Chapter 11
1112 Words
“I’ve never seen the café this packed before,” Eloise said when she finished changing.
Her coworker, Kaye said, “Yeah. I don’t know why they want to suddenly go here. We didn’t hire someone to promote our café, right?”
Eloise nodded when she remembers Jessica saying that she didn’t want anyone promoting her café. She said it would just be a waste of her money and it was true. Even without promotions or whatever, the café was quite popular around their areas.
“Anyway, are you looking for a part-time job?” Kaye asked her.
Eloise nodded and said, “Yeah. Eliot is growing up pretty quickly.”
Kaye pouted and said, “I know. It feels like yesterday he was just this cute small boy who doesn’t want his mother to leave his sight.”
Eloise laughed at that memory. When Eliot was big enough to understand that she has to work, she would always bring him with her. Eliot would behave but he would never take his eyes off her. Sometimes, he would trail behind her but would never cause a problem. And most of the time, the customers loved having him around.
If someone did promote their café, it was Eliot because back then, people would come back just to see him.
“Yeah. I wish he would stay the same,” Eloise said, suddenly feeling sad.
A customer walked in so Eloise focused on getting her order. She gave her a device that would let her know if her order was ready when she finished ordering. The girl walked to the last unoccupied table so Eloise started preparing her order.
It was just basically an iced americano and a slice of strawberry cake. When she finished making it, she pressed the button that sends the signal to the device she gave a while ago. The girl stood up from her table and got her order.
Another customer walked in and it was a relief because he opted for takeout. Kaye was the one who fixed his order since Eloise was handing the order she made to the other customer when he walked in.
When everyone was busy eating and basically no one was still getting out, Kaye and Eloise just chilled out at the counter. They have these seats for them if they have a time like this one.
“Do you think a celebrity happened to visit our café once and we didn’t notice it?” Kaye suddenly asked.
“Not really. I mean, if they would be this famous, we would surely know, right?” Eloise reasoned out.
“Yes, but I still can’t think of a reason why people suddenly started coming here.”
Someone walked out of the café so Eloise got up to clean their table. While she was cleaning, she couldn’t help but hear the conversation that was going on at the other table.
“Did you know that Leon Cress liked to get his coffee specifically from here?” One girl said.
Eloise felt her body stop.
Shit. Did he find them already? s**t. s**t. What if he did? Then, does this mean that her magic didn’t work? Why? Did it wear off? Isn’t she supposed to be the only one who can break the spell off? There was definitely no other way for him to remember them.
Eloise felt her breath started to quicken and her brain crumbling down.
What if he did remember? Will he come for them?
Eloise suddenly felt her body froze as realization hit her.
What if he’s coming for Eliot?
Eloise suddenly left the table she was cleaning and ran off to Eliot’s school. She tried to find her son’s classroom and tried to see if he was still there.
When she saw that he was, she heaved a deep sigh of relief. If Eliot was still here, then this means that he doesn’t know about him yet. She has to be extra careful around her now. Eliot is too young to face Leon. He still doesn’t have the skills.
Eloise waited until Eliot was done with his classes.
When he got out of their classroom, he was shocked to see his mother waiting right there.
“What are you doing here, mom?” Eliot asked her.
“Bye, Eliot,” One of his classmates said.
Eliot looked at them and waved for a bit before focusing his attention on his mom.
“Son, we have to go home and talk about something,” His mother seriously told him.
There was fear and anger evident in her eyes and that made Eliot concerned. He knew something bad would happen. Something that they had been avoiding.
Eliot was a smart kid. He won’t just sit and do mindless things. He would observe and it was evident enough that they are avoiding something. It was either her parents-in-law or his father. It was easy to guess since they are both absent from their lives.
“Sure, mom,” Eliot answered her with a calm voice.
He held her hand, hoping to calm her down, and they walked towards the parking lot where his Uncle Pierce is supposed to be.
“Eloise, why are you here?” Pierce said, surprised that she would pick Eliot up when she still has work.
“I’ll explain everything to you. Take us to the café first. I have to get my things and apologize to Kaye because I left her,” Eloise said while strapping her seatbelt.
She checked Eliot on the backseat to see if he was safe.
Pierce must have seen the fear and anger in her eyes because he didn’t utter a single word and just drove towards Jessica’s café. When they arrived, they went inside and Kaye together with Jessica welcomed them.
Their faces were filled with worry and when they saw Eloise walking in, they heaved a relieved sigh.
“Where did you run off, Eloise? I was so worried,” Kaye said.
“I’m sorry. I’ll explain everything now,” Eloise said.
Everybody, except for Eliot suddenly felt nervous. They’ve never seen Eloise this serious. She was always bubbly and energetic.
Jessica nodded her head and immediately decided to close the café. When everybody is gone, they sat at one of the tables, ready to listen to Eloise.
Eloise heaved a deep breath for courage.
Here goes nothing.
- Writer
