He 'Forgot'

Ting ding!

As she watched him walking down the street through the cafe's new window, Jade glanced down and saw his wallet still on the counter.

'What a dope!'

She picked up the wallet and made to run after him, but she put too much pressure on her wounded leg, causing her to halt and wince in pain.

"Hiss!"

Gritting her teeth, Jade stumbled to the door.

Ting ding!

Alas, when she looked up and down the street, he was nowhere to be seen.

'He he. This just means he'll have to come back soon.' For some reason, that made Jade grin widely.

With a smile on her face that made the passers-by wonder what a hobbling girl could be so happy about, Jade returned to the cafe.

…

"So he left it 'ere, did he?" A wicked smirk appeared on Bernie's face. "Give it to me. How much has he got in it?"

Rummaging through the wallet, Bernie was disappointed to see that other than a few bucks, some crumpled paper—presumably old receipts—and his driver's license, Liam did not have much in his wallet.

"A fancy business man, the heir to a large business, but he has this chump change in his wallet? Ah, it's the era of credit and debit cards now. Even mobiles can be used to pay. I bet some places don't even accept cash!"

While Bernie was rambling away, Jade snatched the wallet back and placed it safely in her apron's pocket.

"You shouldn't rummage through other people's belongings without there permission. He forgot it and left it here, so he will have it returned in the same state."

Bernie chuckled when he heard that. "Forgot? Yeah right…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jade frowned. 'Why else would someone leave their wallet behind in a public place?'

"It's obviously… tsk… you're too oblivious." Bernie shook his head. "You wouldn't understand."

As he walked back into the kitchen, Bernie could practically see the question mark hanging above Jade's head.

'Why wouldn't I understand? I'm not stupid. In fact, I think I'm rather astute…'

While she was trying to work out what Bernie meant by that, her phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Patrick, how are you?"

"Yes, I'm okay thank you. I'm back at work already."

"No, that won't be necessary, thank you. I appreciate the thought though."

"Actually, I've been thinking about that. I know I said for you to start after Harry leaves, but I think it would be better if you could experience a shift or two with her."

"You can't don Thursday? That's fine, you can come in Friday."

"Don't worry about that. Come in mid-morning, and Harry will show you the ropes. In fact, we're throwing a goodbye party for her at the end of her shift, so Friday is probably the best day for you to start."

"Yes, okay, thank you, see you then."

When Jade hung up, she smiled as she thought, 'What a polite young man. I'm really lucky to have found him.'