1 Night Cafe

Ting ding!

"Thank you, come again!" the young woman said as the last two customers exited the cafe, the ring from the little bell above the door slowly fading out.

She looked at her a watch, and a smile appeared on her face when she saw the time. "Just fifteen minutes till close, Bernie. Almost there!"

"Alright, my love, I start cleaning up back here; you just make sure the customer side is ready for tomorrow," replied Bernie, the chef and co-owner of the little cafe.

"Already on it!" the girl replied cheerfully.

Despite only being in her mid-twenties, Jade, the waitress, was the other co-owner of the cafe. While Bernie was much older and one would expect him to be running the ship, the cafe's finances and management were actually left to Jade, since Bernie had never finished school. Thus, although Bernie told Jade to get started on tidying up the front of shop, she had started the moment those last customers left.

Squirt squirt. Tick tock.

In the empty store, the old sounds to be heard were the squirting of the two workers' disinfectant, the ticking of the clocks, and the sound of them wiping down the surfaces.

As she finished wiping down the last table, Jade checked her watch again. '23:55, huh? Five minutes till close. I'll collect all the menus first, and once we shut, I'll flip the chairs.'

Turning the chairs upside down and placing them on the tables was to make life easier for the cleaner in the morning. Jade was young and fit, but the cleaning lady was in her sixties, so Jade did not mind staying a few minutes later if it made her life easier.

'Hmm… Now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing…'

Ting ding!

Just as that thought came to mind, the door burst open, and a man in a long overcoat walked in.

"I know it's late, but I don't suppose I could have a coffee, could I?"

Jade glanced at her watch. '23:58… seriously, dude?'

The man saw this and hurriedly said, "If it's too late, there's no worry."

"No, no." Jade hurriedly waved her hands. "Please sit down. I'll bring your coffee over promptly."

"Thank you," the man replied as he slid into a seat in the middle of the room.

As Jade turned around to go brew his coffee, the man surreptitiously wiped his forehead to remove the slight shine that was appearing. 'That was a close one! I nearly missed closing time.'

He shrugged off his coat and also removed his suit jacket, revealing the sharp shirt and waistcoat underneath. Despite wearing so many layers, the man's well-toned body was apparent. Along with his impeccable fashion sense and his smartly trimmed beard, the man was a veritable stud.

Not a minute after ordering the coffee, Jade placed said coffee on his table and slid it toward him. "Here you are, sir, your usual."

"Thank you."

"I have to say, I was wondering if we'd get to see you today, and then you suddenly came in! Talk about good timing."

The man nodded as a slight rosy hue surfaced on his cheeks. "Yes, I was running quite late today. On my way back, I happened to see that you were still open, so I decided to try my luck. And here we are."

Jade chuckled. "Yes, here we are. Well then, please enjoy. If there is anything else, just shout."

After a polite smile, Jade retreated from the man's table to the kitchen.