Café Soleil  

 

At this hour it all looks very calm and peaceful.  A killer yellow sun is just coming up over the water, casting its spell on the lazy waves, glowing white as they sidle onto shore.   The sun rises and slowly illuminates the buildings - the swish low rise apartments have softer contours in the morning.   The beach and walkways look pristine since the mechanical street sweepers - giant tarantulas - have been swaying back and forth for hours, plucking up all the debris and tucking it inside their great whirring bodies. For hours the bakery has had its light on and cinnamon, apple and yeasty smells seep from under its as yet closed doors.  

A dairy truck lumbers up, and its driver pulls a trolley from the rear end, and starts loading it impossibly high with milk, pushing it on to the footpath up to the supermarket, where he rolls it inside. 

Across the street, portly Darryl, beads of perspiration already forming on his upper lip, wrestles piles of chairs onto the footpath, setting each one down in its place and placing menus on the tables, ready to entice the first joggers, gym junkies and personal trainers with skim soy lattes and egg white omelettes followed by mineral water chasers.  

The car park fills up with four wheel drives and sports cars as the buff trainers wait, after lugging their equipment along the beach effortlessly.  Bright red boxing gloves, pads, witches’ hats, balls, rope and chains put Darryl in mind of a medieval torture chamber.  For the relentlessly cheerful early risers it's the highlight of their day. 

Rosie, the part-time waitress he’s recently hired is late, so he’s busy taking orders, keeping an anxious eye out for her.  Darryl is not used to being front of house, and would rather be in the kitchen plating up or washing dishes, anything but dealing with the public.  Mark was the people person – he felt comfortable wherever he went. A chuckling baby, gregarious teenager and now in a persistent vegetative state, they called it.

“Can I take your order?”  

The trim young brunette checking her mobile phone barely glances up as she replies.

“Soy Skim Latte.”

“Anything else?”

“No, that’s fine.”

He wondered why young people had to be so rude.  Where were their manners?  On their iPhone – that’s why they called it an iPhone, it was always I, I, I,  iPad, I this, I that…in Darryl’s day it was not done to big note yourself.   You didn’t post selfies.  You waited until you could get your roll of film from your holidays processed and some of them would be grainy and out of focus, but that was half the fun.

He moved past a few more tables to an unremarkable middle-aged woman sitting on her own, except for a very friendly beagle tethered to the table.  He must remember to put out more doggy water bowls.

“Can I get you anything?”

She flashed him a smile. She seemed to light up from inside.  It was very attractive.

“Yes, what do you recommend?”

“Cute dog.”  Darryl ventured a pat.

“It’s alright” she smiled. “He loves people. In fact, he’d probably go home with you.”

“I’d have to get in a supply of dog food, then.”  They both laughed.

“The Eggs Benedict are really good.  Or if you’re vegan…”

“That sounds lovely.”

Rosie rushed up, sweating, slinging her bag down.

“Sorry I’m late.  I’ll just…”

“That’s alright.  I’ll take this one. Maybe you could see what those tables over there want.” To the woman he said – “Won’t be long.”

She grinned and he found himself smiling too as he went to the kitchen.

When he personally took the plate of food out to her, he was disappointed to see she had been joined by a well-dressed man.   He didn’t know what he’d hoped, that he’d engage her in conversation, what?  Was he that desperate that he had to start hitting on customers now? No.  That was not him.  Besides, there were so many other things to think about.  The daily visit to the hospital for one.  One which filled him with dread.  The tubes, the breathing apparatus, all that shiny metal.  And his son, who looked almost normal.  As though he was sleeping and would soon wake up from whatever dreamland he was in.