The store got a bit busier with the evening as commuters stopped on the way home for a cup of coffee and to wind down from a day at the office. He was amused at the surprise on a few of their faces as they tasted his coffee. Frankly, it had been so bad he couldn't understand why they would keep on coming back. It was probably corporate inertia, since most of them seemed to be people stopping in on their way home. He bustled around, cleaning the tables and waiting on customers. There was no sign of the manager, and he wondered what they would have done if he hadn't been there. Probably there wouldn't have been anyone at the counter, or the manager would have had to come out and do some actual work. He shuddered at the thought.
He kept an eye on the people, but no one seemed to disappear. He was almost disappointed by it. Not that he expected it to happen his very first day, but he also hoped he found out what was going on there. Because it was really strange, and there had to be a reason that people were going missing.
The crowd had started to drift off, and the manager came out, blinking blearily in the artificial light. It was at that moment that Gwen and Rhys came through the door posing as customers. They stopped as they came through the door and looked around. Ianto was cleaning a table and he smiled at them.
"Hello, can I help you?" He indicated the counter with his chin and they followed him over. "Yes?"
"Oooh, I can't make up my mind, honey," Gwen said as she stared up at the menu. She had her arm linked in Rhys' and he sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Just a coffee for me, thanks." He said and Ianto nodded. He had just brewed a fresh batch and he poured a cup for Rhys and set it on the counter.
"And you, miss?" Ianto asked politely.
"Oh, can I have one of those caramel lattes?" Gwen asked. Into nodded and turned to make her drink for her. His new boss stood off to the side and watched as he worked efficiently to make it. She looked a bit worse than when he had seen her earlier and he wondered what she had been up to.
Finishing the coffee, he put the cup on the counter, then added the whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel on top. "Will that be all?"
"How about one of those lovely cookie things over there," Gwen said, pointing behind him. He turned to look behind him.
"The biscotti?" Gwen nodded. "Which one? Chocolate or Anisette?" He asked.
"Oooh, one of both?" She looked hopefully at Rhys, who shook his head ruefully. Ianto picked up a set of tongs and opened the jar to take one of each out and place them on a clean plate. He turned back to the counter and rung up their order. Rhys paid, grumbling about the cost of things, while Gwen looked on in embarrassment. Once Ianto had given him his change, he picked up both coffees and let Gwen take the plate over to a table. Ianto took the opportunity to clean the counter with a wet cloth before leaning back and sighing with contentment.
"Can you stay until closing?" The manager asked. He realized he still didn't know her name. He nodded. "Good. After we close you can help me clean and re-stock." He felt rather skeptical about her cleaning anything in a meaningful fashion.
"Yes, ma'am," he said politely. He debated on how to start the conversation further. "If I may ask, how shall I call you?" She looked blankly at him. "What is your name?"
"Mrs. Trundle," she said, a bit startled that he asked. He nodded and looked out at their customers again. He wanted to keep an eye on things.
"Thank you, Mrs Trundle," he said. "I'm Ianto. I can't remember if I introduced myself earlier." She shook her head. "My apologies, then. What time do we close?"
"Half past nine," she said. He looked up at the clock on the wall and nodded. "Come in back once you've closed up and I'll give you the list of things we need to get done before we leave for the evening." She made an attempt at wiping a stain off her clothing, but all it seemed to do is smear it more than anything else. He wondered what it was.
"Very good. Let me get back to the customers," he said, nodding in her direction as he turned to a new arrival. She was gone by the time he had finished with them, so he went out onto the floor and cleaned up. Walking over to Gwen and Rhys' table he paused, picking up their empty plates.
"Would you like anything else?" He asked with a smile. Gwen shook her head, though Rhys raised his cup. Ianto took it and went back to refill it for him. He heard a strange noise and quickly turned, but nothing seemed out of place. Odd. He went behind the counter and filled the cup, then brought it back and placed it in front of Rhys. "I do hope you enjoy this."
"Oh, it's lovely," Gwen said. She was still nursing her coffee and he could see she was looking around with a keen eye, eager to spot if something was amiss. It was good to know that she was here watching out as well.
"I'd be happy to make you another if you'd like. On the house," he said with a nod towards Rhys. "I'm trying to work up business, and anyone who stays is good for me since the coffee was truly terrible before I got here." Gwen laughed. He sounded offended. He probably was.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd love another one," she said. He nodded and went back to the counter to make the drink for her. After he had delivered it, he went back to sorting stuff behind the counter. It was in moving a stack of supplies that he found there was a mirror on the back wall. Odd, he hadn't noticed that before. It would be good to have that so he could see what was going on when his back was turned behind the bar. He worked steadily, intent on clearing the space of piled up boxes that didn't seem to need to be there. He broke down the boxes and stacked the cardboard up against the counter as he worked.
The sound of ceramic touching the counter made him turn. It was Gwen and she was placing her coffee cup on the counter.
"Oh, you didn't need to do that," he said. She smiled and shrugged. "Can I get you anything else?"
"No, any more and I'll be floating," she said with a laugh. "I just wanted to say thank you. This is a lovely place and I'll be sure to come back again."
"Thank you, I look forward to seeing you again," Ianto said. He waved goodbye to the couple as they left for the evening. The few remaining customers slowly packed up and left as well, leaving him alone. He looked at the clock and saw that he had about a half hour left to go before closing. Since there were no customers about, he went back to cleaning.
