It’s starting to hit me now….

I arrived at the café and took a moment to walk around and take in this moment. The café was quiet as it hadn’t officially opened for the day so the blinds were pulled shut and the lamps turned off. I went over and stood at the door and looked out at the piétons passing by and wondered who would be the first to come in?

Customers starting coming in and some asking if the place was no longer for sale. It was surreal to introduce myself to these customers whom I later found out were almost daily regulars. They checked me out. One peeking over her glasses the other with a half smile on her face, “Ah, c’est vous l’Américaine?!” That made me smile. They immediately started requesting that their favorite teas be reinstated as soon as possible. Much of the stock had been exhausted because the sale of the tea house took longer than anticipated. I reassured them. Gave them my word and they bid me goodbye but with the promise that they would be back to check very, very soon. I got butterflies in my stomach.

There was a moment when the tea house was empty and only radio Nova keeping me company. I stood behind the kitchen/bar looking out into the room and it hit me in a huge wave. Tears welled in my eyes. I quickly sat down on the stool and caught my breath. I peeked over the bar once more and looked around. And again, the wave hit me like a Kansas gale and I quickly ducked down in case someone came in. My dream. It’s real.