<sup>As Jaz stepped off the curb and neared the cafe, her eyes widened slightly. She'd been here the week before, and it had been nowhere as crowded as it was now. Patrons spilled out onto the pavement, and she caught snippets of conversation as she entered the cafe. It was warm in here, the door wedged open to cope with the throng of customers that needed to be catered to. Jaz stood quietly up against one wall, waiting for the rather harried looking waitress to address her. The queue moved forward as several more people were seated and soon enough it was her turn. "What'll be?" the waitress asked casually, glancing down at her watch as she spoke as if to reiterate the point that they were running on a tight schedule. "A table for two," Jaz replied meekly, although her smile was rather forced. The waitress simply grunted in reply, muttered something under her breath, and led Jaz to a table by the back window. Handing her a menu, the waitress placed down a basket of bread and a jug of water before heading off to go cope with the still long line of customers waiting to be seated.

Grabbing a chunk of bread, Jaz bit into it, relishing the aroma and the taste of the fresh herbs used to make it. Pouring herself a drink of water, she watched the beads of condensation as they worked their way down the jug. Apparently Ryan was going to be held up back at the centre for a little while, at least that was the explanation she'd been given. So Jaz had come down here alone to get them a table before the cafe was booked out. Listening curiously to a couple of the more interesting conversations going on around her, she took a sip from her glass, blinking a bit at how cold the water was. Coughing as it went down the wrong way, she took a minute to regain her composure. "Are you ready to order now?" Jaz jumped as the voice interrupted her thoughts, and she immediately blushed. A middle-aged woman with greying hair was regarding her with a bemused smile. Jaz nodded, swallowing her embarrassment as she answered. "Yes, can I have a hamburger but without the onion, a side of chips and some more water?" Taking a minute to scribble it all down, the waitress nodded. "Do you want me to take that?" she asked, gesturing towards the menu. Jaz shook her head, her hand closing over the menu possessively, "No, a friend is running a little bit late and so he'll need it to order." Shrugging her shoulders, the woman moved off, and Jaz hoped that Ryan wouldn't be cross about her ordering before him.</sup>