She smiles sheepishly.

"It is really busy, no dilly-dallying today. Go from one table to the other, it should calm down in an hour it's just the lunch time rush. Try and get people seated as quickly and you can and if there is no room in here then I will go and set up some tables outside, it is a beautiful day out after all." I inform her.

"Yes ma'am."

"Go, go, go." I whisper so only she can hear me. "Sarah, you're back again." I smile at our regular customer.

"Oh hello, Charlotte. How's your mum?" Sarah asks as I set down her usual black coffee.

"My mum is very well, I visited her and my sister last weekend. How are you?"

"Oh that's lovely, I'm fine thanks." She sips her coffee. "That's a good cup of coffee."

"Is it the usual bacon and egg sandwich today?"

"Like always." She replies.

"Great." I put her order in and quickly sweep around the café, cleaning tables and getting another family seated, in the end I had to put up some tables outside because there was simply no room left in the café for any more people. I heard a crash and I looked over at a little girl who had a red face that was now stained with tears, I grabbed the mop and walked over there. "Hey, it's okay, we have plenty of glasses in the back. No need to worry." I assure her. "Chin up, there is no need for a beautiful girl like you to cry." She smiles.

"We are so sorry, we will pay for the glass." A woman I assumed was her mother apologised.

"Nonsense, it's just a glass." I tell her as I finish cleaning the spilt milkshake and broken glass. "I will go and make you a new milk shake, free of charge." I take the mop and put it back to where it belongs and threw away the glass I had picked up. "Linda make that young girl another vanilla milkshake please, don't put it on their bill."

"On it." I wipe down the counter and wash the cloth and my hand, noticing I had cut myself I grabbed a plaster from the first aid box and patched myself up. I realised the café had begun to quieten down and I saw Sarahs table was now empty, I collected the money for her bill and noticed another obscene amount for a tip. I wiped down her table and set out four sets of cutlery with a napkin, as I turned to the counter I heard the door open and the scrapes of the chairs from the table I had just cleaned. I put the money for Sarahs lunch in the till and her £15 tip in the tip jar.

"Hiya, my name's Charlotte can I take your-" I stop as I look up and catch the gaze of those beautiful brown eyes, "Julian?"

"Charlotte?" His eyes never left mine and mine never left his until I heard a cough from beside me.

"Hm." I cleared my throat. "Sorry. Can I take your order?" I ask the two men that sat in front of Julian. Wait a second, I know these men, they were here the other week and they were in the alley, with that man. I blocked away all negative thoughts and slapped a smile on my face.

"I'll have a black tea, these two idiots will have fully fat coke." Julian ordered. I scribbled down the order and clicked the pen.

"Anything else?"

"We'll have three bacon and sausage sandwiches, all with ketchup."

"Great. I'll be back with your meal in twenty minutes." Just as I told him, I was back with his meal in twenty minutes. "Crap, I forgot your drinks. I am so sorry, I'm away with the fairies I'll have your drinks with you in a couple of minutes. I'm so sorry." I apologised. I brushed a stray lock of hair, that had fallen out of my messy bun, behind my ear and fanned my hand in front of my face try to cool down from the heat and embarrassment of forgetting. "Here are your drinks. Again I apologise for not bringing them over the first time." I apologised again.

"It's alright Charlotte, you're rushed off your feet you were bound to forget something." He smiles. I return it with a tight-lipped smile of my own.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Julian's smile grows.

"Charlotte, was it?" The blonde hair guy asks.

"Yes."

"Lance." He holds his hand out, not wanting to be rude I shake it. "It's a pleasure to meet someone with such a rare beauty." He beams.

"Thank you." I feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "I would say you have rare beauty but I would be lying." Julian snickers and his brown hair friend next to Lance spat out his coke.

"That's alright, hard to get."

"I'm nobodies to catch."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Julian asks.

"No I am happily single and am focusing on getting my degree."

"Good, smart choice."

"I know, that's why I made it." I left their table and finished wiping the empty tables and taking peoples orders. I didn't go to Julians table again and when I heard the door ring, I assumed they had left. I hear someone clear their throat as I'm bent over the counter replying to my mums message. "What can I get- Oh it's you." I say when I see Julian staring down at me.

"I was just coming to pay for the food."

"Oh, right." I pull up his bill and tell him the cost. He hands me a twenty pound note and I cash it in at the register and give him his change.

"Keep the change as a tip."

"Thanks," I put the change into the tip jar.

"Don't you take your own tips?" He asks.

"No, we split them at the end of the shift."

"Oh right." We stood in an awkward silence.

"How have you been this past week? Have you grown accustomed to the outside world again?"

"I have grown accustomed quite well." He smiles. "I hope you're not missing me too much."

"No, I have no trouble to sort out or letters to write."

"I enjoyed those letters."

"Really?" I ask, quite shocked that he did. "I found them unnecessary, they only did it because Devon was 'worried you would hurt me'."

"Devon? As in Devon Thompson?" He asks.

"Yeah, did you meet him a lot?"

"No, I heard about him a lot thought, around the cells."

"Oh okay."

"I was thinking, would like to, I don't know go on a date with me?" He hesitates.

"Oh, erm, Julian it's really nice of you to ask but like I said earlier I'm focusing on getting my degree and I think with everything going on with you right now it's best to give you some space to get used to be out side, also it's a little too soon do anything I mean it has only been a week since you got out and technically I was still your psychiatrist when you left."

"Yeah, I understand." He rips off a piece of paper from my notepad that I had left on the counter and takes a pen out of the cup. "Here's my number, call me if you need me, for anything, and if you change your mind." His accent had started to show and become a bit more noticeable since he had gotten out of prison, probably because he was around all men that speak Italian.

"I will."

"Good. I'll see you soon mio amore." [my love] He smiles and leaves me gaping at his number.

How on earth did that just happen?