Arrival of a Beauty

Eugene pulled the knob of the utility room and glanced over the dark place to find needed tools. He took a broom, but then noticed the absence of the bucket and tried to rush into the kitchen, assuming it whereabouts being in another room. However, Arnold talked to him earlier than he had a chance to escape. 

"What are you doing, Eugene? Planning on mopping the floor?"

"Indeed, and I need a bucket for it." said Eugene and glanced over Jessie, who stood beside him and enjoyed the show.

"I see, but did not you clean the floor yesterday before leaving?"

Arnold's remark further confirmed how pointless this activity would be. The man only made a fool out of himself, which was further solidified by quiet giggling, coming from Jessie. The woman passed him, avoiding the eye contact, and came towards one of the clients. Now Eugene was left with his boss one on one. Arnold's arms were already crossed in demand for explanation, which he received, though not without pressuring question beforehand.

"Did you forget to clean before leaving?"

"I never forget to clean the floor, I was just bored. There are not many clients at this time of the day."

Arnold showed a peculiar smile, as if a grandfather was about to call his grandchild to a fishing trip, to satisfy complaints about boredom. While passing Eugene, Arnold hit on the man's shoulder and sinisterly said, "Well, look at you, tough man! If you are so eager to work, then soon there will be a task for you, do not worry."

Eugene was ready to question the said task, but a sudden sound of the entrance door opening, made him turn around to greet a new visitor. Eugene was expecting to see the student, who departed earlier. Perhaps he forgot a book or a pen? But the one who wandered into their café truly struck him. A beautiful young lady, at first observed the interior, her emerald eyes passed through workers and other guests, as if those living did not bear any interest to her. Then, she walked to the back of the café and sat right in front of the sizable painting. Because of the light, it seemed like her long blonde hair was glowing. A black and crimson Victorian dress was decorated with laces and a few artificial red roses, covering her waist. Black gloves were hiding her snow-white skin. The same-coloured heels were slightly peeking out of the dress. And as a cherry on a cake, adorning her head, was a stylish feather hat. The overall look of this woman was so fitting for the interior that she could be easily mistaken as a part of it.

Suddenly, she awarded Eugene with her gaze, that bore a wearying weight, as if a wolf was observing its prey. Due to this pride and dignity of a noble, her presence felt significant. Even the young age of her did not dwindle down this image. On the contrary, those younger facial features added a layer of mysticism to the woman. Even ignorant lads like Eugene could immediately grasp on her high status. 

Meanwhile, Eugene stood still and chills ran down his spine. After a second of self talk, the man rearranged his waded legs towards the woman. He could already feel the misery, which was awaiting in the near future. Not only must he serve a young woman whom he does not know, but that lady is also a noble. How should he greet her? Should he loosen the atmosphere with his silly jokes as he usually does? What if she would get irritated? Wouldn't he get in trouble, if she is going to be pissed off at his attitude? More and more questions arose, but her posture was just getting closer, or rather he was getting closer to her! But when he finally reached her table, only a nervous smile shined on his cheeks and the man said.

"W-welcome to "Monso Rooster", may I take your order?"

Great start! - thought Eugene to himself, after muttering those words to the customer. Even though it seemed like a success to the man, his timid tone was awkward to hear even to the old man from afar. With his side glare, Eugene noticed how the old man shook his head. But the young lady did not seem to care about his uneasiness, her wise look was directed at the kitchen door and then she declared.

"Pleased to meet you, I would like to have a cup of coffee from the owner, please."

"Ye- certainly! This is going to be five fran-"

Before Eugene could finish, the woman already took out a large coin with engraved Marianne's face on it. After receiving the payment, Eugene was ready to leave her in peace, but she suddenly stopped him.

"May I ask you to tone down the music?"

"Ah, of course!"

Eugene totally forgot about a phonograph in the corner of the café, as one would do after working days after days in its presence. It was humming some classical tunes like Mozart or Bach. The boy was more of a jazz. Even though he considered French a more beautiful language, he would often prefer English performers due to the sheer range they cover in their themes and tunes. French jazz felt repetitive to him, however, not as much as classical music. Despite his preferences, he still enjoyed any sort of music playing in the background. And when he tuned down to phonograph, the man felt the charm of this café fading away along with the music. In the end, this genre was a perfect fit for "Monso Rooster".

Even the old lady and Jessie gave quick glimpses from different places to check the state of the phonograph. No one complained and by the rules "the customer is always right" Eugene let the box quietly hum in solitude.

Now, the man was ready to tell about the order to his manager, Arnold. Giving a slight push with his hand, the door opened widely, and he entered the kitchen, still squeezing a large coin in his palm. The kitchen of "Monso Rooster" was not even near as brilliant as the hall. This place, where the coffee and sometimes easy snacks were made, was sealed from the sight of their customers, so decorations were not required. 

To Eugene's surprise, Arnold was already giving his final touches in the form of a rooster's head made up of cream on coffee's surface.

"Who is this for?", wondered Eugene. He was rightfully confused since he did not give yet any instructions regarding the order.

"Our new client, of course."

"But I didn't say what they want."

Arnold's cheeks, covered in light bristles, rose slightly. The man was surely smiling, but tried to hide his cheering mood by answering in his usual impatient manner.

"As if I do not know what the client wants! Go check for occurrences in the hall, I will bring this order myself."

But before Eugene exited the kitchen, he noticed Jessie cooking something, which further increased his confusion. In the hall, he sat by the cash box and finally loosened the hand where 5 francs were hidden. The boy scanned the café for some incidents, as he was asked, and then lowered his gaze, catching in sight this same coin. He got bored immediately, so the brilliant idea of tossing the coin came to his mind. Soon enough, the metallic sound was tickling the ears of every person present. The old man and woman did not pay any attention to his deed, apparently, they got used to him playing with coins, but the one who cast a curious gaze on Eugene was no other than the noble maiden. With feline curiosity, her green eyes from afar were following the trajectory of this coin, which majestically rolled across the entire surface of Eugene's palm.

At one point, Eugene noticed her interest, but then she abruptly turned aside, as if she had never been observing him. The resemblance in her attitude to a cat made him smirk. He continued playing with the coin, while murmuring to himself, "Noble on the outside, but curious child on the inside, huh."

Eventually, the kitchen door was opened and in came Arnold. He was holding a small dish on which a cup of coffee was placed. For a long time, the room was in the stench of the old man's cigar's aroma, but now it was rapidly overflown with a coffee's bitter-sweet odour. At first, nothing seemed out of place, but soon Eugene could also smell cooked butter. After a closer look at the occupied hand of Arnold, he noticed something which made him gasp.

"A croissant!?" said the boy and when Jessie came closer, he continued, "Am I in another dimension? Why would Arnold bother to make croissants for free? I would understand if it was for our regular client, but that woman?…"

Jessie only shrugged, without sharing Eugene's disarray. She was indifferent about the order and more astonished by the looks of their new client. Jessie did not work here for too long, but Eugene knew Arnold from his childhood. Besides short temper, Arnold contained another unpleasant trait. He was greedy. In times, it can be quite handy, essentially it was the reason Arnold could withstand the turmoil of the Great Depression without a flinch, but it still meant the inability of negotiation if the matter was about money.

Some rather unpleasant thoughts were coming to his mind about their relationship as Arnold was placing the order on the woman's table. The lady did not look at him, no, she did not even thank him for the service. Eugene truly could not comprehend the amount of words to describe this woman. Beautiful? Irritating? Frightening? Cute? Arrogant? And these adjectives came into his mind just in a span of mere seconds! The boy was used to straightforward and simpler people, thus he could not imagine her being somewhat likeable to him.

But the last nail was set into the coffin when the maiden tried his boss's work. The lady took a sip of coffee with her pinky finger pointing forward. Then, she lowered the cup and said: "I heard people were calling you the best barista of these places and, honestly speaking, I am disappointed."