Bittersweet (English)

CHAPTER 11

“Oh my, what a cute little vampire,” Emily spoke softly as she crouched down scratching Miko’s chin. Miko who seemingly enjoyed the gesture rolled over for a belly rub. “Look how well-behaved you are Miko.” 

“Welcome!” Kaye approached Missy with a hug. She then turned to Emily who was giving a milk bone to Miko. “You should’ve seen him earlier. He was all over the place.”

Miko kept chasing whoever he fancies. He loved the different costumes. Some kids got scared so she decided to keep him tied by the entrance. He was wearing a red and black cape made by Jenny. She brought him over for a change of pace. He had been holed up at home for a long time since she was busy with work.

Emily smiled as she stood straight back up hugging her. “Well, he’s doing a good job behaving now.” 

She was going to escort them inside when she saw Martin walking towards them from afar. 

“Martin!” Kaye yelled waving at him from afar.

The poor man tried to walk faster to get to her quickly. Missy already went inside leaving her with Emily waiting for Martin.

He was panting when he finally reached the door. He took a deep breath. “Glad I could make it. I wouldn’t want to miss your event.” 

Kaye thought he looked adorable catching his breath. Then he turned to Emily who was just standing nearby. “Good afternoon, Emily.” 

“You seem to forget our age, Martin. You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself.” Emily giggled as she spoke. She was comfortable teasing him since they were friends. “For a doctor, you seem to lack exercise.”

“Oh shush, Emily. You’re being too blunt after I just greeted you.”

“I’m just trying to give you some advice,” Emily answered with an innocent smile.

“I know you, Emily. You disguise your mockery with kindness,” Martin raised a brow while drilling holes at Emily’s smiling face.

“That’s sad to hear. I didn’t have such intentions,” Emily answered whilst appearing naive of the matter.

It was the first time she witnessed this kind of exchange between Emily and Martin. She knew they were friends from high school but she never thought they had some beef to settle. 

They kept staring at each other like whoever looked away first would lose.

Did I miss something? She asked herself. 

“Jeez. Is this how old people flirt nowadays?” Mykel said coming from behind. He was already wearing his casual clothes so he must’ve been done with work. “You could at least went inside and discuss this over a coffee.”

“Mykel!” Emily gasped in horror. She slapped his shoulder then added, “That isn’t nice.”

Mykel ignored his mother’s complaints and walked over to Miko. Mykel played with him for a while then stood straight up. 

For Kaye, it looked like Emily was embarrassed for a second. Martin on the other hand appeared clueless. His brows furrowed in confusion. 

Like Martin, she didn’t know where Mykel was coming from. All she saw was two people trying to settle their score with each other. How was that even flirting?

“Anyway, let’s get you all inside.” Still, in a state of confusion, Kaye urged them to enter the cafe. She then turned to Miko patting him on the head. “You behave Miko. I’ll check on you again later.”

She noticed that Mykel was still waiting for her by the door. He was giving her a wistful look with the corner of his lips slightly lifted. 

He offered his hand like a gallant knight to a princess. Kaye internally took a sigh. 

‘What’s up? Let’s get inside,” Kaye tapped Mykel’s shoulders and went ahead of him. 

Mykel’s hand was left floating in the air. He took a deep breath and looked at her back walking away from him. Well, that was frustrating. He thought but then tried to retain his smile following behind her. 

Meanwhile, Kaye felt sorry for intentionally ignoring Mykel’s gesture. What she did was terrible. However, she didn’t want to cause any more misunderstandings. Sometimes you had to be brutal to prove your point.

The moment she came inside, Emily and Martin were already taking food from the buffet table. Missy was already digging in her pasta and sandwich. They sat at the table near the bar counter. 

The mini-program ended earlier. It was chaotic but somehow manageable. It was a first for them after all. Though they were anxious, lots of kids in town participated.

At the moment, they only have three tables occupied. One was from Missy’s group, another from Stella’s kid and husband Steve, and the last one was Keith’s younger siblings.

“Looks like a family reunion to me. Should I consider taking reservations for events?” Jenny spoke her thoughts out loud. 

“Then I guess you’ll be spending nights studying the plan.” Stef chuckled. He glanced at his phone and saw the time. “My wife and daughter are coming anytime soon.” 

The trick or treat ended at two in the afternoon. So the remaining hours would be exclusive family time.

“Who did you invite for the family day, Jenny?” Stef turned to Jenny as they observed the people loitering the hall. 

Primarily, Kaye invited Martin for the family day. She also called Emily’s family over. As for Jenny, it's complicated. Since her grandad died, their family had been in shambles so she went on her own. 

She only has her older sister but unfortunately, she was residing in another town.

“I invited Geraldine and Rena. Geraldine sent me a message earlier that she was already at Rena’s. They’ll be going here together with the kids,” Jenny casually replied.

“I see,” Steff gave a short response. He looked down in realization. The two foundations of the cafe had very complicated backgrounds. While all of them were enjoying their quality time with their respective families, the owner and manager were deprived of that privilege.

Jenny, understanding Stef’s thoughts, elbowed him teasingly. “Don’t look so down, Pops. Just enjoy with your family.” Jenny looked by the entrance as the door chimed. “Look, your wife and daughter are already here.”

Stef walked towards his family giving both a peck on the cheeks. They greeted Kaye with a hug and waved at her mouthing a simple greeting. His wife had been sick for a while now. She had early pneumonia symptoms and had been undergoing treatment. She was recovering slowly though there would be times she’d still experience congestion. 

Two tables over, Steve was spoon-feeding his three-year-old daughter, Serena. She joined the Trick or Treat earlier wearing a fairy costume. She had been giggling during the entire program, fascinated by the costumes. Now, she looked sleepy chewing her food.

“Brother, I never knew you worked in a delicious place.”

Jenny heard Keith’s little brother. His eyes, together with the little sister were sparkling as they took a bite of their cupcakes. It was their first visit to the cafe so they were mesmerized. 

“Eat a little bit slower. You have crumbs all over your face,” Keith wiped the smudges off their faces. 

Jenny sighed. She saw Kaye approach her. 

They prepared a buffet for their family day. They had pasta which can either be Carbonara or Bolognese. There were toasted bread and sandwiches, too. And of course, the Halloween-themed cupcake that Kaye prepared. 

“Do you think we are pitiful?” Kaye said in low voice, observing the gathered families.

Jenny snorted. It was a funny thing to ask. “Did you feel out of place?” 

Kaye thought for a moment. She looked at Mykel’s table. They were chatting happily with Martin joining in their conversation. “I guess.” She responded briefly but then added, “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m conflicted.” 

Jenny turned to Kaye and placed one arm over her shoulders. “I don’t know about you but I have my family right here.” She shook Kaye playfully. “I know you just lost Macy several months ago but that doesn’t mean you have no family here. Macy was like a parent to me, too. You were her daughter so technically, we’re sisters.”

Kaye leaned her head over to Jenny’s shoulder. She shut her eyes for a second then said to her. “You’re more of a mother than a sister” 

Before Jenny could react, the door chimed. It was Geraldine and Rena coming in with the twins at tow. Rena looked haggard and Geraldine was laughing awkwardly. 

“Finally!” Jenny rolled her eyes as they motioned towards them. They sat at the nearby table.

“We apologize for being late,” Geraldine uttered. 

“You should enjoy your brief moments of freedom,” Rena murmured wiping the sweat off her forehead. “The twins couldn’t decide what to wear, that’s why we’re late.”

Jenny sat on Geraldine’s group and Kaye returned to her seat beside Martin. 

From time to time, they were getting involved with each other’s conversation. Most of them were familiar with one another so it wasn’t difficult to get along. 

“Are we having a marriage meeting?” Missy inquired out of context. She wasn’t loud but her words echoed throughout the room.

Everyone’s eyes went flying to them. Everyone fell silent. The silence was deafening.

“Now that you think about it, it looked like Martin is assessing the horrid man who’ll take away his daughter in marriage,” Steve broke the silence. He was now carrying Serena over his chest as she was napping.

 “He’s rather checking if he was reliable enough to allow the marriage," Stella added.

“Is the owner getting married, brother?” Keith’s little sister asked. A sudden rush of romance mirrored in her eyes. Keith hushed her, letting her know not to join in the conversation.

“As the sister, I would advise her to think about it thoroughly,” Jenny raised her hand. 

“Oh my, aren’t we getting too much attention,” Emily said, giving Missy a tweak under the table. 

Missy jolted on her but remained oblivious. 

“I don’t think I’ll be sending my daughter to marriage anytime soon,” Martin casually said sipping his coffee.

“Aww, here I thought I had your vote, Martin,” Mykel murmured with a brooding look.

The room was filled with gagging noises. Kaye was smiling but didn’t look happy at all. They continued their meals as the topic of the conversation was gradually changed. 

Meanwhile, Jenny took a bite after the other but her eyes were glued to the next table. Kaye was silent throughout the exchange. She remained ambiguous to avoid speculations. Jenny sucked in her breath. Looking at them was frustrating as hell.