Kat was having an amazing morning. She had gotten up with the sun, as usual, to come to Christine’s to get some fresh pastries going before the shop would open in an hour. By 8am, the store was filled with the scent of freshly baked turnovers and brewed coffee. It was one of Kat’s favourite ways to start the morning– no rush, just her and her oven getting ready for the day.
The ‘no rush’ aspect of her morning didn’t last long, but it never did. Soon enough, people were crowding into the store, some leaving as soon as their hands got around their to-go cup, and some curling up in corners with a big mug of coffee and their laptops. Kat liked those people. She was happy that people liked her place enough to stay, and often found herself becoming acquainted with her regulars. They were all rather lovely people.
The person barreling towards her was either not one of the world’s lovely people, or she was not having as good as a morning as Kat was. Optimistic as ever, Kat assumed the latter. “Deep breaths, sweetheart,” she recommended to the woman with an amused smile before quickly beginning to work on her order. She made her drink with a triple shot and drew her normal smiley-face on the lid, extra bright this time. She didn’t hesitate to grab a turnover and bag that up as well for the woman before handing her breakfast over. “On the house. You look like you could use some good fortune today.”
Jenni let out a light sigh, her brows crinkling together in slight frustration. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap on you. I guess I’m really not in that much of a rush,” she mumbled, glancing up at the girl who handed her the cup of coffee. Her smile was bright and bold, taking over her entire face and making it look like a ray of sunshine. She was really beautiful, not in a supermodel kind of way, but the kind that made your toes curl up inside your shoes. Jenni became so distracted that she didn’t even comprehend what the girl had said to her- “What?” she asked. “Did you say on the house? No, I can’t accept that.”
She quickly reached into her wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill, intending to pay for both the turnover and the large cup of coffee the girl was handing to her. “Here, take this. I don’t care if you keep it as a tip or use it to pay for the coffee, but I feel better paying for something.” Jenni smiled at the girl warmly, pressing the ten into her hand in exchange for the warm cup of coffee. She glanced down at the other girl’s name tag – Kat. What a perfect name.
“Kat, is it? Thank you so much. You really made my morning better.” Jenni scooped up the turnover and began to walk away from the counter, a bright smile now firmly planted on her face. How was she going to be in a bad mood after an act of kindness like that one? She grabbed a packet of sugar and dumped it into her cup before stirring it up, stealing little glances at the girl behind the counter as she did so.