Maybe he’d imagined it and she didn’t like him after all. Sadly he watched her running around for a moment. Then, with his shoulders slumped, he left the café.
It was eleven o’clock when Derek saw Kevin Dolby strolling through the market, and he lifted his arm to catch his attention.
‘Watcha, Derek, how’s things?’
‘Fine, but I wanted to ask your advice.’
‘Fire away.’
‘It’s that waitress, Pearl. She seems to like me, but how can I know for sure?’
‘You can’t, mate. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. Anyway, I don’t know what you’re worried about. She can only say no, and there’s plenty more fish in the sea.’
‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ Derek murmured as Kevin walked away. It was all right for him – he was a good-looking bloke and obviously had no trouble finding women. Derek thought back to the one time he’d asked a girl out, and she’d made her distaste plain. Would Pearl be the same? Would she tell him to bugger off too?
A customer came to the stall and, pushing his worries to one side, Derek went to serve her, pleased when she purchased a tea set.
Pearl was relieved when her shift finished and was just preparing to leave when Dolly came out of the kitchen. As she walked the length of the café, her eyes inspected each and every table, but thankfully they were all clean and tidy.
Pearl’s ears pricked up when Alice said, ‘Mrs Dolby, can I have a word about our tips?’
‘What about them?’
‘It’s a bit frantic in here, both for the breakfast and lunch servings, and I’ve noticed that Pearl ain’t quite got the hang of it yet. To help out I’ve cleared a few of her tables, but some customers leave tips and in the rush I might have put hers in with mine by mistake. I wonder if it might be better if we have a jar on the counter to pool them in, sharing the money out at the end of the week.’
‘Surely mixing Pearl’s tips with your own won’t happen very often?’
‘That’s just it. I don’t know. As I said, there’ll be time when I’ll have to clear Pearl’s tables, and it’s easy to get in a muddle.’
‘What do you think about this, Pearl?’
‘I … I’m not sure. Maybe it would be better to keep them separate.’
‘You should think yourself lucky that Alice has helped you out, and by clearing your tables she takes on extra work. If you ask me she should keep any tips she finds.’
‘Oh, no, Mrs Dolby,’ Alice protested. ‘That wouldn’t be right. I’d rather we share them.’
‘Very well then, until Pearl gets up to speed you can put a jar on the counter. If and when she improves, we’ll discuss it again.’
Pearl wanted to protest, to tell Mrs Dolby that she didn’t need Alice’s help. With only half the tables to do now she could easily manage, but seeing impatience on her employer’s face, she was held back by fear.
Both she and Alice took their handbags out from under the counter, saying goodbye as the left together, but when the door closed behind them, Alice turned to Pearl, her smile ingratiating. ‘I hope you don’t mind my suggestion, love. After all, we don’t want to get our tips mixed up, do we? See you tomorrow.’ With this she walked off in the opposite direction to Pearl.
For a moment Pearl watched her, unhappy but helpless. Alice had made her look bad in front of Mrs Dolby, and she should have had the courage to speak up for herself. Yet both women were dominant, assertive and she just didn’t have the nerve. Kevin was walking towards her, heading for the café, and once again her heart skipped. It wasn’t often that he spoke to her, but just a rare smile in her direction was enough to bring the colour flooding to her cheeks. Would he speak to her now?
‘Watcha, Pearl.’
‘Er … hello,’ she stuttered, but he walked straight into the café without breaking his stride. Disconsolately she started to stroll along the market, berating herself for being silly. Kevin Dolby would never look at her
It was eleven o’clock when Derek saw Kevin Dolby strolling through the market, and he lifted his arm to catch his attention.
‘Watcha, Derek, how’s things?’
‘Fine, but I wanted to ask your advice.’
‘Fire away.’
‘It’s that waitress, Pearl. She seems to like me, but how can I know for sure?’
‘You can’t, mate. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. Anyway, I don’t know what you’re worried about. She can only say no, and there’s plenty more fish in the sea.’
‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ Derek murmured as Kevin walked away. It was all right for him – he was a good-looking bloke and obviously had no trouble finding women. Derek thought back to the one time he’d asked a girl out, and she’d made her distaste plain. Would Pearl be the same? Would she tell him to bugger off too?
A customer came to the stall and, pushing his worries to one side, Derek went to serve her, pleased when she purchased a tea set.
Pearl was relieved when her shift finished and was just preparing to leave when Dolly came out of the kitchen. As she walked the length of the café, her eyes inspected each and every table, but thankfully they were all clean and tidy.
Pearl’s ears pricked up when Alice said, ‘Mrs Dolby, can I have a word about our tips?’
‘What about them?’
‘It’s a bit frantic in here, both for the breakfast and lunch servings, and I’ve noticed that Pearl ain’t quite got the hang of it yet. To help out I’ve cleared a few of her tables, but some customers leave tips and in the rush I might have put hers in with mine by mistake. I wonder if it might be better if we have a jar on the counter to pool them in, sharing the money out at the end of the week.’
‘Surely mixing Pearl’s tips with your own won’t happen very often?’
‘That’s just it. I don’t know. As I said, there’ll be time when I’ll have to clear Pearl’s tables, and it’s easy to get in a muddle.’
‘What do you think about this, Pearl?’
‘I … I’m not sure. Maybe it would be better to keep them separate.’
‘You should think yourself lucky that Alice has helped you out, and by clearing your tables she takes on extra work. If you ask me she should keep any tips she finds.’
‘Oh, no, Mrs Dolby,’ Alice protested. ‘That wouldn’t be right. I’d rather we share them.’
‘Very well then, until Pearl gets up to speed you can put a jar on the counter. If and when she improves, we’ll discuss it again.’
Pearl wanted to protest, to tell Mrs Dolby that she didn’t need Alice’s help. With only half the tables to do now she could easily manage, but seeing impatience on her employer’s face, she was held back by fear.
Both she and Alice took their handbags out from under the counter, saying goodbye as the left together, but when the door closed behind them, Alice turned to Pearl, her smile ingratiating. ‘I hope you don’t mind my suggestion, love. After all, we don’t want to get our tips mixed up, do we? See you tomorrow.’ With this she walked off in the opposite direction to Pearl.
For a moment Pearl watched her, unhappy but helpless. Alice had made her look bad in front of Mrs Dolby, and she should have had the courage to speak up for herself. Yet both women were dominant, assertive and she just didn’t have the nerve. Kevin was walking towards her, heading for the café, and once again her heart skipped. It wasn’t often that he spoke to her, but just a rare smile in her direction was enough to bring the colour flooding to her cheeks. Would he speak to her now?
‘Watcha, Pearl.’
‘Er … hello,’ she stuttered, but he walked straight into the café without breaking his stride. Disconsolately she started to stroll along the market, berating herself for being silly. Kevin Dolby would never look at her
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