Chapter 3 Three.
"I need an order of Macchiato with an extra helping of milk foam, Pam," I called into the kitchen before resting my notepad on the counter.
Pam beamed at me, her grey spiky hair contained by a hairnet. She was in charge of all the waitresses, including myself, and was one of the only people who were nice to me here, with the exception of Sue. She nodded in understanding, and I muttered a small thanks before turning to attend to another table.
"You forgetting something, honey?" I turned around at the sound of Sue's voice to see her dangling my notepad between her thumb and index finger. She edged forward, a motherly smile on her face as she stopped in front of me. I smiled sheepishly before jutting my hand out to claim the small item.
Instead of handing it to me, Sue wrapped her hand around my arm before hauling us both to the side. Asking another waitress to attend to the table I was headed to, she turned to me, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"What is going on with you, Aeryn? You're in a world of your own today," she questioned quietly, to which I tutted.
I moved slightly away and looked down before explaining. "Richard came home around midnight yesterday. I had to cook what he wanted and wash the dishes as well. I ended up sleeping at around three." I explained, a yawn escaping my mouth at the mere thought of sleep.
Sue raised an over-plucked eyebrow at this, folding her arms slowly. I bit my lip, knowing what she was going to say.
"When you say 'sleep at three,' do you mean you actually slept, or is three when you entered dreamland, eh?" She joked, but the concern was evident in her tone. Being a mom of a twenty-year-old herself, her motherly instincts came intact when it came to me.
I smiled at the thought. Having Sue around meant I'd never felt the obvious absence of a motherly figure in my life. She had always been there, whether it was to reprimand my behavior or praise me. Rarely had I spared a thought about who my biological mother was with Sue around.
I looked down, finding a newfound interest in the knitwork of the white sweater I was wearing. "I may have had a dream or two?" I meekly admitted, letting out a small, nervous giggle.
Sue sighed deeply at my words. "Look, I…"
"Why are you both just standing around for?!"
Steve's booming voice came from behind, and I quickly turned on my heel to come face-to-face with the greasy-haired man.
"Oh, er…Steve..I.." I let out, but he put a hand up to stop me in my tracks.
"Never mind that right now. Sue, get to the back and ask Pam to quicken up. I've got a man here in dire need of his waffles," Steve ordered hurriedly, pointing to the small door to the kitchen.
Sue tightened her hold on my arm for a fraction of a second before complying with a soft nod and making her way to the back, dropping the notepad in my hands as she did. Steve watched her leave before his black, beady eyes turned to look at me.
"You, get over here. I need you to do something," he called, ushering me over with a wriggle of his index finger. I edged closer, hesitantly, trying not to suffocate on the overpowering smell of the aftershave he was wearing.
He looked over towards the tables, a sneer on his reddened face. He inched closer to me, pointing to a specific table. Following his gaze compliantly, my eyes settled on an old, scraggly man sitting at a table for two, alone.
He was facing down, eyeing the menu, a hand resting on his muddy white beard that reached the length of his chest. The other grubby hand drummed at the table mindlessly. I stared at his attire. The army-green jacket he was wearing seemed to be too big for him; a similar plight for the cargo trousers he wore.
I turned to Steve, a confused look on my face. "What about him?" I questioned, looking down when Steve's sneer settled on me.
He tutted loudly before curling a greasy blonde strand between his fingertips. "What you need to be doing, Miss Aset, is asking the bloke for a 'proof of payment.' I don't like giving out freebies." He drawled out, a spite in his tone at the mere mention of giving away free food.
I turned my gaze to the old man before settling it back on Steve, putting a stray black hair behind my ear. "Well, he must have come here because he had money," I reasoned pathetically, which earned me a glare.
To ask someone for proof of payment was, for me, humiliating on both ends. I knew it had to be done sometimes, but I just couldn't stand the fact that I was judging someone so negatively based on their appearance.
Steve pointed at the table yet again, and I sighed, relenting before going towards the table where the old man sat. He didn't look up on my arrival, and I coughed awkwardly to get his attention. At this, he looked up at me, a warm smile on his wrinkled face. I smiled back, only slightly, before pulling out my notepad from the front of the apron, a professional look on my face.
"Good morning, sir. Welcome to The Groove. What will you be having today?" I asked politely, pulling out a blue pen from the back pocket of my jeans. I tapped the tip of the pen across the paper as I waited for his response.
His smile widened, the crinkles near his eyes deepening in intensity as his shaky fingers hovered over the contents of the menu. Slowly, he rested his finger down on the menu and, with an affirmative nod of his head, he turned to me.
"Just a coffee for me. No sugar. No milk," he croaked out, an eerie raspiness to his voice. I gasped at the sound; it sounded as though he hadn't drunk water for days, and I felt the pressing urge to pour him a glass. Obviously, I restrained myself. He had asked for a coffee, not water.
I smiled with a nod, a shaky breath leaving my mouth. I turned to look over my shoulder to see Steve staring pointedly at me, and I sighed. The old man was still smiling at me, and I cringed at the situation Steve had put me in. I cleared my throat for a second time, to which his eyebrows knitted together, and I proceeded to speak the cursed words.
"Erm, sir, I'm going to need a proof of payment. Please?" I tacked on shyly, my voice sounding a slightly higher pitch than what I was accustomed to.
I recoiled slightly when, rather than getting insulted, the old man smiled yet again, a spluttering laugh escaping his mouth. I glanced in Steve's direction in a feeble bid for help, but his attention was already directed at another hapless waitress, his rather large backside facing me. I muttered a curse under my breath before turning to the old man, who was going red with laughter.
He came to an abrupt stop, a smile on his face as he used the tips of his grubby hands to wipe the corner of his eyes. His gaze then turned on me, and something about the look in his eyes made me gulp heavily. Thankfully, his stare didn't last long as he fiddled around with his jacket, his left hand reaching into his right pocket and retrieving a few coins as shiny as though they had just been made.
"Will this be enough, Miss?" he croaked, the bubble of laughter still evident in his tone as I eyed the coins he laid on the table wearily. It was the exact amount for what he ordered. I recounted the money just to make sure before giving him a small nod.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. Your coffee will be ready soon," I breathed out, turning to leave, but the grip of a frost-bitten hand on my arm stopped me dead in my tracks.
I looked at the old man in shock and watched as he opened his mouth to a wide grin, showing a line of pearly whites. I jerked my arm towards my body in a bid to free myself but stilled immediately upon gazing at the look of solemn seriousness on his face. He raised a shaky finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet, and I foolishly obeyed.
Something about the old man before me had me quaking in my Vans, and I let my hand go limp in his firm grip.
He smiled at my compliance before hurriedly reaching into his right pocket yet again and pulling out something, his eyes never leaving mine. I couldn't quite see what it was from the way his large hand had enveloped it. His eyes flitted around in a panicked manner before he turned to me again, a crazed look in his eye.
"Listen to me, Aeryn Vale, and listen very carefully. I don't have a lot of time to tell you, so do not question anything I say. Just listen. Understood?" he let out gruffly, and I nodded, the urgency in his tone making me ignore the fact that he knew my name.
He looked around for a second time, this time much slower, and then he pulled my arm towards him, his palm enveloping mine. His tone was urgent as he spoke, the raspiness of his voice sending chills up my spine.
"The time is upon us, Miss Vale, and your presence is needed. You will be guided, and all will be explained. Just follow the instructions and all shall be well. But do remember to tread carefully, Miss Vale; there is a dark evil lurking. You shall do best to be quick."
He rushed the words out, his palm squeezing the life out of my own. I opened my mouth to speak, as I processed the utterly confusing words, but his crazed voice interrupted me.
"All that you know will change," he spoke, his voice barely a whisper, and just as he said that, his eyes widened slightly as though he had shared too much. With that, he got up abruptly and retreated out of the cafe, giving my palm a final firm squeeze.
I watched, my mouth agape, as his hunched figure rushed across the street and out of view. I looked at the empty seat in front of me; it was as though it had never happened. I would have believed that, too, if it weren't for the piece of paper nestled into the palm of my hand. Just what had he left for me?
I touched the crumpled piece of paper in my hand, moving to open it. There were words written inside in black ink, and I looked closely to see…
