Daddy's Little Princess

“Two coffees, one tea with no sugar.” Rosemary tells Oliver on that Monday morning, yesterday had been Oliver’s day off, he took Francesca to the park and he’ll admit that he did have fun, watching his daughter squeal as he pushed on the swings and watching her hair spin wildly in the wind from the round-about. Francesca was full of energy, climbing up the roped apparatus and sliding down the slides with glee. Oliver loved seeing her smile.

After the park, they had ice cream, a rare treat for Francesca. Finally, Oliver and Francesca went home and made cakes, a skill Oliver had mastered shamefully and Francesca kept stealing a bit of the mixture on her finger, whenever she thought her father wasn’t watching. He always spotted her, but never said anything because hearing her not-so-silent giggles were too precious to waste.

On Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, the days where Jamie had classes was the days Francesca attended nursery day care, seeing as she only was four years old. It frightened Oliver, knowing that next September, she would be starting school. Due to finances, Oliver couldn’t afford full time day care but he preferred Francesca spending time with Jamie anyways. Oliver only had one day off a week, but his hours were extremely flexible which was especially helpful with his daughter.

Oliver served the drinks to the customers, and continued to work, cleaning up tables and loading the dishwasher. It wasn’t till about two o clock, when he was surprised to see the mystery girl, this time sitting alone, her hangs hugging a steaming cup of coffee. It was March but still, it was fairly cold outside. British weather was notorious for it. The mystery girl, which Oliver couldn’t help stare at, was reading a magazine of some sort, completely absorbed.

Oliver felt oddly nervous, his palms felt clammy and his heart sped up slightly. He decided he should go talk to her, you know just to be polite. Oliver sucked in a deep breath and carefully went over. The girl stopped and looked up, her brown eyes staring at him. He smiled weakly.

“Hey” he says, and he instantly felt like slapping himself out of this frozen state. The girl smiled softly, revealing her straightened teeth and the work of an orthodontist must have done.

“Hey.” she says calmly, her eyes flickering up and down him. Oliver’s confidence increased as he noticed her checking him out. A light blush on the girls cheek as she was caught out.

“Can I get you anything else?” Oliver asks, he would never normally go up to a customer and ask if they personally wanted another drink. In fact, he’d do anything to avoid them.

The girl seem to be debating, before she let out a bright smile. “Yes please, if it’s no trouble…a coffee with one sugar?” the girl asks in a form of question. Oliver found himself feeling excitement.

“Sure, I’ll be right back.” Oliver says and hurried over to the coffee machine, taking effort to make the perfect coffee for her. He placed the cup in front of her, while watching her fish for coins in her flowery patterned purse.

The mystery girl handed Oliver the correct amount of change and thanked him. Oliver grinned and felt like he needed to introduce himself.

“I’m Oliver.” he says suddenly, holding out his hand hoping it wasn’t sweaty. The girl simply smiled and took his offering hand, her cool hand was soft and gently and they shook twice.

“I’m Eva, nice to meet you.” the mystery girl finally reveals herself.

“You too.” Oliver replies smoothly. A funny, nauseous feeling in his stomach.

“Oliver!” Rosemary screeches, ruining the moment, and making Oliver jump. Eva giggled.

“I got to go..” Oliver says, feeling sad.

“See you around, Oliver.” Eva says and Oliver, hesitantly turned out and got back to work.