Page 11 of Don't Scare Me, My Love

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but this is the most important thing you need to learn today.” He leaned against the counter, turned his ear toward the coffee machine, and when it beeped three times, he pointed to it. “That’s the sound you need to wait for. Now…” He leaned in front of the display. “…let’s make you a cup of coffee so I can show you the menu. What do you want?”

“Would you mind if I did it myself? I learn best with my hands.” I held them up as if my point wouldn’t be understood if I didn’t show them.

He looked at my huge paws for a second before stepping aside. “I can’t argue with that.”

I leaned down to get a better look. As far as I could tell, it was the kind of coffee machine that did everything by itself. I’ve worked with similar machines before, so this shouldn’t be hard. “What can I get for you?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to explain it first?”

“I’ll pay for the machine if I break it.”

He took a deep breath. “Then… I’ll have a black coffee, please.”

I confirmed his order with a smile as if he were a regular customer. “That’s the best way to enjoy coffee, isn’t it?”

He nodded, his eyes furrowed in concern as he focused on my fingers, ready to jump in if I did something wrong.

Only that, with these modern machines, there is nothing you can do wrong. I followed the instructions on the display, and a few seconds later, the black energy source was poured into a paper cup.

He pursed his lips. “Sorry if this is not how you imagined the job.”

Being trained by a cute guy?“It’s exactly what I thought it would be.”

We watched the cup fill, and just before it was about to spill, the machine stopped, and a beep announced that the first coffee of the day was ready.

I grabbed the bottom of the cup, where it is usually the least hot, and glanced at the board above the machine to search for the price. “That’s two fifty. Cash, check, or credit card?”

He took the coffee out of my hand and sniffed it as if to check if it smelled like it should. “We don’t take checks. But I’ll show you how to use the register later today.” He nodded at the machine. “Don’t forget to make yourself one, too. Hot beverages are on the house for all employees.”

I turned around and followed his orders—also because I couldn’t say no to free drinks.

“I know it’s hard to understand,” Jason said, “but it took my other three guys a couple of hours of training to get it right. If you keep working like this, you’re going to get more important tasks in a hurry. Like… restocking the shelves or…moppingthe floor.”

I put my hand to my heart to play along with his joke. “Wow. I feel so honored.”

Jason sat back against the counter and took a sip of his coffee. “So you’ve had quite a few jobs since you started working,” he said. “Interesting resume. Lots of gaps, not that they matter to me.”

“The gaps are times when I was traveling and living off the money I had saved. I did a lot of small temporary things during those times, but a former employer pointed out that it would look bad if I had two hundred mini-jobs on my resume.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Do you already regret hiring me?”

He stared at me again, frowning like yesterday. “Three of your former bosses told me I would be a stupid fool if I didn’t hire you on the spot when I called them yesterday. So, I’m going to give it another thirty minutes before I decide if I already regret it.”

The deep honk of a truck made us both look up. The silver gas truck pulling into the parking lot was so big it couldn’t have fit under the roof covering the pumps if it had wanted to.

Jason set his coffee down on the counter. “That’s my cue. I'm going to step outside. You can enjoy your coffee until I get back.” He walked past me, rushed into the break room for a second, and returned with a small printout that looked like a receipt before heading outside.

As he walked past the unused gas pumps, I couldn’t help but stare after him. It was weird. I didn’t know this guy at all, but there was just something about all of this that made it feel so…right. This, working here, making coffee, and watching him—it was like I was supposed to be here for some reason that I couldn’t name yet.

The door of the truck opened, and a woman in her fifties, so pale you could think she had been bitten by a zombie, climbed out. A broad smile graced her face as she called out, “Mornin’ love” to Jason.

He held up the receipt. “Good morning, Pam.”

She rested her head on her right shoulder, her white-blonde hair ruffled against it, her smile growing even wider. “Well, look at you. Mr. Taft, being all polite today?”

“It’s a new thing I’m trying. It costs extra, though.”

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