Song of the Firebird

Thirty One

Natasha peeked into her fridge. She placed her leftover beef quiche from the café carefully in one of her trays. Two tubs of Ben and Jerry's and a pack of marshmallows assured her that the girls' night will go in a smooth order. She was counting the minutes, staring into the ice cream tub until she could hear the doorbell ring.

Natasha swapped to a closed sign from the previously open sign. Since it was the eve of the fourth, many shops on the Sorbet street closed earlier than the regular hours and she decided to give her own the break it deserved that evening. She spent her holidays dull before her friends dragged her to a pub on those holiday nights. Since both Ivy and Kiara were going on double dates, she planned to tag along later. She took a seat in one of the high chairs and began going through a few traditional recipes and orders for the following days. She made a mental note to check her pantry before trying anything new.

As she was busy jotting the notes for a vegetarian quiche, the bells dinged. Looking from her laptop, she saw Jay closing the door behind him with care. He carried a duffel bag across his shoulder and a laptop bag at his back. Smelling of fresh soap and still wet hair, he strode towards her in an olive track jacket and faded brown shorts. He patted her hair and took a seat next to her. He placed his bags on the floor and his foot over the table.

'For god's sake, Jay, that's where the people eat. Shoes off the table', fumed Natasha.

'Anything for you, Your Highness.' He smirked at her bossy attitude and admired the furrows around her eyes.

Natasha chuckled at his tease. 'That reminds me,' Natasha stood up from her chair and disappeared behind the counter. After a few seconds, she emerged with a plate and a mug in her hands. 'Here.'

Jay bit back his surprise and hunger. He asked her, 'What is it?'

'Well, I thought you might drop by, tonight.' He motioned her to go on. 'You see, you send me the 'See you soon' texts only when you leave for your place. Since I haven't got any of them yet, I kind of hoped, you know, you might pay me a visit. We baked chicken pot pie for the staff and I saved some for you. Here.' She passed him the pie and placed the coffee on the table. 'And a hot latte. Ten minutes more and let's storm off from this place.' She blew a kiss at his face.

Jay responded with the same kind, murmuring a polite thanks. He grabbed a fork and dug into the pie. 'Mhmm. That's amazing! Will you marry me, right at this moment, baby?' He got a smack on his shoulder. 'That hurts for real!'

'Don't talk with food in your mouth.' Jay smiled at her huffing self and she continued, 'This new team is making me crazy. They always fight over simple things. It's hard to manage them along with the café. You see, it was only a month and they broke my blender, Jay. My first blender. Over who to make the first move on the other girl. They are in their college and yet they behave like children fighting over candy. Zoya, on the other hand, she swears aloud and I am losing my regulars who come with the kids.' Jay chuckled. 'What? This is not fun. I am fighting back my expenses to make ends meet with the store's rent.' She dropped the pen she was holding. 'It is making me regret hiring those three part timers.'

Jay stopped eating and moved her things aside. 'Baby,' he ran his fingers over her hair, 'they are young and they need to learn a lot through compromise. Which, I believe, they will eventually do. Just.. Well, it's not my place to tell you this, just give them another chance. Maybe, they will look through what you are trying to say and try to accept things. Be calm. They won't be fighting for too long. Or you could also stoop to their level and meddle in your own way. At some point, they will go out of theories and stop bickering. If it bothers you too much, you can simply ignore them.'