"Here, take that apron off Mama C!" A small, stern voice called behind Cienna as she headed toward the door. She looked down at herself - the tattered, patchwork apron was on top of her date dress. She shook her head at her habit of putting the apron on top of everything she wore.
"Thanks dear," she called to the young boy. She untied the strings and hung it on a peg near the door. Then she spun around, the flaps of her green dress swaying about her calves. "How do I look now?"
A giggled of laughter erupted from the young boy, and a gasp from the girl. "You are bootifuul," she girl said, grinning. Cienna's heart melted. The girl was such a sweet little thing, despite being abandoned as a babe.
"I'll be back before you know it," Cienna told her young charges. "You two behave yourselves!" She gave them each a hug, then scampered out the door.
Finding the coffee shop was easy, getting the courage to approach her date was hard. The kids had set this up - devious little angels. Cienna hadn't been on a date in years. But she was happy with her simple life in the simple town. Take care of the children, clean the house. She sighed, wondering what she got herself into.
He was to wear a red flower on his person, so she could find him. She'd worn a red rose in her springy, black hair (there were some gray hairs as well, but we won't go there), so that he would be able to spot her as well. It was the children's idea for them to wear the flowers. Her green eyes looked out from dark skin as she looked for the man the kids had set her up with.
Ah, there he was - the red rose was prominent on her coat. He actually wasn't too far away, as he had chosen to sit outside. Cienna approached, her steps silent in her ballet flats. She curtsied when she reached the table, "Hello, I'm Cienna," she took in his white lab coat and smiled, "You must be, uh, Professor... Winter?" She wasn't sure she got the name right at all, it sounded a little odd on her tongue.