Tragic and Wonder: An Un-Fairytale [On Hold]

Chapter 9- The Aftershock

I was late for work, doggonit. I guess I should not have cried myself to sleep. I should have been at work an hour ago. Thank goodness Jessie called me. Luckily, she had not been too busy. Jessie was the perfect employee. I was so thankful for her. I think she deserves a bonus after this morning. I rushed to put myself together, hardly looking in the mirror for fear of what I may see. I knew my eyes would be bloodshot and swollen. It was so hard to keep it together at the wedding. As soon as I got home, it all let loose. I was angry and sad and hurt and happy for my best friend. I was a mess. I do not even think that I bothered to take my make-up off before I got into bed, but by the time I woke up Sunday morning, it was all off. I felt sorry for myself. I was having the biggest self-pity party I had ever thrown for myself. I was so upset that I forgot to turn my alarm back on, which leads me to where I was now, running an hour late to work. I was in such a hurry and looking at my feet because I knew what my face looked like, that I almost did not see the customer at the door getting ready to walk out. He held the door for me and as I said thanks, it happened. I knocked his coffee straight up into the air. He moved enough that it would not hit him. I, however, stood there dumbfounded at what I had just done. Then it hit me. Literally. Murphy's Law and Newton's Law of Gravity morphed together and took effect: what goes up, must come back down and what could go wrong would, and it did. All. Over. Me. The coffee hit me, and the cup burst open, spilling the hot contents all over my front. Thank goodness I had my apron at home and put it on before leaving my apartment, otherwise I would have been burned badly. The customer could not believe it as much as I could not. He felt bad but I felt worse. It felt like the straw that broke the camel's back. I could feel every single eye on me, staring in disbelief.

Somehow, I managed not to cry, rather, I burst out laughing. Thinking to myself that I must be going crazy to laugh at this because that coffee was rather hot.

"Are you alright, miss?"

I nodded, still laughing out loud, probably due to embarrassment at this point more than anything else. Besides, what did I have to lose? I already had the worst night of my life; this was nothing compared to that.

"I am so sorry about your coffee. I will get a new one going for you right away, on the house. What did you have?" I asked him.

"You're worried about my coffee? Are you sure you are alright? I am so sorry that I didn't move it in time," he said.

"Yes, I am fine. I should have been looking where I was going instead of being caught up in my own head. I will get a new coffee going for you. What did you have?" I asked again, trying not to sound pushy.

He reached down to help me up. It had been a long time since I felt anything from a single touch. When he helped me up, I felt sparks that went all the way from my head to my toes. I finally looked at the stranger who was helping me up. He was breathtaking. He was tall, with light caramel colored skin, dark, dark hair, almost black, and piercing, deep blue eyes. I felt like his eyes were peering into my soul. He must have noticed that I was having a rough morning because he gave me a genuine smile. That smile warmed me to my core. He was dressed in business causal clothes, a light grey, silky looking, button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled halfway up to his elbow, a nice set of dark grey dress slacks, and a great pair of black, leather loafers that were so shiny I could see my pathetic reflection in them. He wore a very nice and expensive looking watch and I noticed no ring. He captured my breath as I took in his full look.

We kept apologizing to each other for the awkward mishap. I think it is safe to say, I am the unluckiest person I know. I still cannot believe that happened. He told me what he had, a large, dark roast, no cream, and no sugar. Easy enough for me to replace. I handed his new coffee to him and apologized again. He tried to pay for it.

"I cannot accept that sir. It was my mistake and I want to make it right. Please accept it as an apology and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask." I said to him.

"Thank you miss. Are you sure your manager will be alright with this?" He smiled as he responded.

"Oh, most definitely. I am the manager." I chuckled. "Not very professional of me to spill your coffee. I am so sorry that I did that."

"It is alright miss." He said. Then he noticed the time. "I am sorry, but I need to leave. I am giving a lecture in 20 minutes across campus and was hoping to speak to the professor before class begins." He left in a hurry while walking gracefully at a quick pace out towards the parking lot. It was then I realized he was not just a new student on campus that I had never seen before. That gentleman, because that is indeed what he was, was someone else. I just did not know who and I was sure I would never find out.

Jessie is the one who made me realize that I was holding my breath as I watched him leave.

"Are you okay Jade? Are you sure it didn't burn you at all? I looked over when the bell rang and saw you coming in and next thing I know, you are on your butt with coffee all over you. What exactly happened?" Jessie asked in a single breath.

I looked down at myself and just shook my head. I was fine physically but my head hurt and so did my heart as a flood of the events over the last weekend struck me again.

"I will be fine, Jessie. Thanks for asking. Do we have any extra clean aprons in the back? I need a new one. This one is soaked. I will also get the mop and clean up the tiny bit that didn't get soaked up by me already. As for what happened, I don't exactly know."

"I think there should be a few aprons back there. The laundry service is supposed to be picking up the aprons and rugs today, so that was perfect timing on your part." She laughed as she said it and I could not help but join in.

I hurried to the back for an apron, mop, bucket, a "Caution-Slippery When Wet" sign, and new entry rug. I was so glad Jessie had remembered to schedule the laundry service while I was gone last week. Did I mention she deserves a raise? I need to make a note of that. It was almost time for that rush before class started at 8. The last minute sleepy-head, procrastinators coming for the morning pick-me-up to make it through class, rush. I head out with everything and get it cleaned up just as the students started coming in, in flocks. I thought that I belonged with these poor, tired students from the way they looked because they looked like I felt, worn down, just barely surviving. I helped Jessie whip out the orders and got the students on their way to their different classes.

I was ready to go home by the time lunch arrived. I still had another 5 hours to go before I could escape to my bed and hide from the world. In typical fashion, there was a lull in mid-afternoon which stayed until it was time to clock-out. James McCleod, the night manager arrived at 5, noticing the new entry rug. I filled him in on the happenings of the day, leaving out a lot of details that would lead to further embarrassment, and told him that the laundry service was supposed to come this evening between 8:30 and 9:00 to pick up the dirty aprons and rugs. He knew what to do with that information and set about getting ready for the evening. I told him I was going to give Jessie a bonus after all the hard work she put in while I was gone and for helping me out this morning. He thought it was a great idea and we started talking about the bonus, ending up with what we both agreed would be the perfect thing for her.

"Thanks for the chat. It was nice bouncing ideas off you, James." I said while standing up to head home. "I am exhausted and more than ready for some peace and quiet. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright. Have a great night." James replied.

"Oh, and Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"You're welcome to bounce ideas off me anytime." He said with a smirk and I swear there was a twinkling in his eyes.

I just laughed and said, "Good night James. Don't burn the joint down tonight."

He laughed and I walked outside ready to escape the chaos of today.

I stopped and took a deep inhale with a slow exhale then headed on my way. It was a peaceful and uneventful walk home.