Coffee Beans

Bad News, News, Question

"Excuse me? Sorry to interrupt but I'd like to order a coffee to go?" A young man was awkwardly standing by the till, a wary glance making its way around the room, never settling for more than a second. Robin bit her lip and took a step back, allowing Ellie to take the customer's order. The cafe was only half-full and a gentle murmur was all that filled the awkward silence. After the young man had a cappuccino in-hand, he left along with a couple of other customers.

"So um-" Robin said, her gaze just as scattered as the young man's. Ellie held up a hand and stopped the blonde from saying anything else.

"I close for lunch in half an hour. We can talk then if that's ok?"

Robin's eyebrows jumped at the tone of Ellie's voice, but she nodded.

A minute or so later and a group of local business people came in. Their order wasn't too large, but it was enough to keep Ellie busy. Every time she paused to froth up the milk, her mind would wander back to the Italian restaurant; how nice Mark was, their kiss, Robin's... Who was the woman she'd been with? They'd kissed so maybe it was Robin's girlfriend? Ellie shuddered at the thought before mentally scolding herself. Being jealous was always an ugly thing to be. She shook her head and finished steaming the milk; it had gone beyond being jealous with whatever Robin had just tried to pull.

With the gaggle of customers served, Ellie gently asked the stragglers to leave so that she could close up for an hour over lunch. There wasn't too much of a protest as a few children were thankful for having an excuse to leave. Their mums and dads laughed, thanking Ellie for the drinks and also the usefulness of the kids' corner. She waved them off and locked the door, turning a sign in the window. "You could grab a cloth if you like and help me clean this tables down? There should be one in the cupboard beneath the till."

Robin did as she was instructed and it took no time at all to get the tables and chairs wiped ready for the afternoon. Either that or Ellie was aware of an awkward conversation rapidly getting closer; there was no way she could- wait. She put her cloth down on one of the large window tables and stared out into the street. Had Robin been about to kiss her? That definitely called for a conversation. The brunette bit her lip as she started to doubt herself. Maybe she was looking too far into things. Maybe Robin had just been about to hug her? Like friends do? Maybe?

"Your left ear is twitching again," Robin said, causing Ellie to jump. The blonde was standing right behind her. "Stop thinking so much. Just talk to me, ok? We're friends."

"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind at the moment."

"Well how about we change the roles and I listen while you speak. We could even go back to the beginning and sit on the same sofas that I probably ruined with all the water from my hair." Robin laughed a little as she went over to the sofas and sat down. Her shoes fell off with a thud onto the wooden floor and she curled her legs up, making herself comfortable.

Ellie joined her and also took her shoes off, unable to shake her surprise at how easy Robin was to talk to. She was ready to tell her life story let alone anything about Mark. Part of her thought that maybe Mark wasn't the best way to start off the conversation. "Ok, so shall we start with the question, the news or the bad news?"

Robin's eyebrows pulled together with confusion, a mischievous grin forming on her lips. "Let's go in reverse order, shall we? That could be fun," she paused for a moment until realising what she'd just said. "Obviously bad news isn't fun in any way, shape, or form, but you get what I mean?"

The brunette nodded, unable to prevent herself from giggling a little. "Well the bad news," she said, her face falling as she remembered. "Is that I only have six months to prove the cafe is mine before the 'owner' takes it from me."

Robin gasped, a hand racing to her mouth in shock. "Do you own the building?"

"Yeah, I do. I even own the land that the building is on. Most long-term home owners don't even do that because it's too expensive. My Mum helped me to buy this place so I'm not letting it slip through my fingers." Ellie took a breath, well aware that a few tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "The general news is that my life feels like I'm living in a rom-com and I've got no idea if that's good or bad at the moment."

"That's fair enough. I suppose we'll talk about that later in more detail?"

"Later?"

The blonde nodded. "You seem really upset; there's no way I could leave you like this and not do anything about it."

"Ok well, the question may change your mind."

Robin shook her head. "I doubt that. Come on, spill."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

A/N: Dun dun dunnn lemme know what you think with a comment or even give it a star XD Enjoy folks :3