Nod your head when asking the customer what they'd like

It's her first day and she has already changed the radio station

that plays from the speakers fixed to the wall by the fish tank,

pantings for sale by local artists and awards in frames:

Cafe of the Year Runner Up 2007.

'Stick with Radio 2. It's a good station' her boss says in the kitchen

each of them washing their own cups from their tea break,

'and you don't need to tell the customers everything about your life -

that your boyfriend s in New York but is saving up for life in England,

that you've had no sleep because of the jetlag and you don't like

the taste of coffee but you love the way it smells.

'Surreptitiously tap your fingers on the tips saucer.

Open doors for prams. Look apologetic when you say

Sorry, we don't have wifi. Don't wear those eyelash extensions

and say you don't know when hey ask why Mary doesn't work here anymore.'