Chapter One: A Kind Owner

"Lionel," I gently tapped my part-timer employee on the back of his head. "You have to stop looking at that particular customer like he is a freshly baked loaf of bread, dear!"

The young customer had not even selected his spot for the day, generally, he spent five minutes mapping the café and then selected his spot of the day by placing his bag on the chair and then looking around to see if anyone was marking his territory. Lionel's crush, our customer, was a new regular, who came to the café fifteen minutes after opening every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the last four months. To our surprise, he was always on the dot at 9.30. Lionel had fallen for him at first sight, and he ensured I and the other staff members knew about his crush. He also periodically reminded us that his crush was off-limits to us.

Since the first day, this young employee of mine laid eyes on the new regular, he has been drooling about the future with him. And honestly, I was getting tired of this, despite how adorable I found this whole situation.

Watching this cute boy crushing so hard also reminded me of the relationship I ran away from. The memories of that decade-long relationship kept taunting me as I saw Lionel flutter around the order counter like a headless chicken with his broom. I, too, had met the love of my life when I was in university. In the overcrowded cafeteria, my love blossomed. I still don't know what had possessed me that afternoon. Was it his sad, starving face? Or the heat of the summer? I could never tell what motivated my legs to move towards him.

With a plate of cookies, I stood before him.

And then we had spent the whole summer break falling in love hard and fast; like the first summer rain we were caught in on our first date.

Every day since the summer I ran away from him, I missed him a little bit more than the previous day. When the winds changed and summer was on the brink of breaking, my heart cried for him more. On mornings like these, I missed his long thin arms around my waist. And for the last couple of days, thoughts of him kept recurring in my head.

Maybe I should call my brothers and ease this self-inflicted pain with talks about my nieces and nephews.

I looked at Lionel again, he was embracing the broom and waiting eagerly for the customer to place his order. I grabbed hold of him by the collar. "You are going to bore a hole in his skull!" He offered me his puppy eyes, they were so full of love and hope. I prayed to whatever gods looked after him that this child never had a fate like mine when it came to love.

After all, I knew the happiness of loving and being loved back. And I also had broken his heart and broken my own heart. After that, I never had the courage to look back. The day I left him, I placed a note beside him where I should've been asleep, on my side of the queen-sized bed, and my face melted on my pillow. I had used many words to deliver a simple message, which boiled to one piece of information, "I am breaking up with you because I am a coward, and I am afraid for your safety."

I had relived the actions of our last night again and again for the last twenty years and cursed myself for giving up on us like this.

Why couldn't I be honest?

I still ask myself, why did I do what I did?

It took me two decades to console my heart with; what is done, is done. This was the only solace I could give myself.

Looking at my part-employee giddy with crush reminded me of the life gone by, a hope shattered by my own hands. I, too, had been such a ball of excitement and so full of joy. 18-year-old Luffy was fearless thirty years back, now 48-year-old Luffy was smarter and cursing 28-year-old Luffy for being a coward.

Lionel tried to wriggle out of my grab, but I was born physically sturdy. I didn't let him break away. "If you are done brooming the corridor, go back inside and have your breakfast first, don't you have classes in the afternoon? You need energy for the lunch hour crowd. You need more energy for the last week before you enter summer break!"

"Bossy Luffy, you are so caring! Can you adopt me as your son?" The boy smiled at me brightly. "I will work for free!"

I did care for him, but I had ulterior motives. A happy employee is the secret to a successful business, especially in the service industry, people who don't respect their employees are bound to lose out eventually. I found Lionel through a referral from my previous part-timer who graduated a couple of months ago. Furthermore, I had created a meticulous system of ensuring I never ran out of part-timer options; to do that; I fed them all well and paid them proper wages. Did that dampen the profits like others had warned me? Nope!

"I do care. I do. Go, eat your sandwich and wipe that silly grin! And we don't have provision for adult adoption in this country!"

"But you adopted Senior Carrot."

"I didn't adopt her, she is just an employee who I rent out my backroom too…" He was not listening to me. "Lionel, please have your food, or I will eat it."

Lionel's eyes lingered back to the customer, but I pushed him inside. This was an acute case of a one-sided crush. And he was neither subtle nor courageous about it, and absolutely inept at dealing with his emotions. When I was the love of my life, I had learned introverts made the best lovers, but they were also pathetic at speaking theirs desire.

This idiot had dared not ask his crush's name still, so I couldn't let him be out there and pulled him by the collar and dragged him inside to eat. My oldest employee, Carrot was working, she was a full-timer who was in charge of the prep and morning-set; the sandwiches and rice bowls. Lionel was learning under her tutelage.

"If I look at him, I feel full!" Lionel pouted. "He is so handsome."

"Boss Luffy, let's not pay him, since he is beyond hunger. We should pay him in viewing his crush hours ?" Carrot told me without ever looking up from her chopping task. "And he didn't adopt me, he found me in a grange bin and decided to keep me." I rolled my eyes and decided to unsee them bickering like kids.

"Senior Carrot is being mean to me."

Lionel made a face and sat down beside her. Then grumpily chomped on the sandwich I prepared with Carrots' great chopping skills. After the first few bites, his cute grumpiness melted away, again I was reminded of a long-lost memory, of my grumpy lover who could only eat the food I made. What did I do to him? I left him alone and as a parting gift, I left my recipe book with him.

Pushing aside the guilt-tripping memories, I left Lionel inside with Carrot to attend to the unmanned order counter. I needed another part-time employee for the summer tourists, was my immediate thought. But where would I find one, the university was going to be on break for the Summer and most children would go home as they were not native to Shandoria, but only a few stayed back like Lionel, who didn't want to go back home and people with strained family relationships and those who found the travel too hectic. Shandoria was after all not easily accessible, the University was established with the sole purpose of helping the local economy. I was happy that Lionel was going to stay, but would he survive without his crush?

In all honesty, I also loved watching young people fall in love, so I want his crush to spend the summer here. And it also reminded me of my younger happy days. When I was bolder and confident and was madly in love. Pushing aside the dreams of youth gone by, I began to arrange the display of the morning. I didn't serve many options, this was my mentor and teacher Sanji's best advice when I had expressed that I wanted to open a café. And I stuck to it.

"The morning set, please." Lionel's crush placed the crumpled cash on the counter. "A cup of—"

"A cup of hibiscus tea with a pinch of ginger powder, right?" Lionel was back, and excited. His lovesick face could be spotted from the space station.

"Right. You remember!"

"Of course! You are our regular."

"Am I?" Our guest seemed surprised, and his question evaporated Lionel's confidence in seconds, as he just dumbly smiled and forgot to reply.

"Yes, you are," I added. I finally took a good look at the person who had captured my young part-timer's heart. Now that I observed, I could agree, that this young man was a looker. He was tall, 190 cm at the least if not taller. How did I know? The precious one of my life is taller than he. The new regular had a nice face with godly cheekbones and the nerdy glasses made him cute, no wonder my part-timer was swooning over him. Looking at this man, reminded me of the lover I left behind, he too was god-gifted when it came to high cheekbones and a sharp nose.

After taking the cash, I deliberately toyed with them and decided to step in to help my employee, "Are you a student at Shandoria University?" it was a stupid question, there was only one university on this island, and every other young person was either a student or working there or researching there. I offered my best smile that not many could resist, my friends Zoro and Sanji told me multiple times. I knew it, too, because the one I left behind, would always end up forgiving me when I flashed my best smile.

"Ah yes." There was a small smile. "I am in my third year."

"Nice, our little Lionel is a student there too!" I offered a side eye for the boy to jump into the conversation, but he was frozen. Finding no reaction from him, I rummaged through the cash box. "Give me a moment, old age is catching up, I seem to have messed up the count."

"Please don't rush!"

"I used to be fast at this, but now I don't have the visual and physical stamina of my youth." I lied. I never stopped working out or gave up on my eating habits, I was still strong and fine. If it helped Lionel, sure. Once upon a time, I was terrible at lying and my significant other was able to catch my lies in his sleep. Hence I had resorted to the most cowardly tactic of writing a stupid note. He wouldn't be able to detect lies from the paper. Here I was, now twenty years later, I had figured my way around fooling people with lies; occupy your hands, look at something while you talk and don't let the other person realise you are avoiding their eyes and continue talking with confidence.

"It's alright. I am here."

"What do you study?"

"I am studying to be a veterinary doctor."

"Amazing, so another two years?" He nodded, talking was not his forte, "When you get your licence in future give me your card, my friend runs a farm on the other side of the mountains, she can always use a young doctor's eye!"

"Of course! I do work as an assistant at the pet clinic on weekends. It is part of my apprenticeship."

"Which one?" I knew which one because the pet clinic owner was part of the Shandoria Shopkeepers And Street Traders Association*. She also happened to be a close friend of mine. I was dragging the conversation for the awestruck part-timer.

"Dr Kaya's Clinic, have you heard of it?"

"Ah…. Yes."

"Here, the card." The boy pulled out the cute card of white with black paw prints. I even knew the artist who designed it, it was Kaya's husband Usopp, who designed my café's menu. "If you have a pet, I would love to look after them."

I took the card and slid it towards Lionel, who was still frozen. "Lionel, please put the card in the jar over the countertop!" Still, there was no reaction. So I decided to wrap it up. "Thank you. And here is your change." I placed the cash. "If you don't mind, what do I call you? I like knowing how to address my regulars."

"Yes, of course, Jonathan."

"Thank you for your patronage. Lionel will bring your breakfast set!"

"Sure."

Lionel at last looked at me once Jonathan was seated, his eyes teary like a puppy. Was he that excited about a crush? "Go make our regular Jonathan's sandwich?"

"Yes!"

From the outside people would think mornings are slow in a café, but more than often people didn't realise lunch our customers began to pop in late mornings. We still had time before the rush-hour. I had another look at Jonathan, he was patiently waiting and reading his book. He never complained about his food coming slightly late. My lovesick part-timer Lionel took a little too extra care to create his sandwich, why couldn't you talk to him by putting in the extra effort, boy? I didn't complain out loud to him, every love story had its own pace, but not sandwiches. Still, I didn't scold him because most customers generally arrived after 10 am. I looked at the ancient wall-clock, it was already 9.45.

So I went to rearrange the curtains on the tall windows Franky, the architect of this café, designed for me. He called them aesthetically pleasing and timeless designs, I was happy, as long as I could see my little flower garden, and the road and had enough sunlight. The season would change, and I would have to change the curtains, I made a little note on my flip-phone before I forgot. Then the bell on the entrance door chimed. A group of young girls were standing at the entrance of my café with hopeful eyes.

"Hello, welcome to Sunshine Heart Café" I greeted.

A cute girl with chubby cheeks poked her head in and asked loudly, "Hello, do you have gluten-free options?"

"Ye—"

"—Yes, we do! This café is one of the oldest cafés of Shandoria and the first café in this town that offered gluten-free options even before gluten-free food was cool." Lionel answered from the door of the kitchen. Where was this voice when I tried to make you and Jonathan talk? Lionel was excellent at managing his introverted and extroverted personalities when it came to selling things but his crush… I looked at Jonathan, his food was served to him, and he didn't let the noise get to him. Again, the presence of these two young boys reminded me of the introvert I left behind. Today I was missing him dearly, I wonder why. Shoving aside the thought of him, and looked at my part-timer to do his magic. "We also have morning and evening sets, which are totally gluten-free, and we can make our food without nuts. And did I say we have lactose-free ice-creams and sweets?"

"Lactose-free too?" The excited girl asked, her eyes turned rounder in happiness. "Can I have an ice-cream?"

"Don't have ice-cream on an empty stomach, Mari—" The tallest of the girls was stopped mid-sentence as the rest of the group entered the café and giggled.

"Please have a seat." I smiled. "We have five types of gluten-free bread made of potatoes, rice, millets, and two types of wheat bread for people who can eat gluten." I guided the girls to their seats.

Lionel added, "And we have salad dressings made with local oils and lactose-free options, and we care about nut allergies too, so we can customise all our dishes for you!"

The talkative girl matched her enthusiasm with Lionel, and said, "Our hotel manager told us the Cafe's name was Sunshine Cafe! He didn't mention the Heart!" She pouted. "Even the signboard didn't have the word heart written on it!"

"Ah, that my boss here will explain." Lionel smiled at me. "Boss Luffy? Why is the Heart silent?"

Before I could answer, one of the girls was already out with her phone and taking pictures of the interior, "This is so cute and cosy! Why are you bothering them with how they call their café? Just enjoy the ambience" The one with short jet-black hair chided. "Though I do want to write about this place, who would've imagined, that a little cute café would've food options that some of the major food chains don't!"

"There goes Ran and her never-ending search for a topic to write!" The talkative one gigged and flopped on the chair. Being young and happy was a blessing, I hope she remained this bubbly always.

"Yeah, it was a good decision that we decided to come to this little island at the end of the world! The water is so clean, and the location of this café is so beautiful. You can see the beach from this corner and the mountains from the other side!"

"For how long? People will find out about this place and dirty it! Fucking influencers!"

"HEY! Don't jinx it! I love this place, don't jinx it." The one with bangs hit the tallest one. "Don't jinx it!"

I liked female customers more, they were so easily open to expressing what they liked or didn't like and asked things that made them curious. The café gets redecorated every few years by Nami, my accountant, and her lawyer wife Vivi. If asked why, the answer was: because they were bored. Though they lived on the mainland, they always dropped by to see how I was doing on this lonely island. They had bullied Franky while designing the café too, but they often treated this place as a museum where they wanted to curate their ideas. And I let them because they loved bullying me. But I was glad their keen eyes and enthusiasm helped me attract all sorts of people; especially tourists like this girl who was looking for options that she could eat without risking her life.

"Here is your menu." I handed them the laminated paper. "Take your time and let me know what you would like to order. I will be at the counter."

"Thank you!"

I nodded and turned around when I heard the camera shutter, I felt the gaze on me and my neck burned. Again I turned around to face them. With a smile, I approached the girls, and they all looked at me with genuine smiles. They were so young that they could be my daughters, "Please take the pictures, but do be careful that you don't upload my staff's or my other customers' photographs on social media. We must protect everyone's privacy. Feel free to take any photographs of the café and food, just not the humans you don't know!"

"We will be mindful!" One of the girls with short blonde hair smiled. "Please don't worry."

"Thank you."

I went back to the counter and looked around. Lionel was busy peeping in and out of the kitchen, absorbing the divine vision of Jonathan eating his sandwich messily.

The bell on the door chimed again, and the chaos of green arrived, "Boss! I am sorry I am late!" The second of my two full-time employees entered late. "The supplier tried to swindle us! I taught him a lesson." I didn't mind him being loud at all, he worked hard and cared for the café like it was his own, so I overlooked his delayed arrival.

"Parrot? You got the supplies, right?"

"I have a name, Boss!"

"You do?"

"Do you even recall my name!" I knew his name, but every day I saw his bright green hair, which he was inspired to dye after meeting my dearest friend Zoro. Poor Barto wanted to look cool, but immediately after he arrived at my door I ended up calling him a parrot. And the nickname stuck around. Barto huffed and pushed inside the supply cart. "By the way, Lady Hancock again asked if you want to marry her?"

Instead of replying to the silly question, I decided to divert his attention by pointing at the door to the kitchen. "Supplies! Put them in their designated area!"

Barto was persistent, "Come on, Lady Hancock has been asking you for a date for years! Come on! Just say yes, it makes my life easier. It's not like you are gay, you only told me gender never mattered to you when it came to love!" He tried to make the puppy eyes but failed. "Is it the 11-year age difference that is bothering you? Boss, you are way past the age where you will get manipulated hehehehhe!" I rolled my eyes. I had no words of reply. "But you told me your ex was 7 years older than you? So why can't you date her?"

When did I tell him all this?

Lionel was again looking at me curiously and so were the girls who were musing over the menu. "One soul at a time!" I raised my hand and showed my ring from the engagement, which fell apart. I had worn this ring for more than two decades, yes I ran away from my only soulmate, but I carried the love for him with me still in my old heart.

"What are you, a war widow?" This parrot was as foul-mouthed as his father.

Before I realised I hissed, even in my wildest dreams, I would never ever dream of my one true love's death, "Say another word and I will deduct your wages!"

My expression might've been terrifying because whatever joke Barto was about to crack was forced to gulp down his throat. And he did a U-turn. "Carrot, do you need my help?" In no time, Parrot was out of my vision. I felt a little bad for the way I reacted, yet I couldn't help myself. Even twenty years after I ran away, I could not stop worrying about him, I fixed my expression and looked at Lionel who pouted in disappointment. His lovesick heart wanted to know more about my love life! I squinted my eyes at him, and he immediately went back to look at his crush. Jonanath was not bothered by Barto's loudmouth, I guess cutting out bullshit and concentrating on books is a universal trait to medical students.

"We are ready to order!" One of the girls waved. Lionel wasted no time and wrote down their order.

"Coming ladies…"

"I am going to the kitchen to prepare the bread, let me know if you need my help," I told Lionel and walked back inside. Barto was avoiding my eyes and Carrot paid him no attention, she had done what was required for the day.

"Great job." I patted her head. "Maybe it's time you start your own business."

"Don't wanna," She reclined her head, she wanted more pats. So I continued. "I will die in this shop."

"Oye!" I laughed. She had arrived at my shop almost ten years back, a runaway teenager. When I took her in I could see she was avoidant of revealing her past, I didn't pester. Most people came to Shandoria only when they wanted to avoid something or someone, or wanted a peaceful life of anonymity. I needed a helper, and I let her take one of the rooms in the backyard. "Never joke about dying!" I bonked her head. Over the years, she became a little sister I never had and the daughter I couldn't raise. "Think about it, I will pay."

"Nope! My goal is to eat lovely bread, the veggies you grow in the garden and never leave the comforts of my room. I want to play games and sleep well! I am going to glue myself to the floor."

"Me as well!" Barto joined. "I will glue myself to the wall."

"Fine, fine! Now help me with the afternoon menu."

In the evening, the group of tourist girls from the morning were back, I guess they loved my pieces of potato bread and rice flour bread. Lionel was not here as his final presentations were due, so I had to serve them.

"I see you are back," I again offered my best smile. "Would it be a repeat of the morning menu, or would you like to try something else?"

"We will have the rice bread sandwiches from the morning." The talkative one smiled, and then she flipped the pages and tapped on the menu from the evening set. "Sweet potato noodles and cauliflower pizza crust."

"Excellent choice, would you like some local beverages? Shandoria's coconut water is the go-to drink. But we have many more."

"Do you have alcohol?" The talkative one asked.

"Sorry, only teas, coconut water and mocktails!" I saw her cute smile turn down, so I added, "There is Party's Bar, five streets north from here. The bar owner is a lady, so if you want to drink in a safe and relaxed place, check it out."

"Aphelandra, can we go!" The talkative one asked the tallest one, who seemed like the group leader. "Please!"

"No Marigold!" The one called Aphelandra shook her head, and turned to me, "Five coconut water for us then." I wrote the order down, and she continued talking, "I am glad we found this place, travelling is hard when we have so many allergies and restrictions you see, so someone here got a bit excited." She gently pulled the girl called Marigold's adorable cheeks.

"Are you carrying allergy charts, if you are, you can show them to me, I am a graduate of food science, a very old graduate but I remember my lessons."

Hearing this, all of them pulled out their cards and presented them to me. I was surprised that all of them had some food restrictions and one common allergy. I was glad that I revealed my educational details, I rarely told it to people. Not only that, but since they were visiting this island, and technically were my guests, I should make them comfortable. When I opened this café, I didn't have any goals. But when I created the original menu, the intention became clear: to cater to people who had food restrictions. "Wait, are all of you gluten-allergic?" The five of them nodded. "Must've been tough, huh?" Again they nodded. "But what are the odds, for the entire group to turn out to be gluten allergic?

"We all met online, in Gluten-free People's Forum. People mostly use the space to share information about places safe to eat out and products to buy, but occasionally we rant there also…" Another one with black hair added. "We were all complaining about how travelling with people without eating issues always leads to trouble, and wished I could travel with people who understood my problems and shared the same limited food platter."

I added, "Interesting. And no, the food platter is not limited, trust me! I created this menu, right? It may seem limited to outsiders, but I think it's sufficient for you all."

"We love this menu! Our hotel manager is part of the online group, he told us that you are the most trustworthy café owner in Shandoria!"

"I have no idea who he is, but please let them know. I am glad! I don't use the internet much these days, but it's glad to see the world connected. Even our little inconveniences, we find reasons to connect."

Aphelandra clapped her hands, "YUP! That's how we all decided to form a travelling group based on our mutual allergies, hehehehe. People must think we are weirdos, after all, we are not exactly a group of same-aged people. Two of us are still underage for alcohol, you see! So we, the older ones, have to look after them. We can't even risk tasting alcohol without knowing what's in the drink!"

I looked at them closely now, yes they were way younger than me, but they all didn't look like peers. I was so bad with faces, hence it was not always easy to figure these things out on my own. Hence, I liked having part-timers around, they found it easier to mingle with people. I think I will put another ad, I needed a part-timer for the evening shift too, and I could afford it.

"Then, I hope, you find comfort in my food and drinks for your entire stay in Shandoria!"

"We will!"

So for the next seven days, the group of five girls whose names I eventually memorised because Lionel and Barto repeated them so much; Marigold, Aphelandra, Ran, Marguerite and Daisy. I grew warm to them, and they happily used my hands as a model to hold the food platters they ate from.

And each girl had so many questions.

They asked me if they could share information about my café and the food in their gluten-free people forum. Lionel and Barto saw no harm, I was bad at social media, Carrot on the other hand thought it would be great for the café's reputation and would attract more tourists. Nami would kick me if I let this chance go, and Vivi would agree with her.

So on their last evening, when Daisy gathered her wits and sat down to ask me a few questions about my café and the menu, Jonathan came holding the part-timer-wanted flyer and stood in front of the counter.

"Is the position open?" It must've taken great courage to ask this. "I need to earn as much as I can during the summer break. Something happened in my family, so I can't go back home and need money to afford the rent, as I can't stay in the dorms. I don't want to bother my parents."

"Are they still kicking out students from dorms during breaks?" I was so out of touch. Jonathan nodded, the stress was evident on his face. "Did you find a place to live though?"

"Not yet, I have a week's time." He sighed. "I can clean toilets too! I am good at cleaning job!"

"Hmmmm." I pulled out the calendar where I marked the shifts for my employees. "Do you want to work both shifts?" I asked. Lionel was a great help, but he could use help, both professionally and maybe romantically. "It is the tourist season, so it will be hectic."

"Are you firing, Lionel?"

"What? No! No!" I shook my head. "As I said, summer brings tourists, we need help. So I can use your help in the morning, and I will feed you breakfast, and dinner. If you want lunch, I can feed it too. Lionel likes to make his own lunch in the kitchen, so you do want to do that work? You will be in-charge of cleaning the utensils, and tables after guests leave and the café, and helping Barto with supplies. Can you drive?" Jonathan nodded. "And drive him when you go to buy supplies." Jonathan nodded. "And I will pay you 30 Berry per hour for the first week, and once you get the hang of it, 35 Berry an hour from the second? Savvy?" I smiled.

Daisy asked the question that was stuck on Jonathan's lips, "Aren't you being too generous?" I wanted to laugh, was being a decent human that rare. I could never understand the mindless greed of people, especially in the service industry.

"I have no children or spouse to save up for, the café will run until my bones give out, so I don't want to be a cruelly cheapstake person." I smiled at Daisy, my professional best. "Feeding four people will not dent my business, but if I don't do this, my heart will be dented and there is someone who I will disappoint if I behave out of character." Then I looked at Jonathan, "You start tomorrow morning." Who nodded and I saw his stress leave his nodded eyebrow, unintentionally I raised my hand and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and tapped his forehead. "Whatever is bothering you, will be over. So concentrate on the now."

"If you are single?" Daisy asked sweetly while she looked at my ring, "Why do you wear that ring?"

"I had to leave my partner due to unavoidable circumstances, but I still love them, this is the only piece of memory of theirs that I carry with me. When I look at this ring, I miss them a little less." I laughed. "And mentally, I am married to them."

Daisy was curious, "So you are still loyal to them?"

"Yup."

"So you don't date people?"

"Nope. They were my first and only love."

"What if they moved on?"

"They should. I left them, I broke the relationship on my own, they deserve happiness and not waste their life pining away for me."

"You are so romantic!" Jonathan let it slip. I couldn't help but smirk. I was, I am, and I will always be romantic for that stupid doctor. Finding no reply, the new part-timer looked at me awkwardly for a while. Then he spoke, "I will see you tomorrow, the—."

Daisy decided to cut in, "Can I write this in my article for my magazine? Like how you are so nice to the staff and how one-sided love made you so endearing."

I couldn't help but sigh, "Hey, that will be embarrassing! It will read like… uh! Yes. What you kids call today's language as a PR piece! I don't want that! Feeding and paying liveable wages should be the standard practice in service industries, not rare occurrences like a meteorite shower."

"Wow! Were you a labour rights leader? Is that the reason you left your partner and are living here because their career was in danger?" Daisy tucked her jet-black hair behind her ears cutely. I had no words but offered her a chuckle, my reasons for breaking up that relationship were not something so dramatic like a political upheaval but old-school homophobia of society and people trying to tear down my man. I was his weakness, so I took myself out of the equation. "Please let me write nice things about this lovely café. And what if I become a super-popular food writer and critic because of this piece?" She flashed her wicked smile. "What if I win the Big Moms!"

With confidence, I lied, "What is a big mom? Everything you young thing said made me feel so out of touch and old." I knew exactly what she meant, I used to work with Big Moms when I was not a café owner. I did keep a tab on them via Vivi, and though I could do it on my own, I didn't want to go to the internet. The only reason was that I feared my desire to find out about him would consume him and put an end to this two-decade-long self-imposed exile and end everything I worked so hard to achieve for him. And if I learned that he had moved on and settled for the life his family wanted, it would crush my heart. Not knowing and suffering in what-ifs was better than learning the truth.

Ignorance is bliss.

"Big Mom is the owner of a chain of restaurants and CEO of the food industry who launched a fellowship program for food critics, budding chefs, and food scientists around the world," Jonathan explained. "I am guessing she wants to win the fellowship for food writing?" Daisy nodded. God Jonanathn was such a nerd, were all doctors like this? The one I dumped was a walking encyclopedia of trivia, and when he was drunk he was a verbal diarrhoea of information. "They offer a grant of 10000 berry to young writers of food and cuisine culture. Last year a food memoir won the award." Jonathan blushed, "sorry… I blabbared."

"No no! I love having nerds around. You and Lionel will get along well."

"Me and Lionel?" Jonathan blushed. "You think?" Ah, the crush was mutual. "I was going to have an interesting summer. "Yes, he loves learning new things, I hope you get along with the boy!"

"I will!"

"Mr Luffy, may I write? Pretty please?"

In the end, I guess I couldn't turn a blind eye to the enthusiasm of youth, "As long as you don't mention my name, I am fine. Just address me as the café owner. And if you win, send me a photograph of you with your trophy, and I will put it up on that board." I pointed at the wall on the farthest corner, where my customers left little notes or messages, or pinned something that made them come back to this place.

"Oh, now I want to win!" Daisy went back to her notebook and scribbled more things in it. "Can I have a look at the pin-up board after I jot down my notes?"

"Sure. Just don't take pictures of humans whose faces are recognizable, as there are many photographs there."

I couldn't say it out loud because that would make her more curious. I genuinely didn't want to be found out by anyone, especially him. My brothers and my family were still angry at my decision to move here, and I had begged them to keep my information withheld from him if they ever ran into him. After living a decade with him, I knew he would do everything to get hold of me, my lover was tenacious and very single-minded when he wanted to achieve something. And I wanted to spend the rest of my old life here, out of his vision. My goal was to die on this obscure island at the end of the world where no one cared about me other than the handful of loyal friends I had made here.

An island with generic beaches, generic culture and generic tourist traps that only crazy people like these younglings wanted to visit because of its hard-to-reach coordinates. "I don't like being in the spotlight ever!"

"I promise." Daisy offered me her pinkie, and I coiled my pinkie finger with hers. My mind was suddenly filled with a three-decade-old scene. I, too, had in the zeal of youth offered my little finger to make a promise. A promise I broke like a coward.

"You better keep your promise."

And this was the moment when I underestimated the power of love! I underestimated the power of Trafalgar D Water Law's love for me.

At the break of dawn opened the flip phone, and after 72 hours of back-to-back surgery, I decided to indulge in some light reading. Universe decided to be kind to me after two decades; one of my new favourite enthusiastic food writers had sent her a monthly newsletter.

Monthly Newsletter: Daisy's Infinitely Finite Food Platter

Dear Readers,

Welcome back to Daisy's Infinitely Finite Food Platter! As you may know, I recently ventured with my girl group for a holiday. My group is full of people who are allergic to gluten, just like me. We went to the island the whole world affectionately calls to as the end of the world. Yes, we successfully reached Shandoria after a back-breaking journey from the mainland of Jaya, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of our lives.

Not only were the beaches clean and beautiful, but the locals were incredibly accommodating. In today's edition, I'll be sharing our delightful discovery of a quaint café, thanks to our hotel manager at Shanks Red-Hier Resorts. Yes, the pun on the owner's hair colour is intentional!

[If you are unable to view the images, click here]

I tapped multiple times.

Let's talk about the café we stumbled upon, legally known as Sunshine and Heart's Café, though everyone in Shandoria simply calls it Sunshine Cafe. You might wonder why "heart" is omitted? Well, it's because the heart is absent from the signboard and menu! Strange, isn't it?

But fear not, food detective Daisy did some investigating. A long-term employee, akin to the sous-chef of the café, revealed, "The heart was included in the legal name for the owner's ex-lover, about whom he decided to keep silent."

Would I stop there? Certainly not! Spending time in this café, indulging in cauliflower crust pizza, sweet potato noodles, crispy chicken fried in rice flour, and slices of bread made from rice and potatoes, I sensed there was more to the story behind this incredible menu. Could you expect a café at the end of the world, primarily catering to university students and tourists, to accommodate people like us with dietary restrictions? Certainly not!

During our seven-day stay, we delved into each recipe on the "limited menu", its origins, and potential inspirations for the café owner. Regrettably, the owner, though not at all shy, declined to reveal his face or story to us, a choice I will respect. Nevertheless, I managed to glean enough information to craft a narrative of yearning and perseverance.

Firstly, the café boasts a delightful garden, with the most exquisite flowers, including the queen of the night [Scientific name: Epiphyllum oxypetalum], which bloomed splendidly during our visit. A part-timer informed me that the café owner often converses with the plants as if they were his companions, hinting at a sentimental connection. Were they planted for the fabled ex-fiancé I kept hearing about?

[If you are unable to view the images, click here]

I tapped. And tapped.

Now, onto the café's interior. I must admit, I initially expected it to be mundane. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The first floor exuded a rich history, adorned with post-it notes from past visitors, letters expressing fond memories of meals shared with friends and family, photographs of couples who met at this café, and postcards from former part-timers. The furniture and décor exuded an old-world charm, perhaps aged but full of stories waiting to be discovered. Maybe if I had tapped hard on the wooden tables, they would tell me secrets. And who doesn't love the perfect combination of blue and yellow when executed just right? Additionally, there were collections of stamps and coins on display, a hobby of the café owner, who claimed ignorance regarding their value. However, my travel companion, a history professor, assured me they were quite valuable!

As my companions and I spent more time in the café, it dawned on me that the place was akin to a royal tomb like the ones you find in the Aruba dessert, bustling with life yet holding the café owner as its solitary monarch. Despite this, he remained humble, sometimes he played songs on his guitar when locals and tourists crowded his place. He was joined by his band, again "amateur" people in their middle-age playing sad hard rock! It was an experience like no other, relishing the delicious cuisine, listening to captivating music, and absorbing the tales of fellow patrons.

However, amidst the revelry, my concern for the café owner persisted. He tirelessly served us with a smile and accommodated our whims, and did I tell you he paid his part-time staff more than the standard liveable wages? Despite deflecting romantic advances with the mention of an engagement ring from a past relationship, he remained devoted to someone absent. What must it feel like to be the sole constant in a transient environment? Part-timers would come and go, full-time employees sought new horizons, and customers departed once sated.

I again asked myself how that man felt to be the only constant one in a place where none else was.

On our final day, I mustered the courage to inquire about his motivations. Though he declined to answer directly, he handed me a box of almond flour cookies, with a sad voice he told me, "It all began because I wanted to feed someone cookies. And now, I regret offering them… And if I could be honest, I would tell them I never meant to fall in love with you, I just did."

[If you are unable to view the images, click here]

I tapped again.

Thank you for joining me on this journey through Sunshine Cafe. Until next time, stay curious and keep exploring the infinite world of food!

Warm regards,

Daisy

Daisy's Infinitely Finite Food Platter

I shut my phone with a grin and went to the laptop to see the photographs.

All I needed was one proof, and my favourite writer just gave me several. After twenty years, I found him. No matter what he did, the love of my life couldn't stay hidden forever.

Monkey D Luffy, I am coming to get you.

TBC!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own ONE PIECE

Notes:

Shandoria Shopkeepers And Street Traders Association*: I nicked it from Good Omens Season 2, as I was too lazy to think, I just added Shandoria to the name for localisation purposes.

Happy LawLu Day!

This fic has taken a decade to write, this plot was given to me by friend Lionel Orlando, who sadly I lost contact with. I hope he and his boyfriend are safe and happy. Lionel wanted me to insert him and his boyfriend Jonathan in this fic where they fall in love Café AU style while old DILFS Law and Luffy reunite and rekindle a love they had to give up on because of societal pressure.

This will be 5 chapter fics. Each coming out on every Thursday of June for the occasion of LawLu Month 2024. And last chapter comes on 14th July that will be my 31st birthday!

PS: There is a one-shot coming out later in the evening where I fully follow the prompts of LawLu Month 2024.

PPS: Check out the collection Summer of LawLu 2024!

AND QUESTION: Do you want this to be a LawLu or LuLaw for NSFW? I am still not sure where the winds blow, Lionel originally wanted it be LawLu. But I as a writer have grown up, hence I can jump into LawLu and LulLaw as well as switch easily these days. So I will leave the suggestions to you all.

Lemme know LawLu or LuLaw or switch?