Dora was welcomed back in the coffee shop amid a very cheerful atmosphere. Susan and Eliza had hugged her while Alex and Tyler were also glad to have her back.

Even though they were all able to manage the shop in her absence, Dora's bright company was what made work twice better. So it was no wonder that they were all happy she had returned.

Their regular customers were particularly fond of the cupcakes she baked and they loved to drop by for a chat whenever she was at the counter.

Most of them were college students, addicted to caffeine due to their stressful assignments that resulted in them pulling all-nighters. Some times they would be working on assignments in the shop too and Dora had a habit of checking up on them occasionally, at times giving them free desserts as well.

In short, Dora's Coffee Haunt couldn't be the same without Dora. And with her taking charge once again, the coffee shop was back to being a synonym for heaven for those who frequented the place as well as those who worked there.

Right then she was in the kitchen, baking the day's share of desserts with Susan while Alex and Tyler were looking after the drinks. As usual, Eliza was handling the counter.

She took out the tray of cupcakes and left it to cool off at the counter before Tyler could take them out and set them on the display. Her eyes trailed towards the boy who was doing latte art on the coffee cups that were to be a sent out and a smile flickered on her face.

Tyler had been very interested in learning to do anything and everything he could at the shop and though in the beginning Alex hadn't been so willing to hire him since he had been very young and Al didn't want to put any sort of pressure on him, with time the boy had adjusted very well.

"So you also do latte art now?" She asked, the soft smile hadn't yet faltered.

"Sure do. Al lets me do most of the latte art and all the hot chocolate orders come to me now," he replied, brown eyes twinkling as he looked up.

"That's great. You've come so far," she appreciated him warmly, "it's nice to see you taking interest."

"Thank you," he smiled, placing the cups in the serving tray, "will be right back."

Dora was thinking that if Mona had been right and there was really something going on between Tyler and Damian then that was quite hard to believe already.

Tyler was one of the sweetest boys she had ever met while Damian was quite the opposite. But then it was also true that opposites attract so maybe that had been the case with those two.

Besides, Damian wasn't a bad kid at all. She knew he was the type who remained shut out from the world but had a warm heart deep down. He would never show it but in his own silent ways, he cared.

The reason she was certain of it was because the boy had in his own way looked out for them back when Tim had disappeared for a whole year. And though Damian had made sure to remain discreet about it, she knew he had been the one helping them out.

Damian deserved love and happiness too. And to balance out all the bitterness in his life, Tyler seemed like a perfect choice.

Dora focused back on her work and once or twice went out to check the counter as well where she was greeted cheerfully by the regular customers. It had been years since they had opened the coffee shop but she never got tired of the atmosphere and the people over there.

It still felt as thrilling to her as her first day when she had met Steph and learnt the ropes from her on how to take orders. 

It had been quite a long time since Tim had left to drop Mona off at school and her eyes would flicker towards the clock every now and then, knowing he should be back any moment.

She was at the counter for the time being when the bell chimed as the door opened, a rather flustered looking Tim stepping in the shop.

As usual he had come straight to the counter and took the notepad, scribbling down his flavor of coffee though she could see something had happened on the way that had gotten rid of his cheerful mood.

"All okay?"

He shook his head, lips set into a small frown.

"Who stole your rare streak of delight?" She teased a little, watching him roll his eyes ever so slightly as he perched up on the stool beside her.

"Two words," he replied, "Jason. Prank."

She laughed, knowing full well what the meaning of that could be, "let me guess. Jay pulled a prank on you again?"

"He messed up with the car," Tim sighed, "Mona got late to school because my car broke down halfway and there was no way possible I could find a mechanic on such short notice so had to fix it all up myself."

She raised an eyebrow, "you know how to fix cars too?"

"Only for emergency scenarios. Not for unwanted pranks pulled by my own absolute nuisance of a brother..."

She shook her head, getting off the stool to take his order in, "come on, you don't really mean that."

"I do. He's a nuisance," he mumbled but then added shortly after, "but he's our nuisance..."

She laughed, giving the order to Tyler then returned, "you guys truly are a dysfunctional lot."

He paused but then a smile flickered on his face too, "what do you mean by you guys? Technically you're also a part of this dysfunctional family now."

She nodded, "that I am and proud of it too."

Tim's coffee arrived so he took the cup and left the counter, "might have to stay for a bit in the comfy corner to recover from the mood swing. Won't be long, I promise."

"Sure sure. Just don't hog the comfy corner completely to yourself, other people might need it too."

"I know Dora, I know very well," he remarked before going off to the corner that had been set up as a cozy nook of blankets and cushions along with a small bookshelf as well.

That comfy corner was nothing short of heaven for people like Tim who spent way too much time at the coffee shop. And right then it was the best option for Tim to forget about the terrible prank Jay had pulled on him.

Though when it came to Tim, he never really forgot anything so Jay should better be preparing himself for a payback.

***