With one hand supporting her head and her elbow resting on the table, the woman scrolled her phone with her free hand, suggesting she might have been sitting there for a while, waiting.
‘Hi there, what can I get you?’ Tawrie smiled and waited with her pen poised.
‘Hi, erm ...’ The woman flashed her impossibly white, impossibly straight teeth. ‘Do you have any herbal teas?’
‘We have peppermint or chamomile.’
‘Do you have any others?’
‘Other than the ones I just told you we have?’
‘Yes.’
‘Connie?’ she yelled over to the counter where Needle had just made his exit.
‘What?’ Connie called over her shoulder.
‘Do we have any herbal teas other than peppermint or chamomile?’
Connie looked up from the grill. ‘What is the lady looking for exactly in terms of tea?’
Tawrie recognised her cousin’s subtle sarcasm, which seemed to be the order of the day.
‘Oh!’ The woman sat up straight and beamed. ‘Do you have anything with ginger in it? I like anything with ginger.’
Connie shook her head. ‘No. No, we don’t.’ She smiled almost imperceptibly at Tawrie and went back to the bangers, which were starting to sizzle.
Undeterred, the customer continued. ‘Okay, erm, what about anything fruity: rosehip, blackcurrant, apple?’
‘Did you hear that, Con?’
‘No, what?’ Her manner was decidedly less patient.
‘Can you check the chamomile and peppermint teas and see if they have anything fruity in them?’
Connie abandoned the metal tongs, wiped her hands on her apron and grabbed the slightly dusty boxes from the shelf before scouring the small print.
‘Nothing fruity, I’m afraid.’ Connie replaced the box and reached for her tongs.
‘Sorry about that.’ Tawrie smiled at the woman who twirled the ends of her hair between her fingers. She was nicely dressed, pairing a long-sleeved white shirt with her cut-offs, and with a tiny turquoise choker at her neck.
‘Okay, so ... in that case, I’ll take a coffee, do you have decaf?’
‘Yes.’ There was no need to check.
‘Fab, so, decaf coff for me and a black tea for his nibs.’
‘Black tea?’
‘Yes, he’s lactose intolerant, and late!’ She gestured to the empty chair opposite.
‘No worries. I’ll leave the menu with you in case you want to order when your friend arrives.’
‘Thank you.’ The woman was sweet, sincere and a bit posh.
‘Right, Gay’ – Tawrie leaned on the counter – ‘can I please have—’ She was about to put her order in when she was wholly distracted by the rather handsome visitor who appeared at the door.
‘Oh marvellous, that’s all we need! Another lovebird to clutter up the place! She’s working, you know!’ Connie brandished the tongs – her new weapon of choice – in his direction and laughed as Tawrie stared at her man, come to visit her in the café. She was actually delighted. It seemed that he too found the thought of no contact until this evening utterly unacceptable.
