Chapter 16
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Unlike the walk home at night, Jade quite enjoyed her walk to work in the mornings. At 10AM, most kids were in school, any miscreants would still be asleep, and the only people out and about were elders who were going for a morning walk.
"Good morning, Mrs Harper."
"Good morning, Jade."
As such, Jade was smiling in the winter sun, greeting those she passed. In the cold winter morning, the frigid air had brought a rosy hue to her cheeks, and she could see her breath in the air. But she found the cold air invigorating, and the sunlight made her breath look dazzling.
'Truly a beautiful morning!'
A light frost decorated the ground and surrounding buildings, but it was slowly being melted under the sun's persistent rays.
Remembering her decision the previous night, Jade thought, 'If I do get a car or move, I won't be able to enjoy these morning strolls… Alas, it's a sacrifice that I'll need to make. Maybe, if I just get a car and don't move, I'll be able to walk occasionally in the summer when it stays bright until later.'
While thinking such thoughts, Jade soon arrived at the cafe. As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. At night, when she was scared, the walk would feel much longer, but in the mornings, they seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
"Morning, Bernie, how are you today?" Jade asked with a smile as she entered the kitchen.
"All good here, ma'am!" Bernie glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Here at 10:20AM? Are you trying to make up for not being earlier yesterday?"
"Ha ha, no, I didn't sleep well and woke up early, so I came in."
"Mind you take care of yourself, you know this cafe won't last even a day without you."
"Thank you for your concern. I'll keep it in mind."
Noticing that Harriet still had not popped into the kitchen to say hello as was her habit, Jade said, "Has it been busy this morning? I should probably go check on Harry."
"It hasn't been busy," Bernie muttered. "I don't know what's keeping her…"
Before he could finish, Jade had already left the kitchen.
The sight that greeted her was slightly surprising. The cafe was actually quieter than usual; there looked to be fewer than ten in the room, one of whom was Harriet. It looked as if Harriet was dealing with a customer, so Jade waiting behind the counter for either Harriet to finish or for a new customer to enter.
However, after five minutes, it became apparent that Harriet was not going to finish dealing with that customer any time soon. She was giggling and kept tucking her hair behind her ear.
Curious, Jade made her way over to the table. Sitting at the table was a young man with a top knot. He was dressed in casual clothing, with his shirt sleeves rolled up and one too many buttons undone for Jade's liking.
"Good morning, Harry," Jade greeted. "Is everything okay?"
Harriet was surprised by Jade's sudden arrival. "Good morning, Jade, I didn't hear you come in. Now that you're here, allow me to introduce you to Alan, my fiancé."
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Unlike the walk home at night, Jade quite enjoyed her walk to work in the mornings. At 10AM, most kids were in school, any miscreants would still be asleep, and the only people out and about were elders who were going for a morning walk.
"Good morning, Mrs Harper."
"Good morning, Jade."
As such, Jade was smiling in the winter sun, greeting those she passed. In the cold winter morning, the frigid air had brought a rosy hue to her cheeks, and she could see her breath in the air. But she found the cold air invigorating, and the sunlight made her breath look dazzling.
'Truly a beautiful morning!'
A light frost decorated the ground and surrounding buildings, but it was slowly being melted under the sun's persistent rays.
Remembering her decision the previous night, Jade thought, 'If I do get a car or move, I won't be able to enjoy these morning strolls… Alas, it's a sacrifice that I'll need to make. Maybe, if I just get a car and don't move, I'll be able to walk occasionally in the summer when it stays bright until later.'
While thinking such thoughts, Jade soon arrived at the cafe. As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. At night, when she was scared, the walk would feel much longer, but in the mornings, they seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
"Morning, Bernie, how are you today?" Jade asked with a smile as she entered the kitchen.
"All good here, ma'am!" Bernie glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Here at 10:20AM? Are you trying to make up for not being earlier yesterday?"
"Ha ha, no, I didn't sleep well and woke up early, so I came in."
"Mind you take care of yourself, you know this cafe won't last even a day without you."
"Thank you for your concern. I'll keep it in mind."
Noticing that Harriet still had not popped into the kitchen to say hello as was her habit, Jade said, "Has it been busy this morning? I should probably go check on Harry."
"It hasn't been busy," Bernie muttered. "I don't know what's keeping her…"
Before he could finish, Jade had already left the kitchen.
The sight that greeted her was slightly surprising. The cafe was actually quieter than usual; there looked to be fewer than ten in the room, one of whom was Harriet. It looked as if Harriet was dealing with a customer, so Jade waiting behind the counter for either Harriet to finish or for a new customer to enter.
However, after five minutes, it became apparent that Harriet was not going to finish dealing with that customer any time soon. She was giggling and kept tucking her hair behind her ear.
Curious, Jade made her way over to the table. Sitting at the table was a young man with a top knot. He was dressed in casual clothing, with his shirt sleeves rolled up and one too many buttons undone for Jade's liking.
"Good morning, Harry," Jade greeted. "Is everything okay?"
Harriet was surprised by Jade's sudden arrival. "Good morning, Jade, I didn't hear you come in. Now that you're here, allow me to introduce you to Alan, my fiancé."
Unlike the walk home at night, Jade quite enjoyed her walk to work in the mornings. At 10AM, most kids were in school, any miscreants would still be asleep, and the only people out and about were elders who were going for a morning walk."Good morning, Mrs Harper.""Good morning, Jade."As such, Jade was smiling in the winter sun, greeting those she passed. In the cold winter morning, the frigid air had brought a rosy hue to her cheeks, and she could see her breath in the air. But she found the cold air invigorating, and the sunlight made her breath look dazzling.'Truly a beautiful morning!'A light frost decorated the ground and surrounding buildings, but it was slowly being melted under the sun's persistent rays.Remembering her decision the previous night, Jade thought, 'If I do get a car or move, I won't be able to enjoy these morning strolls Alas, it's a sacrifice that I'll need to make. Maybe, if I just get a car and don't move, I'll be able to walk occasionally in the summer when it stays bright until later.'While thinking such thoughts, Jade soon arrived at the cafe. As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. At night, when she was scared, the walk would feel much longer, but in the mornings, they seemed to pass in the blink of an eye."Morning, Bernie, how are you today?" Jade asked with a smile as she entered the kitchen."All good here, ma'am!" Bernie glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Here at 10:20AM? Are you trying to make up for not being earlier yesterday?""Ha ha, no, I didn't sleep well and woke up early, so I came in.""Mind you take care of yourself, you know this cafe won't last even a day without you.""Thank you for your concern. I'll keep it in mind."Noticing that Harriet still had not popped into the kitchen to say hello as was her habit, Jade said, "Has it been busy this morning? I should probably go check on Harry.""It hasn't been busy," Bernie muttered. "I don't know what's keeping her"Before he could finish, Jade had already left the kitchen.The sight that greeted her was slightly surprising. The cafe was actually quieter than usual; there looked to be fewer than ten in the room, one of whom was Harriet. It looked as if Harriet was dealing with a customer, so Jade waiting behind the counter for either Harriet to finish or for a new customer to enter.However, after five minutes, it became apparent that Harriet was not going to finish dealing with that customer any time soon. She was giggling and kept tucking her hair behind her ear.Curious, Jade made her way over to the table. Sitting at the table was a young man with a top knot. He was dressed in casual clothing, with his shirt sleeves rolled up and one too many buttons undone for Jade's liking."Good morning, Harry," Jade greeted. "Is everything okay?"Harriet was surprised by Jade's sudden arrival. "Good morning, Jade, I didn't hear you come in. Now that you're here, allow me to introduce you to Alan, my fianc."
