Chapter 1- And so it begins

"Ohh, please open," I beg the door as I try to turn the key in and pull the nob while balancing bags of groceries in one hand. It's only 4:22 Monday morning, and I'm running late as usual. Thank God I did the grocery shopping last night. Putting my purse on the top shelf of the cupboard in the backroom, I take off my white wedged heels and slip into some comfortable clogs.

Clogs might be ugly, but they are the best when it comes to running around, standing on your feet, baking, and minding the register all day.

I opened Amran five months ago, and I couldn't have been any happier with it. It's right on the corner of Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road in Notting Hill, London. It has large windows facing both streets and a lot of natural light, giving the interior a bright and airy feel. I went with a minimalist look for the furniture, fixtures, and fittings. Opting to decorate with plants. For the color scheme, I went with deep blues and greens with gold and blush accents. I wanted the store to reflect me and the things I like. On one side there is the book store and on the other the coffee shop. It combines my favorite things, my love for books, and my love for coffee and pastries.

After washing my hands, I wipe down the surfaces and start taking out ingredients, baking trays, measuring cups, spoons, and everything else needed for what I am baking today. We have a wide range of beverages and foods we carry, teas, coffees, and hot chocolates.

As well as sandwiches, desserts, and sweet goods. Our signature items are strawberry-filled or flavored. Strawberry-flavored teas, coffee, and smoothes. Strawberry scones, strawberry and almond croissants, and strawberry tarts.

'Hey Rox' At around 5:30 am, Jenny, one of my two part-time employees, walks in and starts getting ready in the backroom.

She puts her purse and jacket on the second shelf of the cupboard, then puts on her nametag and apron. After washing her hands and putting on gloves, she then proceeds to take out plates and trays to display the baked good as she tells me about her weekend.

"I spent the entire weekend working a biology paper."

Jenny is doing her master's in biology and working part-time to support herself. She works for me on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

Mina, Jenny's roommate, works on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Fridays are my days off, so the store is closed.

When it hits 6am, Jennie flips over the sign on the door to say open, and our day officially starts.

About five minutes after we open, the door swings open, and in walks Phoenix. Looking handsome as always in his custom-tailored three-piece navy suit. I think he works nearby because he is always our first customer of the day on weekdays. He has been coming here since we opened.

"Morning!" I greet, a massive smile plastered on my face.

"Good Morning," he responds with a searching look on his face. Like he is looking into my soul or like he is searching for something. I always feel like he wants to say something to me, but something is stopping him.

"What can I get you?" I ask him

"A large, dark roast," he answers.

"That will be £3.55. cash or card? "

"Cash," he says and hands me a £5 note.

"Your change is £1.45." I let him know as I give him the change. "And here is your coffee."

"Thank you," and with that, he turns around and walks out of the shop.

"Do you want to take your break first?" I ask Jennie at 9am. "Yeah" She nods and starts making herself a caramel macchiato.

"Here," I say, giving her a piece of the strawberry tart.

After that, I busy myself by fixing the bookshelves and putting the couch cushions back in their places.

"I'm taking my break now," I tell her when she comes back from her fifteen minutes. I make myself a mango smoothy and pick up a scone.

I sit on one of the chairs in the back sitting area, enjoying the warm sun and the cool morning breeze.

After our breaks, we got busy with the brunch crowd and then the lunchtime crowd right after. A lot of them are office workers from nearby buildings.

The afternoon was chill. We had a couple people working on their laptops. There were also four girlfriends having a seemingly passionate chat in the back, by the potted palm tree and the big window facing Westbourne Grove.

"A medium, matcha latte, almond milk, with a sprinkle of cinnamon. And make that extra hot."

That was my regular Mrs. Spencer coming in with her poodle after her spin class.

"Anything else?" I ask her.

"That's it, love." She says.

"$4.57. cash or card?"

"Card," Mrs. Spencer answers as she hands me her Amex Black Card.

How rich does one have to be for them to have this card? That is a question I have had since I met Mrs. Spencer on the opening day of my coffee shop.

"Would you like a receipt?"

"No," she responds.

"Ok, I will have your coffee ready," and with that, I start making her cup.

"How is your day going?" I ask her

"You know, the usual. Meetings; meetings, meetings, and then my regular spin class. My legs are killing me now, but you know what they say beauty is pain. Plus, staying in shape when your over sixty is not easy. "

"Well, you're making it seem effortless."

She looks really young for her age. Petite with a blonde bob, a practically wrinkle-free face, and always in yoga pants.

"Are you sure you don't have time to go on one date?" She asks again.

Mrs. Spencer has been trying to set me up with her son for the past three months. I keep telling her that I have not time to see anyone or go on a date.

As we get closer to closing time, we start cleaning up and put things away. At 8:00pm, I turn over the sign on the front door to say closed and turn off the lights. In the back, Jenny is just putting her jacket on and picking up her bag.

"Are you waiting for Sara to pick you up" Jennie askes me?

"No, she is already here," I tell her as I put my white wedges back on. I pick up my bag, turn the rest of the lights off and close the back door.

We walk around the building to the front, and I say, "I'll see you tomorrow," to Jenny and wave to her.

On the street, Sara is parked in front of the cafe. She is on the phone, inside her eye-catching red Mini Cooper Clubman. I slowly get close to the car and jump on the window to scare her. It doesn't scare her, never does. At times it's like she has eyes on the back of her head. Sara is my mum's long-time friend and neighbor. I have known her since I was a baby. She runs a boxing gym, and I started going as a kid. She taught me self-defense, boxing, MMA, and a bunch of other things. Thanks to her, now I can defend myself if anything happens to me.

When she sees me, she breaks into a huge grin and says, "Hey, sweets."

I get into the car and give her a sideways hug.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting for long?" I asked her

"No, I was just looking at my calendar," she responded, putting on her signal and pulling out to join traffic.

"Any exciting plans?" I asked her

"No, but I have a new employee starting next week, and the gym will be closed on Friday because of the new flooring." She said.

"What about you?" She asked, glancing back at me.

"I have some new books coming in tomorrow, and I have a secret project I'm working on," I say, beaming at her.

The rest of the ride home is filled with chatter. Catching up and listening to music. However, as we turn onto our road, I get this weird feeling of dread and fear. I look at Sara, and her face turned a pale ashy color.

As we get closer, I see a crowd of people gathered in front of our house; and lights from the police, ambulance, and firefighter's cars.

"Did something happen to mum and dad? Are they hurt?" with all these questions in my head, I start to hyperventilate. I grab onto my seat belt and the handle above the door.

"What is happening?" I ask Sara, but she doesn't respond.

"Breath, Rox," She says, all calm and collected.

"Breath?" I ask, looking at her incredulously. I jump out of the car and run into the crowd. The neighbors move out of my way when they see it's me. I try to duck under the tape and get stopped by a police officer.

"Mame, you can't be here." Says the blond police office scowling at me with his piercing blue eyes and bushy eyebrows.

"I live here. Are my mum and dad OK? What happened?" I shout as I squirm in his arms and try to get away from him as another office joins him to help restrains me and keep me out of the taped area.

"Let go of her!" I hear Sara shouting, but I can't think straight. I need to get into the house.

Sara takes me into her arms, and I sob into her chest as she holds me and gently pats my back.

"It's OK, Sweets." She murmurs into my ear to try and calm me.

"What happened here?" Asks Sara calmly.

"Who are you? What are your names?" I hear different office asking

"I am Sara James. I am a friend of Mrs. May, and I live next door. This is Roxanna May, and she is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. May."

"There was a break-in, a neighbor from across the road called 999 to report." The office lifts the police tape and leads us into the house.