Do You Know The Way?

I arrived in the rain. Pouring rain. The kind of rain you wouldn't go out into if you could help it. The dog wouldn't get out of the car. Sniffed the air and decided to stay put.
I almost texted Becky to tell her not to bother coming in.
One woman arrived for coffee and a chocolate pecan brownie. She said she was meeting her friend here but couldn't wait for cake. I was grateful. There would be at least 2 customers then.
The rain stopped, the sky brightened, lots of people came for lunch. Thank goodness I hadn't sent that text.
There were all the swimming-toddler-mums sitting outside and drinking cappuccinos and eating quiche. There are a group of about 8 of them. Sometimes they all come, sometimes just 2 or 3, but man do they make a mess (well, the kids do). They're always really lovely and pile the plates together to make it easier for us to clear up. I never mind the state of the table. It reminds me of home. Today there were white chocolate buttons sticking out of the remnants of a jacket-potato-with-beans. And the buttons were smeared with soil and grass so some poor mum had even bothered to pick them up off the floor.
A message in the visitors' book came from someone from near San José, USA.
It read: There's nothing like this in the whole of California.