Page 70 of Unburdening His Heart

Charlie

I overslept after sitting up late, waiting for Andrew to text me back. I check my phone before shoving it into my pocket. Andrew texted me back after I fell asleep. I blow out a breath of relief that he finally responded, but I don’t have time to reply right now. I need to get to the café.

I run through my apartment, haphazardly throwing on clothes. I don’t stop to brush my hair or teeth. Ugh, I’ll just have to fix it when I get to the café.

I hurry out of my apartment and make quick work of locking up. I sling my bag over my shoulder and rush out to my shiny red sports car. After unlocking the car doors with the keypad as I approach, I swing the door open and slip inside. I toss my bag on the passenger seat, press the start button, and the engine roars to life.

“Sorry, ol’ girl. No time to warm up,” I say to my car as I pull the shifter into reverse and back out of my parking spot.

Thankfully, I live close to the café, so I’ll only barely be late. Irene is standing in the doorway when I park out front. She watches me scramble out of the car, my bag slightly falling off my shoulder as I run up to the door. She holds her wrist up and taps her watch as I approach, but a smile breaks through, so I know she isn’t really upset.

“Well, look who decided to show up, Andrea,” Irene says with a chuckle.

I swat her arm as I pass while entering the café. Andrea has already started the coffee makers and is kneading pastry dough when I go back to wash my hands.

She glances at me, and her eyes go wide. “Damn, Charlie. What happened to you?”

She laughs when I look myself over. My shirt is wrinkled, and my pants are zipped but not buttoned. I dressed in such a hurry I didn’t even notice. I button my pants and run my hands over my wrinkled shirt.

Irene walks over to us. “There’s a new shirt in my office, but I don’t know what to tell you about your hair. It’s looks like something tried to build a nest in it while you were sleeping.” She barely finishes her sentence before a belly laugh escapes her.

My hands instinctively go to the borderline offensive mop on my head. I can’t see it, but it feels like my red hair is standing on end.

I grimace. “I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time… please!” Andrea yells after me through her laughter.

“That child, I swear….” Irene’s voice trails off.

I smile to myself. They love me, and they can’t deny it.

I go to Irene’s office to get the new shirt first, then to the bathroom to change and tame my hair. With the bathroom door closed behind me, I strip out of my wrinkled shirt and toss it on the floor. I pull the new shirt over my head, and my messy hair pops out of the top first.

“That’s the true definition of a messy bun, if I do say so myself.”

I wrestle the hair tie out of my hair, then run my fingers through it to get some of the tangles out. I pull it up high, piling it on top of my head and twist it into a tight bun, securing it with my hair tie again.

“That’s as good as it’s going to get,” I say to myself, tucking some stray hairs behind my ear. I wash my hands and dry them quickly before heading back into the kitchen area to help Andrea.

Irene tosses me an apron when I arrive at my station. “That’s better.” She grins.

I poke my tongue out at her as she turns toward her office. She chuckles as she walks away.

I work alongside Andrea like we normally do. We have our breakfast items baked and ready to go into the display case up front in no time flat. Thankfully, even with me being late, we’re able to finish before time to open for the day. Although, I can see a line forming out front.

Andrea and I take the pans of pastries up front and fill the display case. Just as we finish, Irene comes out of her office.

“It’s go time, girls,” she says as she walks to the front door. She turns the sign to Open and unlocks it to allow customers to flow inside.

Andrea spots Jack’s bright blue eyes in the sea of customers, and she rushes to make his coffee. When he reaches the counter, he leans over to give her a peck on the lips as he takes his to-go cup. He tips his head to me and Irene before making his way back through the crowd and out the door.

The busy morning passes quickly. Andrea and I clean up from the morning rush, and Irene comes back to pitch in. With the three of us working together, it takes hardly any time at all to get the dining and kitchen areas cleaned up. It’s not unusual for her to help us get things tidy after a rush, but today she has a look, like she wants to talk to us about something.

When everything is back in its place and wiped down, Irene props a hip against the prep table and studies me for several moments. The café is quiet for a blissful few minutes. I squirm under her intense stare. This is very unlike Irene. Usually, she just says what she has to say, and that’s that.

My eyes widen a bit. “Irene?”

She gives me a smile and glances at Andrea. “Let’s sit.”

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