Last day in the coffee shop.

I went to work with the mentality that it was just another day. At least, that’s what I was telling myself. That Wednesday was my last day working with Maria at the coffee shop. I just wanted to get through the day and move on, but… I still felt a faint stinging in my chest.

The shop was quiet when I got there. No customers, which was a little odd for summer vacation, but it happened sometimes. I greeted Maria with a casual hello and she greeted me back. Fernanda wasn’t here yet, but I was always early.

I put on my apron and checked around the shop. Dishes were done and stored, the floor and the tables were clean, no trash to take out…

“Slow day?” I asked Maria.

“The last 40 minutes, at least,” she said.

“...”

“...”

It was about to get awkward, but Maria let out a sigh, walked up to me and gave me a tight hug.

“I’m gonna miss having you working here, kid,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “Sorry I can’t offer you more.”

I hugged her back and shook my head. “No. It’s not about money and you know it. It’s not even about Diana, either. I… I want to try other things. Working here is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, but… I think I’m growing too comfortable. I need something else to push me out of my comfort zone. There are other reasons, but that’s a big one. Thank you for taking a chance with me. I owe you a lot.”

“Oh, shut up. I told you before. I hired you, you did your job, you got paid. We don’t owe each other anything. I’m just… gonna miss my work buddy,” she said, giggling.

“Hey, you’re always welcome at my house. The new one, I mean. You and Thomas can drop by whenever you want… when it’s ready.”

“I’ll take you up on that. I’m not gonna stop visiting Diana just because you stole her from me.”

“...She’s not moving in with us, you know.”

“Bah. A month after the house is finished she’ll have half her clothes at your place. She’ll give in in no time.”

I laughed. “I hope you’re right, actually.”

We heard the bell at the door ring, and suddenly hearing Thomas’ voice startled us a bit. “Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on here?” We turned to the door and saw him coming in with Ben, Kevin and Mark… and with Mila, Grace, Sarah, Noelle, Alice, Lena and Amanda right behind them. “Maria, would you please get your hands off of my best friend? His girlfriends are watching, for goodness sake!”

Maria and I let go of each other, and for a moment I strained myself to try and feel out Thomas’ thoughts, worried he was suppressing some sort of jealousy and making it with a joke. But nope, none of that. The guy trusted me enough and perfectly understood what was happening.

“Sorry, but so long as he’s working here, he’s mine,” Maria joked.

“So… What’s with the huge group?” I asked them.

“It’s your last day here, right?” Thomas said. “We’re probably not gonna stop coming here, but you know…”

“We came here on your first day,” Mila said. “Might as well come here on your last.”

“To wish you luck on your next job, obviously. Not to celebrate you quitting,” Kevin clarified.

…

From no friends almost a year ago to ELEVEN people coming to wish me luck. I could’ve cried if I didn’t have to arrange a table for eleven people.

I sighed. “Alright, give me a moment. I’ll have a table ready for you. The old lady will take your orders.”

“Oliver…!”

“It’s my last day. You can’t do anything!” I said, hurrying to push some tables together.

Fernanda arrived just a few seconds later. With wide, confused eyes, she looked at the line at the counter, saw some people she knew, then turned to me. I smile wryly at her.

“Could you help me set this up?” I asked her.

“Yes, of course!” She grabbed her apron, put it on and quickly tied her hair into a ponytail.

“Sorry about this,” I told her with a faint chuckle. “They’re all my friends and they arrived together.”

“Oh. Um… Are they celebrating something?” she asked.

Oh. Did… Did Maria not tell her? “Um, kind of? It’s… my last day working here.”

Fernanda froze in the middle of moving a chair. She stared at me with wide eyes and a half-open mouth. “R-Really? W-Why?”

“I’m going to work somewhere else. Plenty of reasons for that, but I mainly want to push myself again. The opportunity came up, so I took it.”

“...” Fernanda looked down, pursed her lips for a moment, then looked at me again, this time with a smile. “Well, then I wish you the best of luck, even though I don’t think you’ll need it.”

“Hey, all good vibes are welcome,” I told her.

We finished setting the table, the guys and girls sat down, Maria prepared the orders and Fernanda and I carried them. Fernanda also said hello to Grace and Sarah and got a short but proper introduction to the other girls. She seemed more nervous around the guys, though.

“You wanna hear some gossip?” I asked her when we were alone behind the counter. I gestured towards the group with my eyes.

“...” Fernanda pursed her lips, fidgeted a little, then smirked and nodded. “Yes.

“The tall guy with the big arms? The one with short, dark auburn hair?”

Fernanda looked at and identified Thomas, She nodded for me to continue.

“That’s Maria’s boyfriend.”

Fernanda’s jaw dropped as she grinned. She covered her mouth, and I had to stop myself from laughing at her reaction.

“No way!” she whispered. “Isn’t he like… your age?”

“Yep. Just a little younger than me, actually.”

“How!?”

“I hooked them up, kind of. He was the one who asked her out.”

“Oh my God!”

“Just watch them interact. They try to hide it while they’re here, but they’re adorable.”

For the rest of the shift, Fernanda was indeed watching Maria try and fail not to flirt with her boyfriend, giggling to herself and looking at me with eyes that asked ‘did you see that!?’ She was suddenly a lot more relaxed.

The old couple also came. You know, the elderly regulars who were always nice to me. They didn’t know it was my last day, but when Maria told them the old lady almost cried. Almost got me, too.

“Now you have Fernanda here, though,” I told them with a smile. “And my sister is taking the other shifts. And speaking of, please don’t hesitate to tell Isabelle if she’s doing something wrong. Slap her on the wrist if you have to.”

It got a good laugh out of the two. We had more regulars, but none of them showed up. Not like my last day was some sort of event. My friends made it into one all on their own.

Later, when everyone left and we were about done with closing the shop, Fernanda approached me again while I was in the kitchen.

“Oliver, do you have a moment?” she asked me.

“Yeah, of course.”

“I… wanted to tell you something. Two things, actually. Or rather, tell you one thing and ask you another.”

I smiled. “Alright. Shoot.”

She smiled back with relief. “I… I decided to give therapy another shot. I have an appointment with Dr. West in a couple of days. I figured that since you had that conversation with my dad, I should tell you.”

I winced. “Y-Yeah, I… I didn’t want to meddle, but…”

Fernanda shook her head. “No, don’t worry. I don’t want to stay like this, so… I’ll give it my best, too. So… Thank you. Thanks for helping me here. I think I’ll be fine on my own now.”

“Glad to hear that, but remember you still have Maria, so you’re not alone. Rely on her.”

She nodded. “I will. And… about what I wanted to ask you…” She swallowed and stopped herself for a moment. I gave her time. Then… “Do you think…”

{Do you think we could hang out together sometime? You know, as… friends? Or maybe…}

“Do you think you’ll upload a new song soon? It’s… been a while, don’t you think?”

I almost let out a groan. Not because of anything Fernanda said, but because Frey had decided to let me know Fernanda’s true thoughts. Now I knew she had run away from asking what she really wanted to ask, but even so I don’t blame her. I’ve done it before.

…

What to do?

“You’re right. I have something I think it’s good enough, but I’ve yet to record it. Expect something new in a couple of days.”

She smiled. “C-Cool!”

“And hey, if you need anything, just call me or send me a message, alright?” I told her. “Just because we’re not working together anymore doesn’t mean we have to stop talking. I want to see more of your drawings.”

Her smile widened a bit. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. I’ll tell you when I have something worth showing.”

I said goodbye to Fernanda and Maria as we closed the shop and left in my van, unsure of how to feel about that last interaction with Fernanda.

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