Covering up with my apron and wearing the cap, I stood in front of the cool bar - "still missing something " - I thought myself. A 3 starred badge came and fell over my shoes, I looked around, Tom winked at me. I pinned the badge and looked once again over the cool bar - "Perfect."
I walked towards my counter and entered the login-"Welcome! May I help you" popped over the LED display. I am the last to join the counter.
"CLING!!!"
the doorbell waved as someone entered the café. A stoop and fluffy old man with an overcoat walked in. He removed his overcoat and walked towards me. As I saw a customer approaching, the unspoken law of the waiter hit me too.
I beamed-"Good Morning, sir! May I help you!"
He smiled and nodded.
"Good morning ...... Can I get a coffee latte?"
"Sure, Sir! Tall?"
"Yeah!"
"Any other, sir?"
"No, thanks!"
"$2.95 sir"
He took dollars from his jacket and handed them to me. In seconds, I got his latte and
"Your name, sir?"
"Eldric!"
wrote his name, added smiley over the cup and my face, and handed it to him.
He looked around and found every table filled with couples. He smiled to himself and walked to the only lonely table. He seated himself slowly with relief.
I attended few more customers, again the waving bell got my attention.
This time a tiny girl walked in. She had a ponytail, was wearing pink pants and a bunny t-shirt. Matching to her shirt, she wore a long pink bunny bag whose ears tapped over the floors as she walked. She got in and searched for someone. She looked over every table and turned to me. She came forward and lifted her head as much as she could and
"You have no vacancy?"
swirling her fingers she asked. I kneeled to my tiny customer, "Sorry mam! the café is full. Would you mind taking the outdoors?" pointing to the lawn, I asked with a smile.
She waved her hand - NO and went back to stare at people in the café. Some seconds after Eldric lifted his fingers
"I wouldn't mind sharing my table, kid!" holding a smile he said.
The tiny girl saw the man as an odd creature, but she had no options left, so she walked towards the table.
"Okay! But you give away your place when Alex comes," she said.
Eldric's eyes bulged-" Sorry...What??"
But the tiny girl did not seem to hear. She was busy climbing the chair. She kept her bunny bag down, hopped over it, gripped the cushion, and climbed over it. Then she bent down and took her bag up, at last after conquering her throne, She gave out a relief-"Ufffff!".
Eldric was admiring her with silence.
"You're alone, kid?"
"No, Alex will come!"
Taking a sip from his hot latte he asked-
"Brother?"
"Boyfriend!" she said moving her hair away.
"Pffffffff...."
Eldric sprayed his latte out with bulging eyes.
"Yuck!" the tiny kid said.
"Whattt...... Boyfriend?"
"Yeah! Why? What happened?"
"Kid, what's your age?" laughing Eldric asked.
The tiny girl thought for a while. She counted her fingers one by one slowly.
"Mmmmm.. 7 this march," she said.
Eldric got a tissue and started wiping the spitted latte. The tiny kid bent forward and saw him smile.
"Why are you laughing?" Rolling her big eyes, she asked.
"Kid, you are just..."
"Stop! Don't call me 'kid' I'm Jeniffer, Call me Jen."
"Okay! Okay!"
"Jen!" he said and gave a pause. He raised his hands apart and asked
"Why?......... Boyfriend?....." with a smile.
Jen stared at the table and spoke.
"Everybody has one. Why shouldn't I ?"
"Who 'everybody'?"
"In my school, my friends, everybody."
"They don't know. They are just friends, they quote it wrong "
Jen looked at Eldric and gazed for a moment.
"Yeah, kids now don't know the real names, maybe confused," Eldric said and went back to sipping his latte.
Jen rolled her eyes again-"Then why don't they let us in between them. Everybody is paired but I'm left alone".
She went back staring at the table
"Nobody likes me," she said in a mellow tone with a pity face.
"Awwnnn, no dear!"
Eldric said, holding her hand.
"You are just 6, You have a lot of time left. You have a lot more fun to see. These are just small things."
Jen looked again at Eldric.
"Yeah, kid! Your time! This is a golden period. Just cheer up."
"You don't know ...." Jen stopped midway.
"What's your name?" she asked raising her head.
Eldric smiled. He gave his hand-"Eldric. "
Jen gave her hand too.
"Where's Alex?" Eldric asked.
"He didn't turn up."
Again she went back staring at the table-"He left me alone!"
Eldric laughed this time.
"Jen! Even I'm alone, look at me. And a good thing- if Alex turns up, he has no place to spare" raising his hands, Eldric said.
This time Jen did not say Eldric to leave his place. Instead, she just nodded and came up with a question.
"Why are you alone, your girlfriend didn't turn up too??"
Eldric laughed.
"I did not turn in."
Jen sat straight-"Huh?".
"We were supposed to meet in TIMES SQUARE, but..."
Eldric started feeling uncomfortable.
"But what??" Jen paced.
"Ughhhh... I'm not ready yet to look for someone......"
" So?"
"So I did not turn in!" rubbing his shirt, Eldric spoke uncomfortably.
"Where is she ?"
"Must be waiting there....!" he said in a mellow tone looking at the table.
"What?? You let her wait there when you are here?"
"Ughhhh... No..... I.... I don't know... what to do...... I just........ I thought of......I ......."
Jen rolled her eye again-"Then why did you accept to meet her?"
"I did not." He said and saw Jen.
Jen's curly eyelashes hugged its pair.
He gazed for a moment.
A big relief of breath came from his mouth, continuing which he spoke-"It was Derick. Derick is my neighborhood kid, he takes care of me".
Eldric gave a pause and smiled.
"He loves me a lot. 'A LOT.' He is so respectful. He never disagrees with me. Whatever I say, he takes as a vow and does that."
He kept his cup aside and looked at Jen and spoke in a mellow tone-"And this. This is the only thing he has ever asked me. Though this is a nut's idea, what I get is - I understand that he loves me'A LOT'. I see him as my son. I don't want to hurt him. He has his own life, I can't let him be with me and take care of me. Can I ?"
He shrank his eyes and asked-"That's selfish right?"
Jen nodded.
"Yeah! He has his life! So he needs to get over his tracks, that's the only reason I accepted to meet the...... the......"
He paused and quoted with his fingers.
"The lady."
"U don't even know her name?"
Eldric suddenly called me up and replied to Jen -"NO!"
I went over the table- "Yes sir!"
Eldric turned to Jen-"What do you wanna eat?"
Jen stared with no reaction.
"You been staring at my cup and you've not eaten anything."
'At least now you asked!' she mumbled herself and turned to me.
I was about to give her the menu card, but man!
"1 Iced coffee with milk, 1 Cheese savory foldore and...... 1 Blueberry scone."
There was a moment of silence. I was still staring at her.
"Yeah, That's it," she said.
My mouth opened after, like 50 seconds-"Yes................ Mam!"
Eldric was still staring at her. It seemed like he regretted asking her what she wants.
"Enough??" he asked.
Jen nodded her head.
I held the 'waiter smile' over my face and went back to the counter.
There were some of their conversations, I missed. Meanwhile, some customers too popped in. They were talking about their favorite songs it seemed. Eldric sang a song with a disclaimer -' You may have not heard the song, this came even before you were born ' and finally after hearing the song Jen said- 'That's before even my mom was born.'
Eldric stared and asked Jen to sing her favorite song. I peeped to hear what she sang but I couldn't hear well, what I heard was that Jen was abusing Eldric's mother. Just after hearing 2 lines, Eldric used one hand to close her mouth, another to close his ear-"Okay kid! Enough singing!!" Eldric yelled.
Some minutes later, I went to them with the orders and placed them over the table holding the waiter's smile. Seeing the orders, Jen jumped over the cushion.
As I went back to the counter, Jen started her chitchatting.
"So........ You gonna meet her soon right?"
Eldric remained still
"I'm afraid that I will," he said.
"That's good!"
"If I do, that's for Derick!"
Jen nodded.
There was a moment of silence. Jen broke it.
"Okay! I'm gonna go. My mommy will search me in the streets." saying she jumped from the cushion to the bag.
Eldric smiled at her-"Jen!"
Jen turned to him-"Yeah!"
"Take care! And remember, people, love you!"
Jen smiled- "Eldric! Thanks, and ..... Don't worry! meet her soon, sometimes 'Wrong trains lead to right path' they say, like if Alex did turn in I would've not seen a fluffy man who is so cool, so ..... yeah meet her."
Eldric widened his eyes-"Wow! kid!"
" How do you know such quotes..."
"My grandpa says that often, You remind me of him"
Eldric smiled patting her.
Jen smiled back. She then took her orders in hand and byed to Eldric and dragged herself away.-"Byeeeeee Eldric. Next time better the seat be filled."
Eldric laughed.
I too adored her. She walked the same way she came in. Gobbling her legs and hopping at times, she was lovely to look at. Eldric still sat there thinking and smiling. He relaxed his legs and his relaxation was sensed even in his face. While I looked at his legs, I saw that Jen has left her Bunny bag down.
"OH!" I said myself and ran to give her the bag.
Across the street, I saw her hop and walk through Time's square. I smiled and ran towards her. Meanwhile, she stopped by and gave her Iced coffee to a guy of mid-age and Blueberry scone to an old lady. I stopped by and saw them.
"What's this? Jen " the guy asked with a remorse tone.
Jen smiled back. "He loves u a lot, Derick!" she said.
Derick smiled.
"Went well?" Derick asked.
"Yeah! He said he'll meet you" pointing to the lady she spoke.
The old lady didn't give any reaction.
Derick patted Jen's head and gave him the phone and said-"Mommy called and I said you are at grandpa's house."
"Mommmyyyyy!!! Gimme the phone, I'll talk!" she said and hopped. Derick smiled and gave her the phone. Jen took the phone, hopped, and went to the fountain.
Derick saw the old lady and his reaction changed.
"What you thinking grandma?"
The old lady nodded her head.
"Grandpa??"
Hearing the word she started crying.
Derick consoled her- "Grandma! Everything is gonna be fine. He loves you a lot. Alzheimer can make him forget you, but not your love. Believe me. Just 10 days and he understood my love, even Jen! why not yours? "
The old lady wiped her tears and spoke-" Derick, I have him near me but ..... I feel like I've lost him" saying she cried.
"Starting again..... I don't know..... I don't know is it a good idea but..... but I want my old days back Derick"
Derick patted his grandma-"Grandma! We can't get back to the old days, he doesn't even identify us,"
The lady sobbed again.
"But... But as I promised, we can get back the love, The love you guys shared, the love we as a family shared, we will get that back and we have no chance left."
The lady wiped her tears.
"Grandma, Miracles don't occur unless we create it! When life gives us a second chance, we have to restart ourselves"
Derick held her hands and said-"And this is such moment! WE HAVE TO RESTART!"
I stood there with a pink bunny bag that turned a date into a destiny.
Your's orderly,
Mr.nothing
Nice
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