Chapter Five: Dirty Laundry

After arriving at work and getting straight to handling the mess some of the openers had left, the thought of my father and where he could be kept pounding my head as I attempted to concentrate. The same question going around and around, if I would have given my father the money that morning, would he have come home? I know I didn’t have the money in my hand at the time but what if I did?

Once I had sorted the chaotic mess in the back, I make my way out to the front of the shop looking around as Shane handed a woman her coffee with a smile before turning around to look at me.

“What’s on your mind?” He asks crossing his arms over his chest leaning up against the counter, while I snap out of my trance and send him a look of confusion. “I can see it written all over your face Coraline, you’re here but your mind is somewhere else.” He says waving his hands in the air as though they were blowing in the wind, I just send him a little laugh whilst walking to stand behind the counter.

“I’m okay, I didn’t get the best of sleep last night so I’m still in that tired haze.” I say lying through my teeth, but I couldn’t tell him the real reason, my father has gone missing where I don’t know if it’s because he’s on one of his benders or has hurt himself! “Isn’t now around the time you go for one of your breaks?” I ask looking up at the clock before looking back at him, I knew if he didn’t leave in this moment, he would only continue to ask me what was wrong and that will run the risk of me accidentally, telling him.

“If you’re sure you can hold the fought whilst I’m gone, I know when I’m tired, the world is a little hazy, we don’t need you giving regular Ron the wrong milk, you know it makes him irregular.” He says with a little laugh whilst taking slow steps towards the back, where I have to push him slightly with a laugh.

“I think I can handle regular Ron and his milk.” I laugh once I had successfully pushed him to stand in the back of the shop, whilst Shane also laughs uniting his apron.

“Alright, I’ll be right on the other end of the phone if you need me. I want to head over to that new waffle place down the road, they have the best waffles by all accounts, I’ll grab you one while I’m gone.” He shouts whilst walking out of the back door where his car was parked, I only smile a little turning back around to face the front where many of our customers sat at tables enjoying their coffee getting on with their lives.

But now I was alone where I was standing, I couldn’t help the worried thoughts of my father that consumed my mind, what if he’s really hurt himself this time? The longer that I worked the café alone, the more that same thought did laps around my head as though it was staring in some competition. The many fake smiles I had to wear whilst waving the customers off caused my head to hurt.

I feared I was going to need to leave work early due to my worried until the bell of the door soon breaks me from my troubled thoughts where I thought I would be serving one of our regulars, maybe even regular Ron! But when the mystery man from yesterday walks over to the counter with a smile on his face, I almost fell to the floor from shock.

“Hello again, I didn’t expect to see you back here.” I smile as he comes to a stop in front of the counter, even the smell of his cologne wafted in the air leaving me with the feeling of intoxication even though I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol. “Did you love my smoothie so much you had to come and get a second?” I ask with a little laugh mostly, to distract my brain from the smell which became more pungent with each second, he stood at the other side of the counter.

“I will not deny that smoothie was one of the best I have tasted but no, I was intending to try one of your coffees, see if you are good at making one of those.” He smiles placing his hands in the front of his now grey suit pocket, his accent also taking me off guard for a moment as I watched him.

“Well, that is also something I make on a daily basis, tell me what you want, and I’ll make it up for you.” I smile hoping that he wouldn’t see right though me in this moment, it wasn’t this difficult to speak with him yesterday.

“I will be the judge of that, I’ll have Cappuccino.” He smiles looking up at the sign above me with the list of our coffees before pulling out his wallet, I simply send him a nod of my head before turning around to start to make his coffee, where I could now allow my face to hold shock at the sheer beauty of this man.

“So, you won’t be hiding in the bathroom whilst I make this today, I see?” I ask to make conversation whilst I work on his coffee, I hear a little chuckle behind me and no before I turn back around with his finished coffee in my hand. “Probably for the best, that will be £5.20 please.” I smile placing my hands on the counter whilst he hands me £20 note, with a smile, I set to work rounding up his change but once again, he shakes his hand at me when I went to try and hand it to him.

“No no, you can keep the change.” He smiles pulling his wallet back in his pocket, but I had to stand there a little shocked looking down at the amount of tip he was about to give me.

“But the coffee was only £5.20, are you sure you want to give me such a big tip?” I ask wondering if he had handed me the wrong note and didn’t understand how much I was being given, he once again only nods his head with a smile.

“I am very aware, you deserve it.” Is all he says before picking up his freshly made coffee and walking over to sit at the table right at the corner of the shop facing the side of the counter, whilst I still stood there in a state of shock for a second but do slip my tip into the pocket of my apron.

“I have returned baring gifts.” Shane’s voice happily says from behind me, I turn around a little confused as he danced over to me holding a white polystyrene food container in his hands.

“You got me a waffle?” I ask with a little laugh as he hands me over the container, which bottom was still warm with the delicious smelling food which was hidden inside.

“I told you I would, now how about you take your break now to eat that waffle whilst I manage the fought?” He asks with a smile tiring his apron around his waist, I was about to agree with him and do just that as the bell rings from the door, but a strikingly familiar voice soon erupts.

“There she is! My daughter!” My father shouts drunkly stumbling into the shop, causing each person in the shop to look over at the drunken mess with looks of concern whilst my heart began to sink.

“Dad, what are you doing here?!” I ask walking around the counter to meet him in the middle, whilst he drunkly wiggles his finger in my face.

“I have come to see you!” He slurred with a laugh where I was soon greeted with the smell of death which not only erupted from his clothes but his extremely bad breath. “You said you would give me money yesterday, but you never did!” He growls out his whole demeanour changing in that second, where I worried what happens behind closed doors will begin to happen right in the middle of the café.

“I tried to, but you weren’t there, the money is on the kitchen table for you.” I begin to whisper in hopes of keeping our private life to ourselves, he of all people didn’t need his dirty laundry to be thrown around for the world to see.

“But I can’t go home, I forgot my keys! It’s your job as my daughter to give me what I want, just like I did for you growing up!” He shouts really popping the p at the end, he knew in that sick mind of his what he was doing, that’s what my grandmother used to tell me.

“I’m at work dad, this isn’t the place for this.” I whisper yell feeling the intense stares from all around us burning holes in my back, but my father didn’t seem to care about this as he drunkly put a show on for whoever was watching.

“Give me the money I need, and I’ll leave! Oh, what’s this?” He asks looking down at me for a moment whilst reaching his hand into my apron pocket, pulling out the tip that the mysterious man had given me not even two minutes before this point. “Thank you darling, you know I love you.” He drunkly smiles at me with his dirty hand placed on my cheek, after inspecting the money he had taken.

I couldn’t help but look at the man who was supposed to be my father stood in front of me with nothing but disgust, but also in this moment, such sadness and shame for what he had turned into.

“I’ll see you at home.” He mumbled before turning slowly around and beginning to drunkly stumble out of café leaving me stood in the middle of the room staring at his place, tears pricking my eyes as I knew our little secret was no longer a secret.

Shane walks behind me, placing his hands on my arms knowing the intel battle I was having with myself in this moment as he pulls me back over to the counter.

“Take your break Coraline.” He says with a look of sympathy on his face which was something I knew would happen if people would see him and that’s something, I didn’t want.

With a nod of my head, I take my apron off and walk through the back towards the back door, leaving my warm waffle on the counter waiting for me. But as I leave the building with my back pressed against the old brick wall, I couldn’t help the sobs which erupted from my chest.