The New Normal

Chapter Fifteen

Stella dropped me off ten minutes before my first shift started. She got here in less than ten minutes, even though it's typically a twenty minute car ride. Whenever there was a car driving in front of us that was going painfully slow, Stella would speed up like a maniac and would yell, "SHE WILL NOT BE LATE FOR HER FIRST DAY!"

We parked in front of the cafe and Kimberly leaned over from the backseat and touched my shoulder. "Good luck."

I gave her a small smile and pulled myself out of the passenger seat. When I went to shut the door, I said, "Thanks for the ride and the vote of confidence."

Simultaneously, they both said, "You're welcome." And then they drove off, leaving me staring at the cafe, bracing myself for my first day.

I entered the cafe and again was greeted with the scent of coffee beans and cocoa powder. There were more people lounging around on the red leather couches than last time I was here. Nearly a full house.

Crap.

Just my luck to have my first shift on a day where it's packed.

Crystal came out from the back, carrying a large tray of tarts to put in the display case. "Oh good, you're here! Just head on in the back, my son will start your training while I work the front."

"You're not going to need me out here? It's pretty packed." I questioned, glancing the hustle and bustle that took place around me.

She set the trays in the case as she let out a laugh. "And feed you to wolves on the first day? No, I'm not that cruel. Don't worry about me, dear."

I nodded my head and worked my way around the long counter and pushed the double swinging doors. A tall guy had his back to me and I could see his muscles flew through his grey T-shirt as I heard him roll out dough on the large wooden table in front of him.

Hot damn.

He must've heard the doors woosh shut because he abruptly stopped rolling out the dough and turned around, my attention was immediately drawn to the hand he held out a hand but quickly drew it back. "What are you doing here?"

I looked up and my eyes landed on Tyler's green ones. "You have to be kidding me."

Tyler placed his hands on his hips, in a sassy stance, waiting for my answer. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "Your mother hired me."

"My mother said the girl she hired was named Julie," He argued and then groaned as he ran his hand through his black spiked up hair. "God, she sucks at remembering names! How could you apply to work here? Don't you remember that this is my mom's cafe?"

I was about to say I didn't remember and that he could stop being a jerk any time now, but the memory of Tristan always coming home with treats wrapped up in a nice take away box. One time when I was twelve, he came home with a box that was filled with my favourite dessert, brownies, that was labeled specifically for me. Tristan said it was from Tyler's mother's cafe. I mentally kicked myself for not remembering. 

Not knowing what to say, I stood there silently, hoping I could just be fired at this moment rather than having to deal with Tyler. I expected him to do just that, maybe he had some jurisdiction due to being the owner's son. But instead, he walked over to the hangers that were attached the wall behind me and grabbed an apron and draped it over me and wrapped his arms around my waist as he tied it back for me. I stood still and held my breath as he did so because I had no idea what to do with myself.

"Whatever," He said. He pulled back and continued, "We have to bake some pies."

"I uh-" I began. "I don't know how to bake pie."

"That's why I am here to teach you. Don't worry, I will let you do the easy stuff and roll out the rest of the dough," Tyler chuckled and led me to the big table where I could see properly now that he was rolling out dough for numerous pies.

He went to the sink and washed his hands and gestured for me to do the same. Once our hands were washed we returned back to the table and he hand me the rolling pin. "Roll out the dough and I will do the rest for now."

I nodded my head, for what felt like the a millionth time today and began my work. We worked in silence, me just rolling out wads of dough while Tyler went about making the filling for three different flavours: cherry, blueberry, and apple. I watched him as he worked, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration as he peeled the apples and began slicing them up quickly. I noticed when he would occasionally cut the slices unevenly, he would let out a small grunt of frustration. When he did it for the third time, I laughed quietly to myself and Tyler set down the knife with a cocked eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I continued to roll out the last of the dough. "I just find it amusing that Sacred Heart Prep's residential Bad Boy likes to bake pie and hates it when his apple slices are uneven."

Tyler stared at me hard and gripped his hands at the edge of the table to the point I could see his veins poking through his skin. "If you tell anyone about this, I will end you."

I held up my hands that were coated flour and arched my brow. "Dude, chill. It was just an observation that I found amusing."

He rolled his eyes started to gather some cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar to stir into the three large glass bowls that were already filled with rest of the sliced apples. He was slowly stirring, making sure that the ingredients were coating the apples evenly. Whereas, I started placing the sheets of dough in the fifteen pie tins that were laid out in front of me. The double swinging doors opened and Crystal appeared with a big smile on her face. "You and Julie seem to make a good team!"

Tyler stopped scooping the filling and gave his mom an annoyed look. "Her name is Juliet."

Crystal stopped in her tracks and stared between me and Tyler. The look of realization on her face made heat rise to my cheeks. Whatever she was thinking, probably was not good and probably due to Tyler's hatred towards me. She pointed a finger at me. "Your name is Juliet? Oh, I am sorry I forgot, dear. I'm awful with names. You're brother-"

"I was going to teach her how to bake your famous brownies tomorrow," Tyler thankfully cut his mother off. The thought of Tristan made my eyes sting as they tried to fight off instant tears. He came up beside me and shot me what seemed to be an apologetic look but I couldn't quite place it. "They're her favourite."