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“Thank God the long weekend finishes today. It’s been great for business, but holy smokes, I never thought it would be quite this full on,” Sarah admitted to Gloria as the women passed each other behind the counter. Sarah leaned through to the service area waving at Seth where he was standing cutting up an onion tart in preparation for the lunch rush to let him know he had a new order.
“It’s all your fault, you know,” Gloria admonished sarcastically. “Offering the folks of Kiernon decent coffee and good food. What did you think was going to happen?”
“Oh, so we have you to thank for this rather fine establishment then?” the male voice cut through the two women. Sarah looked up and found herself looking directly into a pair of striking hazel eyes. A quick scan of the lithe body of the owner with the fine eyes quickly told her that his smile and the rest of him were equally as enticing. Taken slightly aback with the immediate attraction she found herself feeling for the man, she stumbled over her words. “I...well...”
“What she means to say is yes.” Gloria quantified.
Shaking her head Sarah berated herself for acting like a teen who had just met their celebrity crush. “Yes, sorry. I’m the owner,” she confirmed. “What can I get for you today?”
“I’d kill for a large flat white coffee and a slice of that citrus tart with the cream, please.”
“No problem. That’ll be $7.80.” Sarah turned to Gloria who nodded at her, indicating that she had heard the coffee order. Leaning over and claiming a clean plate from the stack that stood next to the display fridge Sarah slid open the glass door and extracted the citrus tart from where it sat.
“How long has this place been here? I don’t remember it when I last came through,” he confessed as he dug into his pocket for the money.
“Not too long,” Sarah admitted. “We opened about four months ago.”
“The place looks great. It used to be the bank, didn’t it?”
Sarah raised her eyebrows and glanced at the man in surprise as she lifted the slice of tart from the serving platter and placed it carefully onto the plate. Setting it aside, she reached out to take the money he was offering to her.
“It was, yes. Do you know the area?” she asked conversationally.
“Kind of,” he admitted. “I grew up in Franklin. My family used to come and spend most weekends down here when the weather was good. They owned a shack on the beachfront. Still do, actually. Beautiful view from what I remember.”
“The views around here are pretty stunning,” Sarah agreed.
“Oh, I’d say the view in here is more stunning than any I’ve seen outside,” he gave Sarah a wink and flashed a cheeky grin.
Sarah laughed. “Flatterer.” She had gotten accustomed to men coming in and flirting with her. It wasn’t a new thing. Having worked in hospitality for the last few years she had learned to expect it when she was working. She never took it too seriously though. She had found it easier to go along with a little gentle flirting and to give someone the ego boost that they were often looking for. Plus, it gave her an ego boost of her own as well to know that someone found her attractive enough to want to flirt with her.
“Well, they do say flattery will get you everywhere,” he shrugged, laughing with her. “Greg Schett,” he said offering a hand to Sarah to shake.
“Sarah Walker,” she said grasping his extended hand briefly before placing the money he had given her into the till. Handing back the change he didn’t hesitate before dropping the coins into the tip jar that sat on the counter. Sarah offered him a small smile of appreciation at his gesture.
“So what made you open a café here, Sarah? Last I remember coming through here Mount Kiernon it was more like a ghost town than anything else.” Greg asked as he stood waiting for her to finish preparing his slice of citrus tart.
She shrugged. “I was driving through town one day when my car broke down and I got stuck here waiting while it was getting repaired. I fell in love with the town and the rest, as they say, is history.”
“That simple, huh?” he asked.
“Pretty much,” she agreed as she scooped a spoonful of fresh cream on to the plate next to the tart. Sliding across the sweet treat Sarah smiled politely at Greg once more. “Gloria will bring your coffee out to you in a moment. Hope you enjoy the tart.” Nodding her head towards Clive who had now approached the counter and was waiting to be served, she threw a smile in Clive’s direction to indicate that she had seen him. Giving a cursory glance back at Greg, she was pleased to notice that he had picked up his tart and was headed to sit down at a table.
Turning to focus on Clive who had decided to treat himself to a rare break away from the pub, she began the process of taking his order. After a short chat and laugh, Clive walked away, takeaway coffee in hand and a smile on his face.
“Ow! What was that for?” Sarah exclaimed, having been the recipient of Gloria elbowing her in the ribs.
“Oh my God, that guy was so hot!” Gloria gushed.
“What, Clive?” Sarah looked at her, perplexed.
“Ewww, no.” Gloria scrunched her face up, giving Sarah a withering look that left her in no doubt as to what Gloria thought of Clive’s attractiveness. “That Greg guy.”
“He was attractive, I suppose,” Sarah admitted begrudgingly. She didn’t want to think about his hazel eyes. She didn’t want to think about his tall, lithe body that suggested he ran rather that spending time lifting heavy weights in the gym. And she certainly didn’t want to think about his wavy brown hair that was just a few shades darker than his eyes and begged to have hands run through the silky tresses.
“Attractive? What are you, Miss Priss all of a sudden? That guy was hot, and he was totally into you.”
Aware of the volume at which Gloria was speaking she closed the steps between the two of them and stood closely next to the younger woman in an attempt to get her to lower her volume.
“Okay, I’ll admit he was hot, but he wasn’t into me,” Sarah said in a quiet voice.
Gloria grinned evilly at her. “I knew you weren’t blind. You were doing some of the best eyelash batting I’ve seen you do since I started working here,” Gloria continued, her voice now lowered to match Sarah’s.
“The guy just wanted his ego stroked, that’s all.”
“I bet that’s not all he wanted stroked,” Gloria guffawed.
Sarah threw her employee a withering look. “Steady on.”
“You should have gone for it and asked him out,” Gloria continued ignoring Sarah’s glare.
“Not interested. Besides I barely flirted with the guy.”
“Oh, it so totally was flirting. Usually you just give them a quick smile and send them on their way. You couldn’t stop smiling at him. It was almost embarrassing to watch really. There may have even been a bit of drool involved.”
Sarah rolled her eyes at Gloria’s exaggeration. “We here in the hospitality industry like to think that smiling at someone is called good customer service, not necessarily flirting. No one wants to be served by someone who is grumpy.”
“You laughed at that line of his about the views in here,” Gloria protested, still pressing her case. “You can’t tell me that wasn’t flirting.”
“I laughed at what was a silly line by a guy. And I laughed with Clive two minutes after that. Good customer service, remember?” Sarah stated emphatically.
Gloria huffed and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, will you at least admit he was flirting with you.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that one.”
“You do have to admit that he’s into you though,” Gloria added seemingly convinced.
“This is a pointless conversation. Trust me, he’s not interested,” Sarah said emphatically hoping to bring an end to the conversation.
“Oh really?” Gloria said archly. “Then how come he hasn’t stopped looking in your direction since he sat down?”
Sarah gasped and looked towards where Greg was sitting. True to Gloria’s words Greg was indeed sitting looking directly at her. Noticing that her gaze had turned his direction, he lifted his hand had and gave her a small wave.
Without thinking, Sarah lifted her hand and gave a half wave back.
“Told you so,” Gloria said smugly.
“You’re twenty three. You’re not meant to be so observant at your age,” Sarah chided her.
“Pfft. Says who? And as if you’re old. You’re only twenty seven yourself. You’re not dead, Sarah. Go on. Go talk to him. Live a little.”
“Twenty eight,” Sarah muttered distractedly still looking at Greg. He was still looking back at her and smiling.
“What?!” Gloria’s shrieked, snapping Sarah out of her reverie. “When did you turn twenty eight? You never mentioned anything.”
“A few weeks ago. It’s no big deal. I don’t really do birthdays,” Sarah shrugged and picked up a tub from under the counter in order to have something to collect the used cups and plates in.
“No dating and no birthdays. Sarah, you’ve gotta get out there and live life a bit more,” Gloria admonished her.
“I live it just fine, thank you.” Sarah could hear that she had said it more sharply that she had intended to. But the words were already out of her mouth and she wasn’t willing to take them back.
“Okay. But if the hottie over there asks you out, at least consider saying yes,” Gloria begged.
“That’s not going to happen,” Sarah called over her shoulder as she took a few steps out from behind the counter and into the eating area.
“Oh, trust Aunty Gloria. I would put money on him asking you out before he leaves.”
Turning back to face her employee Sarah poked her tongue out at Gloria unsurprised to find her standing by the coffee machine with a wide grin on her face. Laughing gently at the fiasco Sarah turned with tub in hand and began wandering through the maze of empty tables. As she moved through the café picking up the now empty plates and cups she chatted amiably with the regular customers who were in. She also offered suggestions of places to visit while in town to a couple who had stopped in Mount Kiernon on a holiday around the country.
Even though it had been several months now since Dawning had opened she still got a warm glow every time she cleared away a plate that held only a few crumbs or a cup with only the dregs of a drink in the bottom of it. Sarah had chosen to look upon each and every one of these as a sign that people had enjoyed the food and drink while they were there. Smiling as she picked up another empty plate, she was particularly satisfied to remember that the person who had sat there had eaten her latest attempt at a baked cheesecake. This time it had been a peanut butter cheesecake. She wasn’t sure if it would prove popular in the café, but it seemed to be a good seller so far.
“Did you make the citrus tart yourself?” Sarah heard the male voice behind her as she cleared the last table.
Turning she saw Greg looking up at her from where he was sitting. She had been clearing the table next to him at the time without realising she was standing so close by.
“I did, yes. Are you enjoying it?” Looking down at his plate she saw he was about halfway through his slice.
“Loving it. I can honestly say that it’s the best one I’ve ever tried.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say,” Sarah felt a slight buzz at the compliment to her food. “You mentioned you were travelling through town before, where are you headed?” she asked politely.
“Penwick. Got some business to do in the town there.”
“What sort of business are you in?”
“Banking.” He held up is hands in a defensive gesture, but had a smile on his face. “Some people think it’s boring, but I like it.”
“Boring’s relative,” Sarah replied. “Some people would say working in a café is boring. As long as you love what you’re doing, who cares what anyone else thinks.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Greg looked at her with respect. “I would love to buy you a coffee. Is there any chance that you could take a break and sit with me?”
“Well, you wouldn’t need to pay for it, I’m the boss remember? I get my coffee for free. But just between you and me, I prefer tea.”
“Will you let me get you some tea then?” Greg implored.
“I can sit for a few minutes,” Sarah agreed. “Let me just get rid of this,” she said indicating to the tub filled with dirty crockery.
Walking back to the counter she slid the tub towards Gloria. “Can you put this in the kitchen for me, please? And can I grab an English Breakfast tea? I’m going to sit down for a few minutes and have a cup of tea with Greg.”
Gloria nodded at the instructions that Sarah had just given her and reached out for the crockery filled tub. “I’ll bring the tea over to you in a minute. Oh, and Sarah...told you so!” Gloria flashed a wicked grin at her boss.
Sarah just smiled as she walked back to join Greg.
As they chatted away Sarah found Greg to be interesting company. They talked amiably for about ten minutes before she noticed Becca walk through the front door. Seeing Sarah sitting down with a customer rather than busy with other tasks as she usually would be, Becca’s eyes widened. Waving hello, Sarah watched out the corner of her eye as she saw her friend approach the counter and place an order with Gloria before the pair of women started talking to one another. After a few minutes Becca left with a cup of takeaway coffee in her hand, giving Sarah another brief wave on the way out.
“Look, I’m meant to be in Penwick tonight, but I’d really like to take you out to dinner somewhere,” Greg’s question brought Sarah’s eyes from following Becca out the door back to his face. Dropping his gaze she looked down and toyed with her now empty cup that sat on the table in front of her.
“Um, I’ve really enjoyed talking to you, but I don’t...” Sarah trailed off.
“Don’t what? Date customers? Surely if you can ignore the fact that I’m in banking and actually like my job then you can ignore a rule like that?” Greg was joking, but Sarah could hear the undercurrent of seriousness in his voice below the jest.
She smiled and shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I’m not really available to date at the moment.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you were seeing someone. I didn’t see a ring, I just assumed you were free.”
“No, I’m not seeing anyone. I just don’t date,” she said softly.
“Well, would you consider changing that rule too and going out with me anyway?” he asked.
She stopped toying with her cup and looked up at him. “No. I’m sorry,” she responded, her voice barely above a whisper.
Standing up abruptly Sarah turned on her heel and walked into the kitchen. Closing the door behind her she leant against the wall. Throwing her hand across her eyes she exhaled heavily.
“Crap,” she whispered shaking slightly as the realisation that Gloria had been correct.
“You right there, Sarah?” Seth called over to her from where he was working on prep for tomorrow’s food.
“Yeah, Seth. I’m fine.”
But was she really fine? Sarah wasn’t so sure these days.
***
“What the hell was that?” Gloria demanded as soon as Sarah entered the front of house of the café once again.
It had taken nearly five minutes for Sarah to calm herself. She knew she had been over reacting to Greg asking her out, but she couldn’t help it. It was the first time since Jamie had kissed her at Christmas nearly three months ago that she had found herself genuinely attracted to another man. The amount that she had been attracted to Greg had surprised her.
Reaching for a cloth under the counter Sarah began to wipe down the sink behind the coffee machine.
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked, her voice flat. She knew what Gloria was referring to, but if she could avoid the conversation that she knew was coming, then she was all for it.
“Ooh, don’t try and act the innocent with me. You just about broke the land speed record to try to get into the kitchen and away from that Greg guy,” Gloria stated bluntly.
“It was nothing. I had some business to discuss with Seth, that’s all,” Sarah lied.
“And pigs fly out of my butt at Christmas,” Gloria deadpanned in return.
“Really? That must make Christmas day exciting for your son.” Placing one hand on her hip and another on the counter Sarah returned the stony faced expression that Gloria had just offered. She hoped that the look she was giving her employee would be enough to stall what Gloria was hinting at.
No such luck.
“Seriously, Sarah, what gives?” Gloria softened her voice and leaned against the counter, her back to the eating area of the café.
Taking a deep breath Sarah snuck a glance at where Greg had been sitting. His seat now sat vacated and the table had been cleared of the dishes he had used.
“He asked me out,” Sarah admitted to Gloria.
“So? You seemed pretty interested in him and you two seemed like you were getting along well,” Gloria countered.
“You know I don’t date,” Sarah replied stubbornly.
“And why the hell not? He’s not getting down on one knee and asking you to marry him. He just wants to spend time with you. Don’t you deserve to live a little?” Gloria was relentless.
“I don’t date,” Sarah repeated her voice not quite as convincing.
“So you said. But do you like the guy?”
“Yes.” Sarah nodded.
“So go out with him then,” Gloria urged her.
“It’s not that simple,” the conviction had all but left Sarah’s voice.
“Why not? You like him, he clearly likes you. All you have to do is go out somewhere and enjoy each other’s company. Then if something more happens, great. If it doesn’t, then that’s okay too.”
“It’s just been a while,” Sarah confessed.
“What do you mean, ‘a while’?” Gloria looked at her confused.
“You know. Since anyone’s actually been attracted to me. Not just flirted, I mean really interested.” Sarah hadn’t told anyone other than Becca what had happened between Jamie and her. Even though it hadn’t worked out between her and Jamie, it was still something that she held on to like a small treasure that she didn’t want to share with anyone else.
“What a bunch of doggy doo-doo.” Gloria bluntly stated. Sarah’s eyebrows flew up in surprise at the epithet that Gloria had used. Gloria shrugged in response. “What? I’ve got a seven year old son and I don’t like to swear in front of him. But come on, Sarah. I’ve seen the way that some of the guys who come in here look at you. If you think he’s the first guy to be attracted to you since you moved to town, you seriously need your head read.”
“Like I said, I’m out of practice.”
“How out of practice?” Gloria pressed. “Come on, tell Aunty Gloria. When was the last time that you went on a date?”
“A couple of years,” Sarah admitted.
“What!?” Gloria’s shock rang out loud across the café.
Refusing to look up at the faces she knew would have swivelled in their direction at Gloria’s outburst, Sarah kept her eyes studiously fast on the countertop as she furiously began to scrub at the sink once again.
“How could you possibly have not gone on a date in two years? You’re gorgeous.”
“There just hasn’t been anyone that has caught my eye,” shrugged Sarah. She hadn’t technically gone out with Jamie, so she wasn’t counting him. Plus there was more to the story of not dating during that time, but she wasn’t willing to share that nugget of information with Gloria.
“Yeah, but...” Gloria trailed off.
“But what?” Sarah sighed placing her hand on her hip to face the younger woman, the cleaning of the sink all but forgotten. “I don’t ever want to be with the wrong person again. I figure it’s better to be by myself than to be with the wrong person. I want the right person.”
The truth of her words surprised her. I want the right person. Where had that come from? Sarah didn’t want anyone. At least that’s what she’d told herself often enough since she had rejected Jamie that first night.
“You don’t need to tell me about being with the wrong person. Hell, I wrote the book on that one. I’ve even got Kyle as proof of what being with the wrong person can do,” Gloria said, referring to her seven year old son, “but how do you...?”
“How do I what?” Sarah rubbed her forehead as if to push away the thought she’d had only moments ago about being with the right person.
“How do you handle it?” Gloria asked perplexed.
“Handle it?” Sarah uncomprehendingly repeated back.
“You know. The going without sex,” Gloria leaned in to Sarah as she said the last part, her voice rising just louder than a whisper. “At least tell me you’ve got a friend with benefits.”
Sarah shrugged. “There’s no one. To be honest I don’t miss it really,” she admitted.
“Oh hell girl. That means whoever you were with last really wasn’t doing it right.”
“You could say that,” she snorted as her mind wandered to her ex-husband and his efforts in the bedroom. As unwanted memories began to flood her mind Sarah found her eyes begin to fill. Turning her back to the café and Gloria, she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes that had begun to form without anyone noticing.
Gloria had noticed though. “I’m sorry,” the younger woman apologised. “I’ve pushed it too far, haven’t I? Gone too far with the whole employee, employer boundary thing haven’t I?”
Sarah shook her head no. “No, it’s okay. You might be an employee here, but you’re also my friend. Just...” she trailed off. “Look, I’m going to take my lunch break. You okay to hold the fort for a bit?”
“Yeah, of course,” Gloria confirmed.
“I’ll have my phone with me if you need me, alright?”
“Sure.”
Without looking back Sarah walked through the kitchen and out the back door of the café. Leaning against the wall at the back of the building the tears that Sarah had been trying so desperately to hold back began to flow.