Coffee and Callings (Manifest Coffee Shop AU)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The Long Road.

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The continuous sound of the damned bell on a Tuesday evening had Ambrosia's head running in circles, she already wanted to go home and be with her daughter, yet here she was, suffering in the workplace that smelled strongly of coffee beans. It was usually a pleasant smell, until you've smelled it for eight hours straight. The dual haired woman wiped down the counters as the bell sounded once more.

God! Can't she catch a break?!

"Hi, welcome in!" Ambrosia called over her shoulder, before going to the register. Leave it to her co-worker to be slammed, making coffee after coffee. Ambrosia smoothed out her apron before meeting the gaze of a blonde man- presumably not much older than herself. He seemed vaguely familiar, but the dual haired woman couldn't place from where.

"Ambrosia Harris, right?" He asked, nervousness lacing his tone. Ambrosia stared at him for a moment, a bit taken aback. She slowly nodded

"That's me.." She mumbled, before it finally clicked where she recognized him from– her ex-husband, Ethan Klein, had shown her a video of him threatening Cody Webber. A well deserved threat, or so Ambrosia seemed to think. Ambrosia's eyes lit up a bit and she offered him a warm smile. "Ben Stone, right?" She asked, leaning against the counter, the blonde seemed pleasantly surprised by her reaction. "Your son and my daughter became friends in the airport hangar." she explained. Ben snapped his fingers.

"I knew there was another reason I recognized you!" he laughed.

"So, what brings you here?" Ambrosia asked, "Aside from the coffee and treats, I'm sure you have another reason to pay me a visit." She hummed, taking the coffee she was being handed by her coworker, calling out the name, and handing the coffee to the customer and bidding them farewell with her customer service voice.

"I just had a couple of questions, but while I'm here, could I get a large hot coffee?" he asked, Ambrosia nodded.

"Cream, sugar? Black coffee?" Ambrosia asked, looking up at him with a kind smile. Ben nodded, seemingly spaced out and in his own little world. Ambrosia noticed her ex-husband walk through the front door with Kayla, which meant it was almost time for her to be off. Finally, Her relief would be coming in any time so she could be off and do her other job. She never stopped working. She knew about Ethan's strong feelings about Ben's actions, and she found his view of the situation a bit hypocritical, seeing as Ethan nearly fought one of Kayla's principals before over the guy supposedly being rude to Ambrosia– of course that was back when they were married.

"Brosia, Kayla has something she wanted to tell you" Ethan spoke up, coming up to the counter while Ambrosia turned her back to him to make Ben's coffee.

"It couldn't wait?" She questioned, glancing over her shoulder at her daughter and ex-husband. Kayla excitedly rocked on her feet, shaking her head.

"I passed my science test, momma!" Kayla chirped happily, Ben couldn't help but be reminded by Kayla of a younger Olive– the one he was with only weeks before.

"With an A." Ethan added proudly, ruffling his daughter's hair.

"I'm proud of you sweetheart! We'll do something fun as a reward as soon as I get time, okay, honey?" Ambrosia hummed, trying to focus on making Ben's coffee. That was until Ethan took notice of the blonde man beside him. Ethan stared for a few minutes before ushering Kayla to sit down at a booth.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ethan asked,

"Ethan–" Ambrosia tried to interrupt her ex, but was shut down. Ben recognized Ethan from somewhere– he just couldn't remember where.. Strange, Maybe he caught a glimpse of him when he picked up Kayla and Ambrosia from the hangar... yeah, that had to be it.