Capturing colours

4

Drenched from head to toe, his hair was loose from his pony tail dripping beads of water onto the dry tiled floor as he came rushing in through the back door arriving to work with a minute to spare. Taking off his rain jacket hanging it up on the coat rack slipping off his saturated shoes and socks placing them under the coat rack next to the dry pair that layer out read for him as he picked them up and slipped them on before he tied up the apron that had a large white name tag, Eugene printed in bold writing in the right side if his chest.

"Eugene, hurry up! table three and seven needs cleaning!" The usual sweet voice of Lowie, was rushed and her anxiety had kicked in, making Eugene look over to her as he sees batters upon batters in bowls and stacks of biscuits being piled up, some one must of forgot to prepare last night, he thought.

"Right on it! Lowie!" He yelled out too the hurried woman that kneeded a heap of doe in to the bench a frown Imprinted on her face.

"Don't give me cheek, boy!" Eugene winced at her tone as his face turned gloomy remembering his father, turning his mood sour, he sluggishly walked through the kitchen and in to the waiting room that was filled with customers eating, drinking and chatting away as he cleaned table three.

A spray bottle in hand and a cleaning cloth in the other he sprayed the table wiping away the finger prints, crumbs as well as the drips of tea and coffee forcing a charming smile, if one had looked at him close enough they could see how tired he really was by the permanently darkening bags under his eyes, his brows creased in slightly and his once bright eyes mixed of dull and bright colours held a certain darkness within them.

Dusting the crumbs off the chairs of table seven pushing them in as he moves to the next, a mans booming laughter caught his attention. he looked over to what looked like a family, sat there with wide smiles on there faces, the man held his stomach with his arm, wrinkles forming from his wide smile. Scoffing at the sight silently, the picture perfect family he voiced in his mind as he went back to cleaning table seven his mood sour.

A piece of damp hair falling from his hair tie swinging loosely down along his face tickling his cheek just as he was about to tuck the loose strands of hair behind his ear the room went silent a cup struck to the floor spilling its contents, chips of the China scattered along the tiles flinching at the sound squinting his eyes trying to clear the image of his younger self getting a cup thrown at him, the scare on his cheek throbbed at the memory. Slowly looking over to the mess she locks eyes with a girl wrapped in a towel, drenched hair just like his but out, with a camera in her hands smiling brightly at Eugene.

He watched her as she rested the camera upon her chest to hang from the string around her neck to kneel down at the mess she accidentally made picking up the China pieces with her fingers a smile still on her lips. Taking a few steps towards her, he bent down picking up the pieces with her sneaking glances at the oddly dressed woman in front of him."Stop, I made the mess and I shall clean it, your going to cut yourself picking them up like that."

He looked at her, there eyes connected he could see the colours in her swirling within them, her gentle voice of worry shocked him not once has a stranger spoke to him with such concern."I'll be fine love, I've done this a million times. No need to worry"

His voice was genuine but there was something off about it and Ethel could sense it. Just as she was going to reply the sight of blood caught her attention and the sound of an intake of breath, it's all my fault she thought as she gets up and rushes off.

Being nice comes with a price, Eugene sighs to him self as he stays kneeled down putting pressure on to the small cut on his pointer finger the feeling of disappointment sat with in him as he noticed the woman that took his photo left in a hurry. Getting up slowly one knee to the ground pushing off his foot a hand to his shoulder made him flinch looking at the dantè hand and then at the woman, the disappointment in him vanished as he see's the cheeky smile.

"Come, take my seat. I'll fix you up" Nodding to her. He followed her instructions. Giving a slight nod at her 'parents' as he thought they where, but then the though of his father came to mind be a man and toughen up son.

"You really don't need too-"

"Son, from what I know the last hour off meeting this crazy woman, is that she won't take no for an answer" Brett cut Eugene off.

"Brett!" Margaret scolds the man, slapping his knee glaring at him.

"What?!, it's the truth!. She was standing in the middle of a busy street with the stupid camera of hers and it was raining, that is the define of crazy if I say so" Brett grumble crossing his arms as his wife slaps his knee again turning his head trying to avoid her glare as Margaret starts to rant. Eugene watches the two as the bicker back and forth not noticing the slight sting coming from his finger, his lip curls up the slightest before completely disappearing.

"It's my fault you're hurt and I'm terribly sorry, I have some cash for the cup, but I don't know what else I can do" Her voice brought him back, a slight frown in her face now but there was still traces of a smiling lingering as she wrapped the bandaid around his finger.

"Keep your money cups break all the time." He watched her step back picking up the rest of the chips of the cup wrapping them in a damp towel she used to clean off his finger, getting up as she did. "I just need to be more careful, you did warn me after all"

Taking the towel from her out stretched hands he gave her a fake smile before walking back to the kitchen dropping the towel and broken cup in the bin, looking at his finger where the cut was covered by a Shrek bandaid.