Our regular sat alone at a table covered in birthday decorations, waiting for a family that never came. What started as a heartbreaking moment turned into something none of us at the caf\u00e9 would ever forget.
\nI walked into the caf\u00e9 like I did every morning\u2014keys in one hand, apron in the other. The air smelled like fresh cinnamon buns and dark roast coffee. It was early. Only two tables were taken. Quiet.
\nThen I saw her.<\/p>\n
Miss Helen sat at the big round table by the window. The one we usually saved for birthdays or group meetings. Pink streamers hung from the edges. A box of cake sat unopened beside her purse. A little vase held fake daisies. The decorations looked like they\u2019d been there a while.<\/p>\n
And she was alone.<\/p>\n
Miss Helen had been coming to this caf\u00e9 almost every day since I started here. Eight years. I was fresh out of high school back then, still learning how to steam milk right. She always sat at the same booth.<\/p>\n
Most days, Miss Helen came in with her two grandkids\u2014Aiden and Bella. They were sweet enough. Loud, messy, always fighting over muffins. Miss Helen never seemed to mind. She always had tissues in her purse, little toys in her bag, extra napkins on hand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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