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In all honesty, Lucy didn’t even realise she was keeping track of his orders at first. It had started out as a bit of fun; a simple, harmless exercise that only she knew about. She told herself that it was important consumer research, that the key to running a good business was knowing what your customers liked and knowing what would sell well.
Abernathy’s cafe was Lucy’s pride and joy. She had saved for years, refusing to accept any financial help from her family, until she scraped enough together to open up the cafe. It was her own little piece of London that she could share with the world.
Lucy could remember very little about her mother - had it not been for the photographs she probably wouldn’t remember her at all. It was hard, growing up without her. Her father tried his best but the grief was simply too much for him. Most days, he couldn't bring himself to speak about his late wife. On his good days, as rare as they were, he would tell Lucy all about the dream the young couple had - they were going to save and save until they had enough money to quit their jobs and Lucy’s mother would finally open the cafe that she had always dreamed of. She would bake and act as a waitress while Lucy’s father would make the coffees and do the accounts.
They had a plan, but the universe had a different one.
Lucy was barely 12 years old when she and her brother were orphaned and subsequently taken out of the city and brought down to Dover to live with their uncle. She’d been shipped off to boarding school which had been a blessing in disguise. It was there, at Miss Moss’ School for Exceptional Young Ladies, that Lucy had met Hermione Watson and finally understood what it was like to have a sister. The two girls were inseparable, staying up late and talking about everything and nothing all at once. They spoke about their dreams, from the night before and for the future, and about people they wanted to become.
It was during these conversations that Lucy realised she only had one goal - open the cafe her mother never did. She latched onto the idea, spending her free time coming up with menus and sketching ideas of the cafe’s interior and exterior. It gave her something to focus on and in a way, it helped her feel closer to her parents. They might not be physically with her anymore, but they would be with her every step of the way as she made it her life’s mission to bring their dream to life.
It took a few years, but finally Lucy was able to make that dream a reality.
Business was slow at first, but that was to be expected - Lucy knew she wouldn’t be an overnight success. She had put a lot of work into getting this far, but it was only the beginning. The easy part was opening, the hard part was staying open.
Lucy tried to keep costs as manageable as possible and so, when she started out, she had no other staff. It was Lucy, her fancy coffee machine and a few Danish pastries against the world. The days were incredibly long and the lunchtime rush could only be described as an hour and a half of hell, but she managed. She started to gain a reputation around the area for fair prices and service with a smile.
Her first big breakthrough came a few months after opening. A popular London-based food blogger had featured Abernathy’s on their page and suddenly there were people waiting in queues for 10 or even 15 minutes to see what she had to offer, when previously there were days where she only had 10 or 15 customers.
The surge in business meant that Lucy was finally able to hire some additional staff.
First to join the team was Gareth, a supremely talented barista who had recently returned from a few years away in Italy. Lucy had covered all her bases when it came to drinks - they offered plenty of different coffees and teas, alongside hot chocolate, matcha and a decent selection of alternative milk. Thankfully Gareth had required almost no training whatsoever, he had been better than Lucy at making coffee from day 1.
Posy joined the team shortly after. She worked part time and usually arrived just before the lunch time rush. For most of the day, she stayed up front taking orders but Posy also helped to prepare drinks during the busier periods of the day. Having both Gareth and Posy on the team meant that Lucy now had more time to dedicate elsewhere - namely food.
The cafe’s non-drinks menu was limited for the most part, but they did offer a selection of fresh pastries and had recently expanded to offer porridge in the mornings. Lucy had taken inspiration from various cafes, restaurants and ice cream parlours and decided that instead of having standard toppings on the porridge, customers could make it their own. It had taken a while to curate the right assortment of fruits, dried berries, nuts, seeds, spreads and chocolate chips but with a bit of trial and error Lucy had settled on what she considered to be the perfect selection. Each standard portion of porridge came with 3 toppings, but you could pay extra for more. With 16 different toppings available, there were hundreds of combinations that could be made.
The number of combinations was set to increase this morning. During the autumn and winter months, Lucy started selling a second flavour of porridge - cinnamon sugar. It was her own recipe; a mix of brown sugar and cinnamon added to the oats before adding the liquid. It wouldn't be a best seller by any means but she loved it and she hoped someone in particular would love it too whenever decided to try it.
Gregory was one of Lucy’s most loyal customers. He had discovered her cafe through the food blogger who, she later found out, was actually his older brother. He’d recently moved to the area and his brother, Colin, had tagged along while he flat hunted. Gregory was speaking to the building’s owner when Colin slipped off in search of some food and stumbled across Abernathy’s. He wrote a glowing review and the rest was history.
Like many of her early morning customers, Gregory was part of the pre-work day rush and ordered his breakfast to go; which was usually a coffee and porridge. However, every morning without fail, he changed his choice of toppings. Lucy got to know people through their toppings of choice and prided herself on how quickly she could remember faces and their usual orders. Most people had a routine or at least had a few toppings they favoured - Neville requested extra banana, Cressida only ever had fruit and chia seeds, and Honoria always asked for honey and peanut butter.
It had taken her a few days to notice Gregory’s lack of common toppings but once she did, Lucy couldn’t un-notice it. She started playing a game in her head each morning - could she successfully guess at least one of the three choices each morning?
The more she found herself playing this game, the more Lucy started to notice patterns where she originally thought there were none. For instance, Gregory would never order the same toppings two days in a row. If he had strawberries, blueberries and honey on a Tuesday, he wouldn’t have any of those things on a Wednesday, thus reducing the number of options he could choose from and Lucy could guess from.
Lucy found herself eagerly watching the door waiting for his arrival. As well as being a regular, Gregory was also one of the first customers through the doors of Abernathy’s each morning. He would always slightly windswept and flushed from his walk. Lucy couldn’t help but crack a smile when she saw him on rainy mornings, wiping his glasses so he could see again. He was a well put together, professional man on the outside but she could tell there was a fun, almost childish side to him too.
Lucy’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. When she looked up, she was greeted by the very man she had just been thinking of.
“Hi Lucy,” Gregory said cheerfully, as he approached the counter. “What did you think of this weekend’s Strictly? Personally, I think the wrong person went home.”
“Good morning, Gregory,” she laughed.
Lucy had made an offhand comment one Friday about how her plans for the weekend consisted of watching a certain dance competition. Since then, every Monday, Gregory would ask her about her thoughts on the weekend’s show and the pair would discuss it as she made his order.
“I have to say I disagree with you, Greg. He made a mistake in the dance off, he had to go.”
“Yes, I know. However, his routine was harder and he’s been a better dancer all season!”
“And you also know that doesn’t matter! The contestants in the dance off are judged on dance off alone. The rules are the rules!”
Gregory shook his head and grinned in response. “You strike me as the kind of person who always plays by the rules.”
“Rules are usually there for a reason! My favourite rule at the moment is that all customers of Abernathy’s Cafe are required to agree with the owner at all times.”
“You’ve just made that up!”
“Did I?” Lucy responded cheekily.
She didn’t know what it was about Gregory that brought out this side of her. She would never speak to another customer this way, but Gregory was more than just a customer at this point. They had become friends in their own kind of way. She enjoyed his company and he seemed to enjoy hers, too.
“Now, what can I get you this morning?” She asked once Gregory had stopped laughing.
“I’ll have a flat white and a porridge, please.”
“And what would you like on your porridge today?”
He hesitated before answering.
“Surprise me.”
For the briefest of moments, Lucy’s mind went blank. No one had ever asked that before.
And then, she had an idea.
“Could I interest you in some cinnamon sugar flavoured porridge? It was my parent’s recipe and we’ve only begun offering it today, so you’d be the first customer to try it.”
“You don’t need to ask me twice. I would be honoured to be your first. As for toppings, what would you suggest?”
Lucy wondered if he’d caught the double entendre. Not that he would be her first but he would be the first in a very long time. Running a business was an exhausting task that left her little time for socialising.
She opted for a safe response. “The porridge itself can be very sweet. How sweet do you like your breakfast?”
“Not very. You’re sweet enough for me,” he replied shamelessly. Maybe he had caught his double entendre, but Lucy didn’t dare to dream that he actually meant it.
“What about banana, walnuts and honey?”
“Sounds absolutely perfect.” Lucy could have sworn she heard him murmur “just like you” at the end of that statement.
She and Gregory had always toed the line between friendly and flirty but there was no denying the obvious change in the way Gregory was acting today.
Lucy spoke before her brain caught up with her mouth.
“Are you trying to flirt with me?” She blurted out as she handed Gregory his breakfast.
“Yes. Is it working?”
Yes. “Maybe.”
“Well, I’ll just have to try a little harder then, won’t I? Just so you’re absolutely sure of my intentions.”
When they finally kissed, all Lucy could taste was the cinnamon sugar.
Perfectly sweet, just like him.