The next morning, Saturday, Dean woke up suddenly and sat up in bed. "Whoa... oh... day off," he mumbled. He looked at the window; sunlight was already streaming through the curtains. Then he lay back down and grabbed his smartphone from the nightstand.
"Aaah... gonna take it easy today. I'll open the cafe a bit later," Dean thought to himself, casually scrolling through his phone with a smile.
"Zzzz... zzzz... zzzz," a soft snoring sound came from beside him. "Huh?" Dean turned to look, and his eyes widened. Claire was sleeping right next to him, curled on her side facing him.
"Huh... why is she here...? Oh... right... she stayed over last night... ugh," Dean thought to himself.
*****
Back to last night, after closing the cafe, Dean and Claire cleaned up the tables, washed the dishes and cups, packed up leftover pastries to take upstairs, and swept the floor. Once they finished, they sat at a table to count the day's earnings and write it down in the cafe's notebook.
"Hey," Claire said.
"Hmm?" Dean replied, busy writing and separating the money for capital and earnings.
"After I go home, I want to try talking to Mom again about moving in here with you," Claire said.
"Okay, go for it," Dean replied casually, still writing.
"Ugh... why are you so flat about it? Aren't you happy?" Claire asked.
"Not really," Dean answered, still busy writing.
"Okay, I'll let you know later. I'm heading home now," Claire said, standing up.
"Yeah, be careful on your way," Dean replied.
Suddenly, "Brssssssss," heavy rain poured down unexpectedly. Both of them turned to look out the window, seeing the sudden downpour soaking the street. Lots of people were running and taking cover under building awnings. Claire sat back down, then they looked at each other.
"Hmm... I guess you can't go home," Dean mumbled.
"Yep, I'll call Mom. I'll just stay here tonight. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I think it's fine," Claire replied, taking her smartphone out of her pocket.
Suddenly, "Clunk," the cafe doorbell rang. Both of them looked at the door. A woman walked in, carrying a camera and a big bag, wearing a wet long coat and a sweater underneath. "Plip... plip," Dean and Claire saw puddles of water under the woman from her dripping coat and pants. Then they looked at her face again.
"Um... are you still open?" the woman asked them.
"Closed," Dean and Claire answered together.
"Oh... sorry, can I just shelter here for a bit? It suddenly started pouring," the woman replied.
Claire walked behind the counter, then bent down to grab a small towel from underneath. She walked over to the woman and helped dry her head as the woman took off her long coat. Meanwhile, Dean walked behind the counter to make some coffee. Then he brought a cup of coffee and a plate of croissants to the table.
"Here you go," Dean said.
"Oh... thank you," the woman replied.
The woman sat at the table directly in front of Dean and Claire's counting table. Dean finished organizing the money and put it into the metal box where he keeps the cafe's cash. After that, he went into the locker room. Meanwhile, Claire sat down across from the woman, who was enjoying her coffee.
"Who are you?" Claire asked.
"My name is Janet Taylor. I'm a reporter and photographer for Compass News," Janet replied, showing her ID badge hanging around her neck.
"My name is Claire, and the one who made the coffee, the owner of this cafe, and my future husband, Dean," Claire said, feeling that Janet, with her long, wavy black hair and tanned skin, was more beautiful than her and become a threat for her.
"Oh... you mean the handsome guy just now? How old are you two? You two look like high school kids," Janet asked.
"We're both 18. We'll graduate high school in six months, and you look young too," Claire replied.
"Oh... I'm only 21. Our ages aren't far apart. I started working right after graduating high school at 18, following in my dad's footsteps, and didn't go to college," Janet said with a smile.
"Hmm, I see," Claire replied.
"Don't worry, I'll leave once the rain stops... a... a... achoo!" Janet said, then sneezed.
Janet immediately wiped her nose with a tissue. Then her body swayed a bit, and her eyes looked a little unfocused, with her face slightly pale. Claire, seeing this, immediately became concerned and asked,
"Huh... are you sick?" Claire asked, leaning forward and touching Janet's forehead.
Claire was surprised to find Janet's forehead really hot, Janet have a fever. It seemed she was already sick before getting caught in the rain. "Tap," Janet patted Claire's hand and smiled at Claire.
"I'm fine, thank you," Janet said.
But then, "Thud," Janet's head suddenly fell onto the table, almost hitting the plate and cup but shaking them. Dean, hearing the noise, immediately came out of the locker room. He saw Claire helping Janet.
"She fainted," Claire told Dean.
"Oh, man... okay, I'll take her upstairs. Please lock the door and don't forget to talk to your mom, tell her you're staying here tonight," Dean said, kneeling in front of Janet and then standing up, carrying Janet on his back.
"Okay, I'll be right up," Claire said.
*****
Back to the morning, Dean, remembering everything, turned to look at Claire who was still sleeping next to him. Then he immediately sat up and looked at his bedroom door.
"Oh right, what about that reporter? I should probably check on her," Dean thought to himself.
["Hmm... this is interesting. A special soul really attracts other special souls to gather around it, hohoho."]
"Huh? What do you mean?" Dean asked in his head.
["You'll find out yourself later. Until then, I won't say anything."]
"Whatever. There's a sick person out there, I'll go check first," Dean said, getting out of bed.
Dean walked to the door and opened it gently so he wouldn't wake Claire. Once out, he walked down the hallway towards the living room and saw Janet still lying on the sofa, wearing his T-shirt that Claire had lent her last night. He approached the sofa, then knelt down. His hand went to Janet's forehead to check on her. Janet's body was sweating a lot, and she no longer had a fever. Dean sighed in relief, then he stood up and turned around.
"Um... thanks," Janet said, who was apparently already awake.
Dean turned around and saw Janet looking at him, smiling. Then Dean sat down across from her.
"Just rest for now. I'm opening the cafe later today, so take it easy and relax," Dean said.
"Yeah, thank you again," Janet replied with a sweet, weak smile.
"If you want to shower, I'll get you a towel," Dean said.
"Yeah, my body's all sweaty. I really do need a shower," Janet replied, trying to sit up slowly.
"Okay, just a sec," Dean replied, standing up and walking away.
Janet watched Dean, who was only wearing a tank top and shorts, walk to his room. Then she looked around Dean's living space. After that, she looked back to where Dean had disappeared into the room.
"That guy...Dean... he's handsome, huh? Too bad he already has a fiancée," Janet murmured to herself.