reunition
Remus had sworn on his life that he’d never work at a café, though he found himself standing just outside the door, resume in hand at the coffee shop that was around the corner from his tiny flat. It wasn’t his first choice of employment, and he told anyone who said otherwise in a heartbeat. There was something about this place that had drawn him into it though, like a pull from his core telling him that this place was meant for him.
So, wiping the sweat from his palms onto the sides of his trousers and taking a deep breath, he set his hand on the door handle and stepped inside. Immediately, the smell of all variants of coffee, tea and every other possible drink wafted into his face. He stood in his spot in the doorway, and looked around the small building. There were about 14 tables in total, Remus estimated, and there was a small snack bar with sandwiches and macarons that were extremely overpriced.
Behind the counter, was a young woman who looked to be around his age. She was darker skinned and had her hair up in a loose braid to a ponytail. She gave Remus a professional but genuine smile before asking him if she could help him with anything.
He hesitated and considered buying a tea, just for the sake of not feeling awkward before deciding against it and replying “I’m actually here to apply for a job”.
“Oh, I’ll take you through to Lily then. She’s in charge of job applications and interviews and shit like that.” She told him, walking out from behind the counter before stalling, turning towards him and saying to not tell anyone that she cursed on the job.
***
Remus was met by a short ginger girl that he’d sworn he had met before at the door to a small office. She was wearing the same uniform as the girl from before, a white button up shirt, jeans and black shoes, and looked incredibly flustered. There were piles upon piles of paperwork on the small desk in the room and a couple of pens strewn across the documents. She, despite obvious tiredness, gave Remus a warm smile and gestured to an unoccupied desk chair before walking to another one herself.
“You’re applying for a job I take it?” She asked him, making an obscure gesture, vaguely towards the resume that was still tightly being grasped by Remus’ own hand.
Remus nodded, finally handing over the piece of printer paper to the girl. She looked down at the paper and from where Remus was sitting it appeared that she was staring down at one place on the document. She looked up, a dazed but hopeful look on her face as she stared at Remus and took all of his features in. Her eyebrows furrowed as she sat opposite him, not moving the slightest bit. Eventually, her jaw loosened and she opened her mouth to speak in a soft whisper.
“Remus.. Is it really you?” She asked him, her eyes welling up with tears. “It’s Lily..”
Remus continued to sit, his face unreadable as his mind thought harder than it ever had before, trying to figure out who Lily was. He thought back through what he could remember of his childhood, who his old friends were and all the people his parents had introduced him to at parties, but to no avail, he couldn’t recognise the name.
“I’m so sorry, I haven’t a clue who you are.” He stated, almost immediately grimacing at how harsh and loud his voice sounded compared to the small, quiet girl in front of him and the almost painful near-silence that loomed over them.
Lily’s expression faltered, and for a moment Remus could see hurt channeling through every feature of hers before she regained composure and another cautious yet hopeful look fell upon her face. “Lily Evans,” she spoke in another quiet voice, as though any sudden noise would snap them out of their tender and vulnerable conversation. “You were my best friend, if I’m not mistaken. You helped me and comforted me when our old friend Severus insulted and left me. We went to school together for the first 10 years of our life and we stood beside each other, even when no one else did. Remus, I sat at your bedside, holding your hand, hoping to every single possible god that you would wake up after the accident. I’m sorry for mentioning anything if you don’t remember me or don’t want to think back on what happened.” By the end she was barely whispering. She was so quietly spoken that Remus had to crane his neck to hear her, as her breathing got heavier and tears ran down her cheeks. Lily went to speak again but closed her mouth almost immediately as she broke down crying.
Remus felt bad. Clearly Lily knew who he was, and he wished that he knew her. The look of absolute pain etched across her face sent shivers down his spine as he collected himself up and began to try and sift through memories from before his 16th birthday again. He thought back to when he was little. His birthday parties, his school classes, theatre group and library sessions that he always seemed to love. He thought back to when he was first entering his teenage years, when he was first going through puberty and feeling left out because he didn’t fancy any of the girls at his school. He thought back to 15 year old Remus, laying on the ground under a tree, a shaking Lily Evans on his chest after she had been called a “slutty bitch” by Severus Snape for wearing a skirt that was slightly shorter than usual. That Lily Evans. She was in the back of each memory. Each and every single one of them.
“Oh my god Lily” Remus whispered, the same volume that she used when speaking to him. “It’s you. Lily it’s you it’s really fucking you.” Remus repeated, his voice getting louder and more enthusiastic each time round.
Lily looked back up to him and when she saw the realisation cross his face she leapt into his arms and held on for dear life.
Without pulling away from Remus, Lily started asking him questions about the matter at hand. The job.
“Why did you think to apply here?”
“I actually have no clue. I needed a job I s’pose, and though I swore on my life to never work in a coffee shop, I felt this almost magnetic pull to it. Maybe I was being drawn back to you for all I know, but other than that, I don’t think there was a reason for here in particular.” Remus replied to her, only to get a slight hum in response before she jumped back into questioning.
“Why should I hire you?” She questioned, her voice back to the same if not more serious tone than before he handed the resume over. Remus almost missed the sweet tone that Lily gave him mere moments before, and thought about ways he could try and change her emotions back. He knew this wasn’t possible, of course. Both in the way of people and science and the way of Lily Evans, who Remus remembered throwing a book at someone for disagreeing with the way she handled her emotions. Yes, Remus knew exactly how Lily could get when agitated, and decided against changing her in any way, but instead focusing and answering her questions honestly, no matter how intimidating Lily was and how small he felt in comparison to his old friend.
“Um, you should hire me because…” Remus let out a loud sigh because honestly, he didn’t know why he should be hired at all. And at a coffee shop at that. “I’m nice? Look, Lily, I actually forgot everything I was going to say due to our little, you know, reunion. But I’ve had experience in an old record shop before uni if that makes it any clearer?”
Lily let out a small chuckle before sighing.
***
“I’ll let you know if you’ve got the job as soon as possible.” Lily told Remus as he was walking towards the door. “I’m so glad I got to see you again Rem. We’ll have to catch up again soon. I’ve missed you so much.” She gave him one last smile before she turned around and headed back to her office.
“Okay thanks Lils!” He shouted to her retreating body, already back at the doorway to the office. He turned out the door and waved goodbye and flashed a polite smile to the same girl who was on the counter when he first walked into the cafe, which he had now learnt’s name was Mary.
Slowly making his way back to the bus stop, Remus pulled out his phone and opened his messages. He told his mum about the coffee shop, and how he strangely got an interview the same day he handed in his resume. He held off about telling Hope about Lily until he was back at his flat and was able to call her to tell her everything in full, well knowing that she wouldn’t hold back on questions, emotions and silence. He knew that he’d have to sit for possibly hours on end under his own mothers interrogation until she knew everything there was to know about the revelations.