Work Text:
Spring
Spring brings the start of the new cafés special menu. Cherry blossom flavour treats and drinks are now flooding orders. The little out of the way cafe Jin calls home is now steeped in the colour pink. The dark wood of the cafés décor rich against the soft pinks of the small flowers found dotted around. Spring reminds people of little coffee houses, the new season brings many out of the cold and into the cafe. A young man enters the welcoming café, sheepish in entering as the café is relatively quiet this afternoon, the cool breeze sweeps through the empty space the door has created in opening. I lift my head at the sound of the small bell that rings once the door is opened, the jingle is light through the small murmur of the coffee machines. His skin is a warm honey shade, hair rich in colour. He looks almost soft in his baby pink bomber jacket and dark jeans. He keeps his head low as he reaches the counter where I wait patiently, I've seen this type before shy in fear of messing up an order and ruining a first impression. I keep a smile on my face to look as welcoming to the new customer. The warmth in his eyes as he looks up to the wall menu has me consumed, falling into the coffee rich eyes once his gaze moves to mine order ready on the tip of his tongue. He takes is blossom rich drink to go, swiftly leaving once I place the drink down. He was surely a memorable customer.
Spring always brings out the new from the depths of the harsh winters before. Each spring season brings a new feeling. Jin thinks that this year is going to bring such new beginnings.
Summer
The hot weather brings more customers to the little nook Jin prides himself on. Gone is the delicate pinks and greens that came with spring, now the café is bathed in bright blues reflecting the clear skies the summer months will bring. A new season brings another special menu, iced drinks are more common now and Jin finds his happiness in the citrus smell that the cafe has now taken. The now more vibrant blues of the summer advertising changes the look of the small cafe, small flower touches have been replaced with large sun flowers.
I notice someone that caught my eye in spring, they are back, this time the light pink bomber jacket has changed to a more airy blue wash jean jacket. I watch as they scan the new season special menu before I am whisked away with orders. The next time I see him he is settled in one more secluded tables of the café laptop out and papers strewn all over the available space the small round table has to offer, his brows are slightly furrowed as he concentrates on the screen in front of him, drink almost finished with ice cubes taking up most of the room. I try to peak at the work he is doing in passing, it's not that I am snooping per say just curious on what could have such a face crumpled in concentration, I have did this many times idly glancing at the work my customers bring to distract from the heat that summer brings to the small coffee shop.
I see him more than once this hot season, each time he sits at the same table, sometimes there are stacks of paper by his side other times there is a book to pass the hours until he once again has to leave, each time he orders something new from the special menu, never once is there a complaint on the drinks or cakes only a smile as he accepts the orders, each time I become more interested in his habits, how scans the menu each time to make sure he has not missed anything, how is nose twitches at the smell of fresh coffee the upturn of his lips when I give him a warm welcome to match the warming temperatures of the moving season.
Summer brings a new adventure, you find the beauty the season has to bring that spring only began to show, the small flower buds flourish. Hot weather brings fresh smells and light clothing. Jin is sure that the summer sun has nothing on the smile his new customer brings to him every visit.
Autumn
Autumn brings about the worst and best weather. The bright blues that summer once brought have been changed once more to a more fitting burnt orange. The cafés special menu is now flooded with warm spiced drinks, the smell of cinnamon keeps Jin smiling as he darts to and from the coffee machine as orders pile for this seasons spiced concoction. The once vibrant sunflower decorations have been replaced with maple leaves and small pumpkins. Autumn brings more people to Jin's cosy spot. Students are back as a new round of deadlines and exams bring the hunt for caffeine and quiet Wi-Fi free spots. The constant cold rain autumn brings cause many to spill into the cafe with red noses and damp hair. The dark wood of the cafe welcomes many with the added burnt oranges that autumn specials bring makes Jin's little cafe even more warm and inviting.
He's back again, almost every week without fail, they have tried nearly every spiced item on the menu once autumn meets its middle point. I've told them my name now, we are almost considered friends more than a Batista and customer. I wait for them to come I have their time memorised, every Wednesday at 2:45. I count the seconds, my practiced smile is no longer needed when I hear the ring of the bell signalling a new customer has entered my little cafe. I wait by the till smiling like a fool watching him squint at the board of drinks deciding what autumn themed drink will spark his interest today. His cheeks still have a red blush from the cold wind outside, his hair is neatly tucked into a fuzzy hat but his ears still defy the warm fabric and poke out allowing them to have the same red blushing as his cheeks. Decided on a drink he turns to me, catching me watching, a small smile twitches the corner of his lips as he walk towards me. I can never tire of hearing my name from his lips as he greets me with his order.
It's become almost tradition for me to join him at his table during my break, I talk wildly about the many odd customers that come through the door and he equally complains about the many work colleagues he has to deal with. The conversation is always warm in the autumn, he never tires of my awful jokes sometimes beating me to the punch line or tell me equally terrible jokes. Each time he walks into the cafe wrapped in a thicker scarf of burnt orange and warm reds as the season is slowly shifting to the cold of last season of the year, he makes my heart even warmer. I've come to find him to be a dear friend although we have never met outside this little cafe.
The autumn always brings such warmth with its spicy smells and thick clothes. Jin is sure that no other season can be better than what autumn has brought him as he walks into his cafe every Wednesday.
Winter
Winter is a double edged sword, the bitter weather kills off many plants that held on through the autumn removing the warmth of burnt oranges and replaced it with whites but the warmth that the festive season brings keeps a smile on everyone's face. Jin's warm cafe is no different, the little pumpkins and maple leaves have been removed. In its place are snowflakes and little snowmen. The spiced hot drinks have left the special menu, now more hearty hot drinks replace them. The smell of the cafe has a new warmth as hot chocolates dominant the orders. Many of the students have left the cafe this season with many leaving to go home over the festive season. Only shoppers find solace in Jin's little spot, bags hanging off of arms as the scurry for a chair and hot drink to sooth their aching hands. The sounds of the cafe are slightly muted to the festive music that floats through.
He hasn't been as regular this season compared to autumn. I chalk it down to the busy schedules that winter brings to many. It is on a cold clear day, the snow from the night is still heavy on the ground that he enters my cafe. It's a Friday just shy of noon when the door signals a new customer, I glance at the door with a smile only to lose it quickly. There he is with a glint in his eyes I cannot name with an arm tightly wrapped round another man, he's as tall as me not as handsome as I but many would call me out of my over confidence in my looks. He is gleefully pulling him to the counter where I stand gawking, that's when I see the glint in his eye, it is of pure love. When his eyes meet mine he becomes shy, the man rattles off the orders and in paying he displays his left hand proudly with the notes wedged awkwardly in between his fingers drawing my attention to the silver ring. My breath hitches at the sight and I am sure I feel my heart crumble a little. I hide my hurt well through the years of training in perfecting the warmest smile for customers. I act happily for the couple in front of me despite the ache I know will linger once the coffee has long been finished.
I don't join him on my break like the warm autumn months, instead I work in cleaning as many surfaces as possible letting the white noise of the cafe drown out his voice I have become so accustom to tuning into. He visits less in the white winter months and in those visits he is never alone again. My warm little cafe has become slightly cold when he enters, my responses has almost become mechanical to his happy tones as he gushes over the counter about his new fiancé.
it's almost time to close the cafe for the holidays, I spend more time in the back cleaning up the storage in a bid to arrange the many different season decorations the cafe has accumulated over the years, the delicate pinks of spring, the vibrant blues of summer and finally the warm burnt oranges of autumn. These colours bring a smile to my face as I think back to how he entered my cafe, tentative but soon warming up to the place and leaving such an impression, just like the change in seasons he brought a new feeling to the cafe. It was almost closing time once I left the storage room. I look up to find him there standing by the counter. The smile he gave me could melt the thick white snow outside.
Winter is a double edged sword, its kills of most of the plants that fought through autumn but still there are some that grow and stay until spring.