Leaves [gxg]

9

9

The tea shop had a good few more customers than usual and River didn't know whether to celebrate or to worry. It was, after all, only a little shop. Every table was full, with people chatting, or working, or only sitting, staring into space. It flummoxed River as to the reason behind the influx of customers and she found herself rushed off her feet.

She considered calling Erisa, but she remembered the law student mentioning a day out with her boyfriend and she had no intention of spoiling their happiness, even if it meant some customers becoming irritated at slower than normal service. Not for the first time, she wondered whether she should have invested in one of the large boilers that most other tea and coffee shops used, but she prided herself in making her tea the proper way. It was a feature for her little shop.

In the days since her almost disastrous date/not-date with Celeste, she had seen a steady rising increase in customers, without any indication of why the shop had become so popular. Sitting in a little side street, off the main street of the town, she had relied upon passing footfall, finding the right amount of custom to keep the place ticking over. She never had much call for advertising.

In a short lull in trade, she took a moment to perform an internet search for tables and chairs she could add outside, though the thin pavement would only allow one, perhaps two, sets outside before it became a hazard. She also made a quick look at her suppliers' websites, deciding that she may have to increase her order for disposable cups for those customers happy to drink on the go.

"I would like a mug of that new Truro tea, please." The voice of the next customer caused River to slam the lid of her netbook closed, almost sending it flying from the counter.

She managed to catch it, almost dropped it again and ended up cradling it to her chest with both hands. She still hadn't acknowledged the customer and, as she placed the netbook back on the counter, pushing it beneath the wide shelf to ensure it didn't try to throw itself to the floor again, she glanced up with a weary, cheery smile.

"Celeste!" Nervous hands knocked into used cups and mugs waiting for her to wash them, sending them rolling and rocking along the counter. She dived forward, surrounding them all with her arms before they, too, made attempts to launch themselves at the floor.

"You're busy. Good." As River tried to bring order to the chaos on the counter, Celeste looked around at the full tables. "I'm glad it worked."

"Well, I always knew 'Leaves' would gain attention, one day." She began moving the empty cups, saucers and mugs to the washing up area. "I haven't seen you in a few days. I expect you found a new job?"

Wiping her hands upon her apron, River tried to blow a stray curl of hair from in front of her eyes. When that didn't work, she blew again, before finally pushing the curl aside, tucking it under a less wayward part of her hair. She brushed her hands on her apron again, shifting from foot to foot, smiling like an idiot at Celeste.

"No. No job, yet. I'm busy doing other things, right now." Raising her eyebrows, Celeste pointed towards the menu, where the new 'Truro' tea had a four out five star rating from River. "The tea?"

River made a nervous laugh, holding up a finger before spinning around towards the line of overworked kettles. She refilled several, placing them all on the gas hobs. As they began their journey to boiling, she prepared a tea pot for the 'Truro' tea, tipping in a heaped spoon of leaves. With her back to Celeste, River could pretend she hadn't almost made a fool of herself. Again.

Still waiting for the water to boil, she turned back around to see Celeste leaning an elbow on the counter as she watched the other customers. In that moment, River saw a different side to the woman, a confident, intense side that almost looked as though she were assessing the people in the shop.