Coffee Beans

Busy Day

Back in the comfort of the cafe, Ellie organised the tables and chairs so they were perfect for the Sunday crowd she often received; Mums liked to sit in big groups which then left space for the children to play in. Making three or four larger tables meant that her floor wouldn't be too damaged from customers moving the furniture themselves.

Ellie then headed to the kid's shelves, turning on the hot water tank as she walked past. She re-stacked the board games and put the coloured pencils into their own pot so they weren't mixed with the pens and normal pencils. Unfortunately, it took longer to rearrange the shelves than Ellie had planned and a knock on the door startled her.

She rushed over to unlock the cafe's door, opening it to let a couple of Mums in with their shivering children. "Sorry about that! I was carried away with the toys," she mumbled. 

One of the Mums laughed and said, "Don't worry about it; we'd only just got here. It was my youngest who knocked on the door."

Ellie nodded at everything the Mum said and hurried to the coffee machine, flicking a multitude of switches. After a slight delay, the machine whirred into life and the soothing smell of ground coffee filled the room.

"That smells amazing," muttered one Mum to the other. "We'll have two large cappuccinos please."

Ellie took their money, shutting the till drawer with a satisfying click. "I'll bring them over to you if you'd like?" She asked. The two Mums nodded their thanks and joined their children.

It was less than ten minutes before the next group of mothers came into the cafe. They too ordered coffees and even a slice of cake for their children. The steady stream of customers meant Ellie was able to partake in a bit of small talk with each one of them. It was the hint of gossip and aroma of coffee that seemed to make her little shop so popular.

By twelve o'clock, the cafe was full and bustling with children of all ages running around, showing off their drawings to people left, right, and centre. A small queue of local shop owners on their lunch break had formed and the till was barely shut before it sprung open again to accept even more money. A pound for a coffee here, fifty pence for a cookie there. Ellie couldn't help but smile. After a slow day yesterday, the high takings of today's business would make ends meet for another week.

As she poured the frothed milk into a takeaway cup for yet another businessman, her mind flicked back to closing time. Would another drenched stranger require her help? She laughed to herself and popped a lid onto the cup. She was quite sure that nothing as strange as that would ever happen again.