Chapter 1: Latte
Weeks had passed and just like the week before, and the week before that, and the week before that, Uma found herself falling into the mundane patterns of the quaint little coffee shop, in the quaint little seaside town.
Her day began with the chirping alarm of her old and slightly scratched flip phone. On the best days it pulled her from dreamless sleep and on the worst days knocked breath back into her waking stiff body as she struggled to breathe from nightmares that settled a numbness deep in her bones.
Several minutes would be spent staring at the ceiling, cataloguing the familiar sense of numbness and dread that ran through her body, weighing heavily on her chest, before she'd shuffle her way to the bathroom. The light bulb in the small bathroom had blown out a day after her arrival and she had yet to replace it, fumbling and cursing as she always stubbed her toe in the dark while getting ready.
Breakfast consisted of dry cheap, stale, and overly sugary cereal she had found in the cabinet from whomever rented the small apartment before her. By the time she was done, like clockwork, there would be a loud banging from below on the coffee shop's back door until Uma finally came down and opened it, easily being pushed to the side by one of Killian's daughters, either Harriet or CJ, with barely a "hello" or "good morning" before they began the opening process.
Working with Harriet and CJ was like working with forces of nature.
Harriet was commanding, solid, a no nonsense leader working the weekday morning shifts before her summer classes at the local community college. Mornings with Harriet were surprisingly a relief for Uma. Harriet didn't pry or delve. Harriet didn't ask annoying questions about Uma's life before she got here. Harriet didn't try to be friends with Uma.
The longest conversation that the two had was Uma's first day when Harriet showed her around, bored expression looking only momentarily relieved when she realized that Uma had previous experience and she only needed to teach her the speciality drinks. For the most part, the two worked in relative silence, only speaking to each other when calling out an order during the busier periods or when one noticed a spill or a shortage of an ingredient.
CJ was a whirlwind, controlled chaos in a tiny blonde body working mostly the afternoon shifts when Harriet got off or the weekend morning shifts. Shifts with CJ were basically long one-sided conversations that never ended, branching off into several different conversations before an hour or two later returning back to the original topic. Uma had quickly realized that if she grunted and nodded every once in awhile as CJ talked - about the boat her dad had promised her, about her crazy Friday nights, about whatever girl she had a crush on, or whatever else came out during the blonde's tangential stream of consciousness - she could usually get through the shift with barely a headache.
Though Uma would rather be anywhere else but here, the fast pace and familiar eb and flow of the coffee shop kept Uma preoccupied for most of her days. For the most part, she was able to forget the heaviness she felt in her chest, caught up in the drone of idle coffee shop chater and the whizzing sound of the many drink machines behind the counter. By the time she would be done with her last shift and close the cafe, Uma's limbs would be so tired and heavy that she often flopped face first on her bed, patched and worn clothes and all.
Killian sent her text messages that she never replied to everyday, checking in on her, seeing if she needed anything, if she would like to come to family dinner...
Uma never answered them and if nothing else was extremely satisfied with seeing her new legal guardian as little as possible. She could totally avoid him for two years.
"Gonna head out now, Umie! Close up for me, will ya?" CJ called out already tossing her apron haphazardly at the apron hook as she quickly made her leave, only giving Uma enough time to roll her eyes at the ridiculous nickname before she was already out the door, the sun halfway set beyond the shop's windows.
It was a Wednesday night, one of their slower ones where it seemed like even their regular customers who would stay until closing wanted to enjoy the nice summer night.
Though closing was Uma's least favorite thing to do, she appreciated the quiet respite from CJ's ongoing chatter. Today for some reason, Uma's patience with the hyperactive blonde ran thin. All she wanted to do was go back upstairs to her little loft and just lie in bed staring up at the ceiling until sleep took her.
She bit her lip, playing with the chain of her mother's necklace. Glancing around, the coffee shop was completely empty. She could close an hour early. After all, it was summer in this sleepy little town and unlike the city that she was used to, she quickly realized that the crowd died down by 5pm in the middle of the week, either to go home or to shuffle their way to the nearby diner or pub. And besides, if anyone asked she would just say she hadn't been feeling well. Afterall, CJ and even Harriet had commented more than once how she looked like she was one strong gust of wind away from being knocked off of her feet.
Killian had given her enough money each week for groceries and even to splurge on a few things but the majority of her money went into the small little locked box that was tucked in a duffle bag with her mother's urn. Once she turned 18, she was going to take the first bus out of this damn town.
Having just taken the keys off the hook in the back to lock the door, Uma heard the jingle of the bells above the door ring as someone entered. Sighing in defeat, Uma tossed the keys back on the hook. Work never ends for the wicked, she thought.
"What do you want?" she called out, retightening the strings of her apron as she made her way back to the counter.
"Yeh know what I want, Callie!" a voice growled back irritatedly.
"Callie ain't here," Uma crossed her arms, glaring at the startled expression of the customer practically leaning across the counter like he belonged there. Despite the warm weather, he wore a dark red leather jacket with the collar popped up framing his sharp cheekbones.
Ugh, bet he knows how pretty he looks, Uma had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the thick eyeliner around bright blue eyes and even she had to admit that he wasn't horribly unattractive.
"Yeh ain't CJ," he frowned, the only clue to his confusion since his eyes were hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses.
"I'm new," Uma replied flatly crossing her arms. "Now are you gonna buy something or not?"
He grinned, watching her with a sort of off kilter grin that felt like it struck lightning in her bones.
"Don't know," he settled his chin in his hand looking at her with a look that was both mischievous and thoughtful. "Yeh have any coffee that's as hot as you, darling?"
Uma's face didn't even twitch when she flatly replied, "So hot you'll get burned if you look."
If it was possible, his grin grew even wider. "Careful," he chuckled. "Keep saying things like that and I may just fall in love with ya."
"Order or go," Uma growled. "I don't have all night."
He dug out some money from his jacket pocket, grin still on his features, and tossed it on the counter. "One latte to go, lass."
Grabbing the money, Uma quickly gave him his change before turning to start his drink. As she fell into the familiar pattern of making a drink, she unconsciously began to hum. The sound was usually drowned out by the busy sounds of the cafe but quite loud now in the empty shop with only her audience of one. It was a song that she had heard CJ playing earlier on in the day and surprisingly Uma hadn't hated it.
When she turned around to hand over the latte his grin had softened into something a little less intense, a little less performed.
"What?" Uma asked defensively, handing over his drink.
"Just thinking about what a lovely voice you must have, lass," he winked before taking a sip of his drink. He hummed approvingly taking a step back towards the door. "This is good. Not what I wanted, but it's good."
"Then why didn't you just order what you wanted?" Uma scoffed.
He grinned, taking another sip. "Now where's the fun in that if yeh don't even guess, Uma?" he chuckled before tipping an imaginary hat at her and then stepping out the door with a over exaggerated bow.
Uma rolled her eyes, locking the door soon after he was gone, prepared to start the closing process when she paused.
How the hell did he know her name?
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the favorites, follows, etc. that I've gotten so far. It's always nice to start a story with positive feedback.
So I decided for this story to do something different and have each chapter based on a word or a theme. If you would like to suggest a word or theme send me an ask on tumblr (edream93) with "Coffe Shop AU" and the word. This chapter's word was latte.
Anyway, I know this chapter was short but hopefully they'll get a bit longer as the story goes on and the plot begins to develop a bit.
As always, let me know what you think!