Chapter 57

~ Epilogue: Live Goes On ~

H/P/H/P

It was a beautiful Sunday in the city of Estherwood. The streets were crowded with people looking to spend the holiday. The bookstore in the corner of Wallford Street held a summer bargain and Avon Park which sat in the center of Estherwood was full of people and their pets. Estherwood's restaurants were never empty, especially junk food restaurants. This day, however, was different with a café in the corner of March Avenue.

The café's exterior was painted in beautiful combination of chocolate and creamy pink, screaming a feminine look. Through the clear windows, the interior was soft pink and white. The tables and chairs were both white, with a small pot of flower on top. It was a beautiful café, clearly was built for female patrons. Despite the homey feeling, the café was quite empty, save for several couples and teenagers in the corner looking for a place to hang out and free Wi-Fi.

One of the staff was cleaning the countertop when the bell rang and the door opened. She turned her head towards the door and beamed, "Welcome to Marmalade!"

The couple at the door made her mouth agape. The male was a tall, hot hunk. He wore a dark-green sweater vest and a white shirt underneath, and black pants. A pair of glasses adorned his pale face. His long hair was loosely tied on his left shoulder. His girlfriend was, undoubtedly, younger than he was, with her auburn hair left down. A soft pink one-piece dress hugged her slender built.

Lily, the staff, ceased to smile when she noticed something trotting behind the beautiful couple. "I'm so sorry, but dogs aren't allowed in the café."

He raised his brow while his girlfriend giggled at him, "Told you so."

"I'm sorry but he has to wait outside, but don't worry we have a special place for pets."

Another staff led the dog outside.

Lily coughed softly to gain the couple's attention. "So, would you like an indoor table or outdoor on the second floor? Both are non-smoking area."

"We'll take the outdoor, please."

Lily smiled, "Great choice, hun! The entire floor is yours. Well, not until another customer comes in. So what'll you have?" she offered the auburn-haired beauty the menu even though it was clearly printed on the wall behind the counter.

Her fingers moved as she skimmed the menu over. There was a gold ring on her pinky, signaling that she was married. "Umm… two toasted bread, one hot chocolate with extra sugar, and one melon juice. Also extra sugar. And one parfait. Oh, about the parfait… can I have some extra fruits?"

"…Persephone," the man behind her groaned.

Lily's heart skipped a beat. Wow, that was the lowest voice of a man she'd ever heard. Lower than baritone. And such exotic accent to boot!

"Oh, shush, you," she smacked him on the arm, "I haven't had breakfast and I'm so hungry! I swear I could eat this place."

"…you'll get fat that way," Lily blinked at that. Now the accent was gone? How weird…

"And you'll still love me, anyway. And now shut up and let me order in peace."

To say such embarrassing thing in public… wow, this girl had some nerve. But it wasn't of Lily's concern. She just needed to work hard to pay her rent and her tuition fee. She didn't have time to worry about her customers! Or worried about being a new worker either!

But her thought was betraying her will.

Having been living ten years in this city, it was the first time she had seen this couple. They walked to this café, so Lily assumed that they lived somewhere nearby. However, Estherwood wasn't as big as New York, but it was still a city nonetheless and she remembered most of the people living near her workplace. But not them. She had never seen them around. Surely a beautiful couple such as them would have attracted a lot of attention.

"That can do. No worries. Alright, let me repeat. Two toasted bread, one hot chocolate and one melon juice both with extra sugar. One parfait with extra fruits," Lily took out her pen, "right, hun. Can I have the name?"

"It's Weiss. Aiden Weiss. W-E-I-S-S. Make the parfait two, please."

The cool hunk's phone was ringing. The way he took it and answered the call infatuated Lily all the more, "Morgen, Georg. Alles gut, danke. Und selbst? Kommst du voran? Ah, so."

Quickly Lily ducked her head, trying not to stare, but she couldn't help but to eavesdrop. Now that's thick Germany accent right there.

"Two parfaits. Right," Lily finished writing it all down on the bill. "Enjoy your stay, hun. The stair is just around the corner."

"Thank you."

Lily waited until the couple vanished and scanned the name. Weiss. What a weird husband and wife. The husband must be from Germany, but his accent seemed to disappear and reappear. Earlier when he called his wife… that was quite weird accent back there, then he spoke in unaccented English, and suddenly he spoke fluently in Germany, thick accent at that!

"Hey, Lily," her workmate nudged her arm, "that was quite a specimen, huh?"

"Oh, hi, May. Yeah, he sure was."

"But did you see his dog?" she asked, eyes widened and so was her smile. "Awe! He was the biggest Chow I've ever seen! And he's black! That doing me a heckin surprise! Hey, did you bring your lunchbox? Please donate a chimkin nuggit?"

"No. I'm saving those for lunch."

"Just a chimkin nuggit!"

"No."

May pouted, "Aw, Lily, you big meanie! Fine, you give me no choice. Imma steal the store next door's chimkin!"

"May, what about money?" Lily called as May exited through the back door.

"I always have monay for doggos!" May replied before sprinting towards WcRonald.

And there she went. May had always had a sweet spot for dogs, no matter the breed, and got super excited just from seeing one. Lily shook her head, wondering if May herself realized that she, too, was a unique specimen.

Stanley Smith, Lily's colleague, took Mr. Weiss' order upstairs. When he came back, Lily didn't miss that stupid look on his face. Really, that guy should stop falling in love with every woman he saw! His standard was far too low.

Approximately fifteen minutes later the bell rang again. Lily looked up to find two girls walking towards her. One is auburn-haired, dressed in a white t-shirt, blue hoodie, and black cargo shorts. The chocolate-haired girl behind her wore a green shirt and short, black pleated skirt.

"Welcome to Marmalade! Outdoor table or indoor table? Both are non-smoking area, so don't worry."

The chocolate-haired girl shyly asked, "Umm… did you happen to see a couple in here? One is dressed in black and white and the other pink dress. I hope they haven't left…"

"You silly girl. Just say the name," the tomboy chided and looked at Lily, "it's Weiss. Aiden Weiss."

Lily went to check the pile of unpaid bills just to make sure and found the name, "Ah, yeah, Aiden Weiss. Yep, still here. Hasn't paid the bill yet. Upstairs if you want to see him."

The tomboy squeaked happily, "Yas! We'll have what the woman have, then. Could you add that to Mr. Weiss' bill? Thanks! C'mon, Melinoe, let's check upstairs out!"

"M-Macaria, wa—!"

Before Lily could even speak, they had already disappeared. She craned her head towards the stair, confused yet curious. Wow, he had a beautiful wife but he cheated on her. Someone was going to get hurt. Badly.

Finally lunch break came. Lily fanned herself, took out her lunchbox, and lazily called out, "Ben, watch the front desk for me, will ya?" with a huff she collapsed to the chair, unpacking her lunch. It was a simple meal, asian-style. White rice, some fried sausages, shrimps, and chicken nuggets, and salad as side dish.

A minute later, Ben came inside the staff room, looking perplexes, "Hey, did you know where this Mr. Weiss took his seat? Someone is looking for him."

Lily put down her chopstick, flabbergasted, "Again? Who is it this time?"

"Dunno, but she's hot."

Alright, that was it. She was a fool to have a crush on him. This good-for-nothing Aiden Weiss was gonna get it. Lily stood and vehemently declared, "Let me see the woman."

Ben stepped aside for Lily, "Uh, it's not like you to be interested in this sort of thing."

True, she wasn't the type to mingle in someone else's business, but this was beginning to get really interesting. She hoped this guy deserved the hell he was going to throw himself into. Should she record and upload it?

Lily nearly fainted from shock. The woman in front of her wasn't a woman, but an angel. She was so breathtakingly beautiful, with multicolored hair braided loosely on her right shoulder, clear blue eyes, full lips, and healthy complexion. A pair of glasses she wore screamed maturity. Once in a while she pushed them upwards and Lily caught sight of a ring on her middle and pinky. Her choice of attire was pleasant to look at: a soft pink cardigan with white one-piece dress.

Then her gaze fell to her breasts. Holy shit, those were some serious shit she had…

Lily secretly paid a glance to her own chest. How smol…

"Hello?" the woman called out, her soft alto voice sounded like an angel's trumpet. Lily snapped out of her trance and stammered,

"Oh, s-sorry for spacing out! What can I do for you?"

"I am looking for Aiden Weiss' table."

This woman definitely was Mr. Weiss' first wife and that young woman was his second, and those girls were his… well, mistresses.

Damn you, Aiden Weiss! How many hearts must you break before you are satisfied!

"Mr. Weiss is currently upstairs, with his wife," answered Lily meaningfully, hoping for the woman to catch on and go ballistic so she could record it. Much to her surprise, she was not.

"Oh, dear me. So everyone's here, then?" she placed a hand to her own cheek, eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, well, could I order a glass of hot chocolate with extra cream? I'd be grateful if you could add that to his bill."

"Y-Yes! Right away, Ma'am," Lily replied, writing it down. "The stair is around the corner. Enjoy!"

"Thank you."

Both Lily and Ben followed the woman's figure until she disappeared behind the stair. And that was when Lily found Stan gawking at the woman while he cleaned a table in the corner. When he came back, she glared at him, "It's rude to stare, to a married woman at that!"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! You saw those curves, too? It's her fault for being too sexy!"

"Ugh, you're hopeless, Stan!" she rolled her eyes, returning to the staff room to eat.

~-0o-o0-~

"Heya, kiddies. How's it going?" a black-haired woman walked through the back door, an unlit cigarette in mouth.

"Hi, Manager! All's good in here!" May waved from the corner of the room. Lily eyed the woman. She still couldn't believe this lazy bum was the manager. She came to check the café every three days, always slacking off. Despite her dependable look, she was the most useless person in the café. Nothing seemed to motivate her to do her job. All she could do was read some strange book with alchemical symbol on its cover…

The manager lit her cigar and lifted her gaze when she heard laughter upstairs, "I take it that the second floor is packed?"

"No, not really. There's this odd couple and his harem…" Lily trailed off and it piqued everyone's interest. "I mean, he's had three good-looking women looking for him. Isn't that weird? He's so damn hot, but seriously… inviting his harem over when his wife's there is just so…"

"Suicidal?" May finished. Lily pointed at May, nodding.

"I demand a name," the manager leaned forward, interested.

Lily shrugged nonchalantly, "It's Aiden Weiss. Funny name, I know."

They went on gossiping about Mr. Weiss until Stan interrupted by poking his head behind the wall, "Hey, Lily, your beloved Mr. Weiss is here."

Lily frantically searched for her phone, "W-Wait! I'm gonna record this!" once she had her phone, she hastily exited the staff room to witness…

…nothing.

Mr. Weiss and his harem were chatting normally. No red cheeks, no puffy eyes, and no person missing. Lily stared in disbelief. What the heck was going on! They were all consented to his infidelity?

The man in question was quite generous with money and told the flustered Ben to keep the change while Stan was openly ogling at the big-breasted lady. Lily stared dumbly at the amount of money he should have received. He was so damn filthy rich!

The tomboyish girl grabbed the shy girl by her wrist and bolted out of the café.

"By the Fates, Macaria!" Mr. Weiss' youngest wife ran after them, but stopped at the door, having lost their figures amongst the crowded masses. "Oh, I swear that girl's going to get into troubles! I should have microchipped her like I did with my cat!"

"Dearest, don't be too harsh with her. She's just full or energy! Isn't that cute?" the first wife retorted.

She sighed, "Mother, could you please stop pampering her?"

"Me? Oh, no. You should say that to Nyx instead."

What the heck? Lily gaped at the two. Mother and daughter? But the mother looked barely thirty six and her daughter looked… twenty five. What on earth was going on here?! Magic?

"By the way, I heard PATE caused you trouble again," the daughter lightly asked.

The mother sighed heavily, placing a hand on her cheek, "They demanded me to let Argos and Kreos go and called me names, even to go as far to bombard me with that silly 'I wear fur' sticker. I just took Argos for a walk and that's what I get. What I'm going to do without them? They've been pulling my chariot since ancient times."

Lily frowned at that. Code perhaps?

"Well, that's what most people do with someone who walks a lion like it's a dog."

"Persephone, Argos is just a cuddly, wubbly chonk."

"Mother, he is a lion, not a cat—uh, I mean housecat!"

Someone's phone rang. The mother took out her phone from her cardigan pocket and unlocked it. Her eyes widened in surprise as she read the message, "I'm sorry I have to go back, Persephone."

"Is it him?"

"It is. He's turned into a selfish man these days. He thinks I'm his personal babysitter who he could call 24/7. I blame technology for this."

The daughter laughed joyfully. A moment later the husband returned with his fearsome-looking dog, beckoning for his wife. She turned to Lily and nodded, smiling sweetly it melted Lily's heart. On closer inspection she was kind of cute.

Marmalade staff was all enchanted by the family. They stared at them until they disappeared in crowds.

Slowly May spoke, "Shall I write this historical moment in calendar?"

The manager stood behind Lily smiled knowingly.