Miles tries to comfort Camila about the news about her mum’s death but she can’t accept that her mum is gone. Camila was a mess when she got the call that her mum’s heart failed minutes after a new drug was administered to her.
“How is that possible? When did we see her? When did the new treatment start that she died immediately?” Camila cried.
“I am so sorry to hear this too. I... I came back from France this morning, I was on an official assignment and I came in here to hear this sad news” he explained.
Camila stopped crying and looked at him “It wasn’t you who administered the medication to her?” she asked, her brows forming a frown. “Who administered the medication to her?”
“Camila, hold on. The new treatment I told you about, your mum was supposed to be given medication to start the trea-”
“Who administered the medication to her?” she asked with more power.
“Camila, listen to me”
“Who did it? Tell me?” she raised her voice.
“Shhh, you don’t need to raise your voice”
“Then who administered it?”
Miles went quiet for a while. Everyone had been told not to say a word about delicate work stuff to non-staff, relative or not but this was a lady he cared so much about and at the same time he didn’t want to lose his job.
“This could get me fired,” he said then went to lock his office door before walking back to her “It was Trent Junior Watkins”
“The annoying cocky son of the famous surgeon Trent Senior Watkins?”
“Shh, yes him. Don’t tell no one I told you” he whispered.
“Why is that supposed to be a secret? Aren’t we supposed to know who did this and that to our family?” she asked.
“You are but not exactly all the time… it’s complicated and I don’t want to get down to those details” he held her arms “I am sorry for your mum’s death, it’s not something every child wants to experience” he brought her into his embrace, and then heard a knock on his door.
He stood up to answer it and saw a teary Joan standing there.
“Where’s she?” he opens the door wider and she enters then walks up to Camila who is tearful. “Oh baby” she hugs her and Camila sobs bitterly on her shoulder.
“My mama is gone” she wept bitterly.
***
A few days later…
“Jet black needs a refill,” Camila said when she came back from taking the orders of the newly arrived customer.
Joan nodded as she watched her best friend closely. Camilla didn’t seem to break down after she cried her eyes out in Miles office. She only just sighed a lot and solely concentrated on her upcoming exams.
“You okay?” she asked because she was worried.
She worries that keeping all those feelings would break her friend.
Camila stopped what she was doing and then looked at Joan with a little furrow on her brows.
“Why?”
“Cam, these past few days have been draining… mostly for you,” she held Camila’s cold hands and warmed them up by rubbing her palm against them. “It’s… it’s too much for one to handle but you know I am here always? To hear you out when you lash out, scream, cry, or whatever, you know?”
Camila’s eyes brimmed with tears as she looked around the busy café.
“It’s hard and I will totally understand if you don’t want to come to work or be around anyone” she pasts her cheeks “Grieving is hard and you’re not meant to go through it alone, okay?”
“I… it doesn’t make sense anymore” Camila’s voice cracked.
Joan looked around the café then back at her friend, she let her hand go over Camila’s shoulder as she led her to a stool that was behind the counter so that she could sit there for a while.
“Stay here, I’ll attend to all the customers and try to close up early so that we go home and be by ourselves, okay?”
“But the manager? He’s not going to like it” she protested.
“Do you think he has a choice? Of all the workers this café has we are the only ones who stayed even now that there aren’t as many sales as there used to be. He does nothing than go on holidays without informing us and then comes back to ask for a big fat check as his salary for doing absolutely nothing” Joan states.
“You’re doing so much already” Camila stood to her feet “I should be helping”
Joan made her sit back on the stool while glaring at her. “Nope, you sit, I work,” she placed her hand on her shoulders and gave them comforting squeezes “I want you to relax and stop trying to work out the grief without actually grieving. Sit back and relax, you’ll be fine, okay?”
“Please can I get that refill Joan?” the jet-black-haired man lifts his empty coffee cup.
“Gotta work, I’ll be back,” she kissed her forehead then took a coffee jar and milk “On it John,” she walked up to him then refilled for him. He smiled in thanks then went back to reading the newspaper in front of him.
Joan went on serving customers and Camila had to fight her about preparing the orders while Joan served else she’d go mad from doing nothing.
The day went by and it was mid-afternoon, the café was not too crowded, they had some customers who were on coffee breaks sitting and light gisting, and some were on their phones, probably browsing the web. Some were listening to the news that was shown on the TV they newly purchased.
‘That’s a good improvement if it keeps them hooked’ Joan says within and smiles.
She tried to distract Camila from thinking too much and it didn’t seem to be working but she tried her best.
A new customer walks briskly into the café and straight to the counter as if to ask for his order.
As Joan raised her head to ask what the customer wanted to order, the customer-friendly smile she always had on when working, vanished and her expression turned sour.
“What do you want?”