Coffee Beans

Catasrophe

Ellie felt her cheeks begin to burn, not sure what she should do. Her mind flicked back to the restaurant, to Robin; she would know what to do. A list formed in her head of all the different things that could happen; she could sneeze, he could tell a joke. Ellie had only got to number four as her lips met Mark's in a rushed collision. Her list hadn't featured a kiss, but it was certainly better than Ellie had imagined.

Suddenly, Mark pulled away and swore. "Sorry, that was a bad idea." He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and took a couple of steps back from the café door. "I'd best be going," he mumbled, pointing down the street. There was a pause as he forced a quick smile before walking away.

It seemed to take an age for Ellie to reach her bed and when she got there, time stopped completely. So many thoughts were going around inside her head that, at the same time, she felt empty. Mark was nicer than she'd ever expected, but in the back of her mind was Robin and whoever that woman was.

"Not that it's any of my business," she muttered to herself. Maybe that was the problem; maybe she was being too gentle about it all. Robin wouldn't stand by and wait for something to happen, she'd go and make it so. Ellie laughed at herself. "I don't even know her. She could be completely different." Her thought process was broken by the ringing of her phone. It was her Dad.

"Ellie? Why haven't you been picking up; I've left four messages!"

The brunette took a deep breath and tried to smile through her reply. "I was at a restaurant so my phone was on silent."

"That's a ridiculous excuse and you know it." Her Dad was grumbling like usual, but Ellie wasn't sure how much she'd be able to take in her current frame of mind.

"What do you want Dad? I have to go to bed soon."

"Your Mum's friend, the lawyer, she rang me this afternoon and said to tell you that-"

"Wait," Ellie said, holding up her hand although she knew her Dad couldn't see. "You're still in touch with Laura?" There was a long bout of silence before her Dad sighed heavily on the other end of the line.

"That's irrelevant at the moment. Just listen; the owner of the café wants it back."

"But I own the building, the lease. Mum helped me buy it, you know that!"

Her Dad sighed again, this time with a bit more than frustration. He sounded sorry. "Laura wouldn't tell me the details because it involves you and only you. However, I know that the guy who owns your building owns half the street and wants to turn them all into flats as part of some big investment project outside of London or-"

"Dad. How long do I have to prove I own the café?"

"Six months." 

A/N: Oh dear. Hmm. To those of you who get the OITNB reference, well done! To those of you who are panicking, don't worry - there are a whole six months to get sorted, right? Hope you're enjoying this folks. if you are, please leave a comment or even click on that little star button :)