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The following day, at work, Carly did her best to get on with things—sparing little to no time for thinking about Mick... or whoever he was. And though she tried, it proved to be a lot more difficult than she had hoped. The truth was, getting to know Mick had been the best part of the year for Carly. And just like that, it was all gone.
It was now not only that Mick was eighteen years her senior that niggled at her, but just when she thought everything was moving in the right direction, it turned out to be all a big fat lie.
“Life,”—Carly thought as she grabbed some salt and pepper shakers from underneath the counter and unscrewed the lids—“what a joke.”
She began to fill the shakers, never mind that they were each about three quarters full already. “More aptly,” she thought, “love... what a joke.”
“How are you holding up?” Charlotte asked in a whisper.
“I feel like I had two people, very close to me, die in one day.”
Charlotte smiled sympathetically. “That’s a lot of grief for one person to deal with.”
Carly shrugged. “I’m okay, I guess.” That was all that she could do anyway. She had to be okay. Carly tightened the covers back on to the shakers.
“You know those are all full, right?” Charlotte motioned to what Carly was doing. “Here’s the deal—I’m going to give you twenty-four hours to host this funeral party.” Charlotte handed a jug of coffee to her.
Carly scrunched her face up. “I don’t think it’s called a funeral party.”
“Whatever—but after twenty-four hours, you gotta leave the funeral and take action. You hear me?”
“What?” Carly looked up and narrowed her eyes at Charlotte. “What kind of action?”
Charlotte nodded. “Action!”
At that moment, the bells above the front door jingled. A guy—maybe in his twenties—walked in, cradling a guitar against his chest. Behind him was a young woman, most likely his girlfriend—because everyone was in a beautiful and committed relationship. “Except me,” Carly mumbled.
“Twenty-four hours,” Charlotte repeated.
The young girl approached the counter. “Are you Carly?”
“I sure am.” Carly forced a smile. “What can I get you?”
The guy strummed his guitar and began to sing. “I found a love for me. Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead.”
Carly immediately recognized the song by Ed Sheeran.
He continued. “Well, I found a girl beautiful and sweet. I never knew you were the someone waiting for me.”
It didn’t take long for Carly to realize that she was being serenaded. Everyone in the cafe had stopped to look around and watch the performance.
The woman joined him, harmonizing with the melody.
Suddenly, another guy—who Carly had just earlier served an iced coffee to—stood up and began to sing with the other two. Two young girls, seated close to the counter, took their sweaters off to reveal long, flowy ballet skirts as they danced to the singing.
“Oh my gosh, I never thought I’d see a flash mob in real life!” Charlotte hugged herself, unable to contain her excitement. “You know who’s behind this, right?”
Carly turned to see Charlotte grinning from ear to ear.
“It’s Mick! It just has to be!” Charlotte squealed, giddy with delight.
The singing trio stepped up closer to the counter. “Now I know I have met an angel in person, and she looks perfect. I don’t deserve this. You look perfect tonight.”
At that precise moment, the bells above the door jingle once again, and in walked Mick. Holding a large bouquet of flowers, he headed straight for Carly.
Silence filled the air, and the performers stepped back to give Mick some room.
“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness,”—Mick said as he stood before Carly—“but I’d like to keep trying.”
Carly’s heart banged against her chest. Try as she might, Carly could not stop her lips from forming a smile. Feeling Charlotte nudge her from behind, Carly stepped forward and took the flowers from Mick.
“Can we talk?” Mick took her hand.
She could see in Mick’s eyes that maybe he was as miserable as she was. She wanted to reach out to him. To hold him. To tell him that she understood. But she didn’t.
“Go on,” Charlotte whispered. “I’ve got you covered.”
Carly looked around the cafe and everyone waited in curious silence for her response. “Can you put these in water for me?” She handed the flowers to Charlotte, who took them off her without delay. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“No,” Charlotte said. “Take the day off. We’re not too busy.”
Carly glared at her. And Charlotte glared right back at her, raising her eyebrows, communicating the message that Carly should go—end of conversation. Carly undid her apron from behind and eased it over her head.
As Carly stepped out from behind the counter and took Mick’s extended hand, the cafe erupted in soft murmurs. “Is that Mick Myers?” someone asked.
“Yes, he’s back.”
“Are they dating?”
“Isn’t she too young for him?”
“He’s too old for her.”
Carly felt everyone’s eyes on her. They burned, making her self-conscious—as if she was doing something wrong.
“Alright everyone, let’s give them some privacy.” Charlotte called above the avalanche of whispers. “Let’s all get back to our meals, please and thank you.”
Carly pressed her lips in to a thin smile and followed Mick out the door.