I would do anything for you. I will always be there for you. Today, tomorrow and every single day after that.

3RD MARCH 2020

"What kind of things does she like?"

"Jewellery, I think. Don't girls like jewellery?" Caylus shrugged and I rolled my eyes. He had just stereotyped every single female out there.

We were walking through the mall, looking for something special and meaningful to gift Taylor as a birthday gift. Sure, it probably would've been more meaningful if he was able to find the perfect gift for his girlfriend by himself, but that didn't seem possible anytime soon, especially not within the short period of time that was left before they were meeting up later that evening.

"If we're going for jewellery, then we should go to a jeweller." I grinned when he sighed at my logic.

Caylus may hate shopping, but he hated jewellery shopping even more. He always complained that spending so much time in a shop just to come out with something so small wasn't worth it, but I failed to agree.

"Let's go to Tiffany and Co. It's only over there." I dragged him towards the shop in question.

I smiled politely and dismissed the sales assistant when she approached us. We didn't have much time and couldn't afford to waste any more time speaking to the sales assistant, especially because Caylus was very confused as it already was.

"What exactly do you want to gift her?" I asked, my eyes lingering on some pretty, dainty necklaces that were on display. They were flashy and would be a great gift for anyone, but it didn't feel quite right.

"I don't know. Something special." He brushed a hand through his hair, pulling at it slightly in frustration. "I want something that she can wear every day. Something that reminds her of me when she looks at it."

I turned to look at him, suddenly finding it difficult to swallow. He chuckled. "I know. Sappy, right?"

"No," I denied. "Not sappy at all. In fact, I think it's sweet." Turning back to the necklaces, I spared them one last glance before heading towards some other glass cabinets on the other side of the store.

Numerous charm bracelets were arranged wonderfully, each and every one of them twinkling as they caught the light. "I think a charm bracelet would be the perfect gift for Taylor." I mused aloud, my hands trailing over the glass as I took the time to study and each and every one of them, looking for the perfect one.

A charm bracelet was a wonderful idea. Caylus could get her a new charm whenever something special or an event occurred. More than a gift and the hefty price tag that it was worth, it was symbolic. It meant something. As the years passed, this bracelet would signify all their special moments and their love for each other.

It was infinite; a token of their love.

"A charm bracelet?" He echoed.

I spared him a teasing smile. "You know what a charm bracelet is, don't you?"

Caylus scoffed and nudged my shoulder gently. "Of course, I know what a charm bracelet is. What do you take me for?" He scratched his head and looked away from me. "It's one of those bracelets that have those sweet charms on them. You bite them off the bracelet without breaking any of the other edible charms." He dazed out for a minute. "They sure are tasty, but I don't think it's an appropriate birthday present. Plus, I don't think we can get any here." He gestured to the store around him.

A cough escaped me and when that didn't work, I raised my hand to cover my mouth and the laugh that threatened to escape. "As if I would recommend that you buy candy for your girlfriend as a birthday gift." I tabbed on the cabinet in front of my with my nails to direct his attention towards them. "These are charm bracelets. It's basically a normal bracelet but you can add charms to them, perhaps for special or important occasions."

Caylus tapped his chin as his eyes scanned over the bracelets in front of him. "It's perfect."

The bracelets were good, fantastic even. But not perfect. Not like him. But I bit my tongue and swallowed my true feelings, just like I had been doing my whole life.

Why stop now?

-

"Ok. You go and talk food with the chef and I'll see what I can do here." Caylus walked through the double doors and into the kitchen leaving me alone with a team of men that I've never met before, all of them eyeing my curiously. They were decorators and would do anything upon my command.

I sat down at one of the tables and just thought for a moment.

That's it. That's what I would do. It was perfect and I'm pretty sure that Caylus would be impressed.

"Okay guys, we need to get cracking. Let's start off with moving all the tables into the storeroom." I gestured towards half of the men. "Make sure to leave one though. The rest of you, I need you to work on the lighting. It needs to be slightly dimmed to set a romantic mood, but not so low that they can't see what they're eating."

Turning around, I headed over to the stereo and cranked up the music. The romantic makeover of the quaint little Italian restaurant was just beginning.

We spent hours moving things and decorating the restaurant with white, pink and red roses. We decorated the whole place with little red hearts and confetti. A red carpet was laid out in front of the restaurant and continued a few metres inside too. We arranged for a red carpet in front of the restaurant. The cello, piano and violin players were currently setting up their instrument and would start playing as soon as Taylor set foot in the restaurant.

A red and white checkered table cloth adorned the table which I had arranged myself.

The guys had done a fantastic job on the lighting, setting a beautifully romantic setting.

The place looked great. All our hard work had paid off. Caylus was thrilled with our efforts and had just left to pick up the woman of the hour.

She was going to love it.

All that was left to do was make sure work in the kitchen was running smoothly before I changed into my waitress uniform. As absolutely mortifying as it was, I couldn't deny Caylus' request for me to stay on as a waitress as well as make sure that everything continued to run smoothly.

After the food was ready and I had changed, just the finishing touches remained.

"Hold tight... don't let go."

"Don't worry, sweetheart." Chuckled one of the waiters whom I had asked to hold steady the chair as I adjusted the lighting so that it would be nice and low.

Jumping off the chair, I instructed the other waiter to get ready and into position as Caylus would be back with Taylor soon.

I walked into the kitchen expecting all the food to be plated and ready to serve. Instead, I saw the chef shouting obscenities at the said waiter. The chef was shouting and swearing, holding a ladle that was dripping sauce on the floor. The waiter was just looking at the chef, afraid that he would pounce on him at any moment. It was clear that the waiter was afraid of the chef; hence he kept his mouth shut and tried not to run away.

I wasn't sure whether I should laugh or join in the shouting. But I decided to do the latter once I had gotten the waiter to safety and calmed the chef down.

There was a lot riding on this evening and a hostile chef and nervous waiter wouldn't help the situation.

I tried whistling but neither of them heard me over the foul mouthed of the chef.

So, I did the only thing that would get the attention of the chefs. I took off the lid that was currently covering the soup and held it in the air for him to see. When I had grabbed his attention, I signalled for the waiter to leave.

A look of relief washed over his face as soon as he understood what I was gesturing. He mouthed his thanks before all but running out of the kitchen doors.

I looked back at the annoying chef, standing before me. I was tired, restless and annoyed. This chef didn't to get on my bad side.

"You. Get to work. There's no time for messing about." I said, giving him a stern look.

He grabbed the sauce pan lid from my hand rather unceremoniously and returned it to its rightful position; covering the soup. "I wasn't messing about. He was the one messing about."

"Oh, really? Now, what was he doing?" I stood firmly, hands on my hips, meaning business.

"Did you not see his posture? Shy? Timid? Quiet? A man shouldn't be like that. He shouldn't be acting like that. He should be standing tall, chest puffed out. He should be confident and strong. A man wouldn't have let me shout at him like that. That boy is a disgrace to mankind." He said, raging, pointing his sauce covered ladle at me.

"And you class yourself as a man?" I asked. I was running out of patience.

"Yes." He said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Then that's all that matters. Now, get back to work!"

"But– "

I cut him off, not in the right state of mind to put up with any of his nonsensical, backward state of mentality. "Do you want to earn your pay for this job?"

"Yes, of course, but– "

"Then get back to work!"

Thankfully, the chef bottled it and finally started to plate up the dishes.

I sighed. The things I did for Caylus.

"A woman shouldn't be telling a man what to do. A man is strong and in charge. A man is not. A man– " He muttered under his breath; his voice low but not low enough for me to miss.

"Get back to work!" And that was the last I heard from him all evening.

-

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Layla Knight

23.04.2020