Fragile Heart

'Remind me again why I moved to London?' I said, walking inside and taking the scarf of my head.

After almost half a year I still wasn't getting comfortable with the weather. I hung my wet clothes on the coat hanger and took a piece of paper towel to dry off the remaining drops which had fallen on my face.

After the usual dry off, I took my apron from the counter and made a little bow in the front and left my apartment keys in the little drawer in the kitchen.

'Good morning to you too, Kat!' Jane greeted me politely, how that girl was always so cheerful is a mystery to me. We have been working for four months together now.

When I first moved here, a job was necessary , so I applied to the Dorset Cafe to clean the tables, take orders and help out in the bakery. When my mom had heard of it, she wasn't pleased at all. Why should somebody my age throw everything away and start scrubbing tables. I got her concern, I had a degree.

Besides, I loved working here. Finn (Jane's husband) was a great boss and often helped taking orders when things got a bit messy. They were like family to me, I knew something major would happen to make me leave that place. Not even the perfect job I had studied for, for four years, would not change my mind.

'Finn's not working today?' I asked while I washed my hands in the little kitchen compartment in the middle of the cafe.

My tasks were pretty simple. First I'd prepare all the ingredients then I'd take the orders until break. After going for a little walk around the block I would clean whatever needed to be cleaned in the bakery and eventually Jane and I would close the cafe.

'Nah, family from Leeds has come on a visit and he's showing them around London.' She answered while she took the little notebook and pen from the counter. I threw her a smile and went to the bakery to get the first rolls.

The day started very slow but when the place got a bit crowded the orders became more regularly. I didn't have to twirl my thumbs every five minutes. When Jane got tired I took over so she could relax a bit. Before lunch break Jodie came for her daily salmon sandwich and right after I took my break.

Instead of going for a walk I decided to go to the little private section in the back of the cafe. After putting on the coffee machine, I sat on one of the chairs around the little table and took out my cigarettes. I opened the window and hung out so the smell wouldn't linger around the room too much.

Jane smoked herself but I knew Finn couldn't stand the smell.

Smoking was a nasty habit I had picked up in high school. I had my first cigarette when I was fifteen together with a friend. She never bought her own but I was addicted after only a few weeks. I didn't have such a great self-control.

After inhaling my last draw I threw the stub out of the window and stood up to finish my work.

The least favorite part of the day had to be the cleaning, Finn had left a note which told me I had to clean the freezer. After cleaning all the shelves I put all the product back on their places and went over the floor one last time. By that time Jane told me it was time to clean the bakkery and go home.

On week days we already closed at four and by the time everything was back in it's place it would be around five.

'Plans for tonight?' Jane asked while she turned of all the lights.

I took my stuff from the coat hanger and went outside. Jane closed the door behind us. We started walking, she lived a bit closer to the cafe than I did.

'Jodie's cooking tonight and afterwards she's going to the pub. I'm hoping on a quite night in.' I answered while taking a cigarette out of my pocket.

'Again? Kat, you have to go out some time! Finn and I are going to that new restaurant on the corner of Baker Street tomorrow, why don't you join us?' She asked while I offered her my lighter when she couldn't find hers.

We both lit our cigarettes and walked into the next street.

'Thanks but I'll pass, I wouldn't want to ruin your date.' I laughed knowing they stopped dating long ago. They had been together for a few years now and Finn had this habit to go eat out every week.

'I think it would do us good if you'd join.' She said, the smile disappearing of her face.

I had seen the tension between them for a few days, I hated the fact that they were growing apart. Finn and Jane were the best couple I had ever seen but seems like the best couples had their bad days too.

'I know Finn, he'll come around. It's a busy period right now, you guys will be fine.' I said with an honest heart. I knew they would be fine in a couple of days, I hoped it would.

'Thanks Kat, that means a lot to me. I'll see tomorrow!' She took a different turn and went inside the second house on the left. Now I'd had to walk to blocks and I'd be home too.

That made me feel better, I loved staying inside especially with this weather. It had stopped raining but there was still a moist feeling in the air.

I came into my street and felt in my pockets to look for my key. Both of my pockets were empty. I kept walking while looking for my key, that's when it hit me. I had left my key in the kitchen drawer at the cafe. This meant I would have to go back to Jane ask for her key and go all the way back to retrieve my key.

This had to happen to me, every day I had that kind of bad luck.

I stopped walking and aggressively turned around. What I did not expect was to collide to something hard and fall back in a large puddle on the ground. The back of my dress was getting wet and I had to adjust my eyes, shocked from the unexpected movement.

Before I could look up to see what made me fall over, I heard a soft voice apologies.