Mystery Date!

Valentine's day was always hard on the food service industry, and the frozen yogurt shop Cream ("You won't believe its not ice cream!") was no exception. Chantelle normally didn't come in to work behind the counter, but she had wanted to let any of her employees with partners take the day off and she figured that the shop could use her help. That thought had turned out to be an understatement. Not only was Cream filled to the brim with couples, but problems kept cropping up left and right.

Frowning, Chantelle watched George smile wearily at customers as she manned the blender. He looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep again, but when she asked him this morning if he had gotten called into the hospital last night, he had responded "Huh? um, no, not this time." She was concerned... no, by this point she was extremely worried about him. Hadn't he had a boyfriend too? A nice tanuki boy... she was sure that he knew she would have let him take the day off--

Her thoughts were interrupted by Melinda barging through the glass doors. She waved hello and barked out "Hi Miss C! School's out!" Her speech was really improving ever since she started working here. Chantelle threw her a relieved smile and started signing to Melinda what she wanted her to start doing.

Eventually, the crowd began to thin. As Chantelle was about to start ordering everyone to clean up, a tall man came inside, carrying a bouquet of roses. Frustrated, Chantelle decided to deal with this final customer herself. She recognized him as a semi-regular... he usually filled up a cup with plain vanilla yogurt and sat in the corner quietly, always dressed in button downs and suits. Chantelle thought he must be some sort of business man. As out of place his clothes were in a small frozen yogurt shop, she secretly appreciated seeing someone spend so much time on their appearance.

"Ah, I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of knowing your name, miss," he said.

"Cream. Ah-- Chantelle. Chantelle Cream, sorry. Were you wanting your usual?"

"Charmed, Chantelle. Ekundayo." He gestured towards her with the roses. "Actually, today I was hoping to try something new. I've made a reservation for two at a small italian restaurant in half an hour, with the hope that you would agree to accompany me." He smiled disarmingly and Chantelle blushed bright red. Gently reaching for the flowers, her stomach made a loud growling noise.

"I suppose I will."