The days in Walnut Creek had always unfolded in a quiet rhythm, each morning bathed in the California sunrise. This particular morning seemed about the same, although when a strange man entered things felt off.
Lila Hawthorne, the barista and owner of the Cosmic bean cafe, leaned against the aged oak counter, her eyes tracing the wisps of steam rising from a freshly brewed coffee. The rhythmic tap of rain against the café's windows provided a chilled backdrop to the moment.
Lila took a slow sniff off the coffee, and brought it to her lips and sipped lightly. She’d worked a few years as a graphics designer at some small-medium sized corporation and gathered enough money to open this place. It wasn’t much and being so new didn’t have many customers at the moment, but being the only coffee shop in the area she was confident things would work out.
The chime of the doorbell sliced through the quietude, heralding the arrival of the new guest. His presence cast a ripple through the café's quiet ambiance. He stood, momentarily silhouetted against the soft glow of the entrance, an aura of quiet intrigue enveloping him.
Lila's gaze met his, and in that instant, something about the man struck her with recognition. With a gentle smile curving her lips, Eliza approached the stranger, offering a warm welcome and extending hospitality.
She said “Coffee?”, as she lifted her cup questioningly towards him.
“Please”, the man said. Again, something was strikingly similar about him and his voice.
“Cappuccino alright for you?”
The man nodded, so she put her cup down on the counter, and began the steps to making a coffee. The grinding resounded throughout the otherwise empty cafe and as she put the filter into the empty coffee machine and steamed the milk.
“Do I know you, you seem really familiar for some reason?”
She turned slightly to the man when asking the question, spotting the man drinking from the cup she’d just drank from. She was shocked and lost control of herself momentarily, causing the milk she was steaming to froth into bubbles and spill over onto the counter and over her hand.
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Quickly catching herself, she brought the milk container up again, she finished steaming the milk and said “That was uh… Mine… I already drank out of that”
As the words came out, she was already cringing inside. Not even a week into the opening of the shop, and she’s already serving drinks she’d sampled herself. Wryly she thought what reaction there might be to spitting in the food. Perhaps some people might deserve it, but still, she had to hold up at least some standards.
The man only returned a wry grin “Well, this one seems better for some reason and it’s not like I am worried if you drank out of it”.
Cringing a little on the inside, she took in the man's features and studied him more carefully. She’d felt some recognition earlier, but now that connection was springing out at her. In a momentary flash of inspiration she realised this man looked exactly like her father, looking over to the wall and comparing the man to a photo of him.
Her father had died when she was younger due to an industrial accident. The company he’d been working for at the time was going bust and was operating without any insurance and barely staying afloat. When the accident happened, the lawsuit went through and was taken up on their behalf by a local law firm hoping for a big payout. They didn’t have the money at the time so it was a god-send.
After a gruelling 6 month trial, that reached the local news they’d finally got close to winning. But not even a week before the trial ended, the company declared bankruptcy and liquidated their assets. It turned out they had a ton of debts and non-payments that had stacked up and everyone was hammering at them for a slice of the pie.
At the end of it, despite being “Awarded” a big payday we got a grand total of $670 and 49 cents. My dads life, not even costing as much as a newer smartphone.
Neither she nor her mother could bear seeing the body before it went into the crematorium, but was there when it burned. She put everything into work after that, and got employed at a good company but it hit her mother harder. Her mother was crushed and lifeless after the incident.
She’d stuck around for her mother as much as she could and tried getting her to go to therapy, but eventually her mother followed him and overdosed on some pills. Her aunt had taken her in for a time before she got working for real.
The man even had the same eye colour as her father, same spot next to his eye and… Had the same old flight jacket…
Outside, the rain whirred with its loud cadence, mirroring the rising tempo inside of the cafe.
“Dad?” she croaked, her voice raw with emotion.