Page 9 of Blame It On the Lattes

Sam

Avery showed up at5:45, ready to start, which was a surprise to me. I was used to grumpy teenagers who looked like they had just thrown themselves out of bed and zombie walked in the doorafterthe time they were supposed to start working. But not Avery. She was wide awake and looking more radiant than ever. Her long dark brown hair was pulled into a messy ponytail on her head, and her eyes sparkled with the natural-looking makeup she wore.

“Good morning,” I said as she came through the door.

“Good morning. Sorry I’m a few minutes early. My biggest pet peeve is people being late, so I make up for that by constantly being too early.”

“That’s never a problem,” I assured her with a smile. “I already got you set up in the system, so I’ll show you how to clock in and out.”

She followed me to one of the computers in the back by my office and sat down while I instructed her on what to do. She was a quick learner, which I knew she would be. Within the first hour, I had already shown her the basics of how to use the coffee machines, though I expected she would need more training since they could be tricky.

The morning started slowly, allowing me time to train her on the cash register before having her take over. It was a relief to know that she was able to jump in and take the lead on what I needed her to do. I didn’t have to tell her things over and over, nor did I have to remind her to smile and be friendly to the customers. Avery was a natural and I could picture her in the classroom with a room full of kids who adored her.

By the time our morning rush picked up, I was in my office getting a few things taken care of while Avery worked with Piper, the assistant manager.

“Hey, I’m sorry to bug you,” Avery said, peeking her head around the door of my office. “Piper is busy fixing the espresso machine, and the others are busy, too. I have someone asking for a black eye, and I don’t know if that’s some sort of fancy coffee drink or if I should punch him. The way he’s smiling, I feel like maybe it’s a trick?”

“Punch him,” I said, leaning back in my chair and grinning.

Her eyes widened before her brows pulled together in confusion.

“Ummm... Okay?”

“Tell him we’re all out and that he can have a vanilla latte.”

She nodded, still looking confused as she walked away.

I gathered my phone from the desk and tucked it into my pocket right as she returned.

I raised my eyebrows, curious what she was going to say.

“He said he’s going to come back here and beat your ass if you don’t stop it with your shit this morning.”

I chuckled and shrugged, leading her back to the front with my hand on her lower back, making sure to keep it friendly and not crossing any lines.

“Do people seriously get this angry over coffee?” she whispered, turning her head so he couldn’t see what she was saying as we approached the register.

“Na. This guy is just constantly grumpy. A big ol’ ass, if you ask me,” I said, grinning at Aiden.

“I seriously don’t have time for your shit this morning,” he mumbled under his breath, but the humor in his eyes said otherwise.

“You always have time for my shit.”

“Should I go help someone else?” Avery asked, looking between us.

“Ignore both of them,” Piper said from behind us as she smacked the bottom of the espresso machine. It was usually the trick to get it working, but I knew it was only a temporary fix until I had to buy a new one. “They’re both being worse than this stupid machine.”

“I’ll look at getting a new one soon,” I told her, knowing it didn’t help that we had a handful of people impatiently waiting for their drinks.

“Today would be great, but since that’s not happening, we’re just going to have to make do.” Piper gave it another smack and then let her head fall back with relief as it sputtered and came to life. “Go let everyone in line know that the espresso machine is slow this morning. We’re going to separate the line and move those who would like a latte to the register closest to the window, and those who want straight coffee or pastries can go to the middle line so we can get them in and out quickly. Everyone already in line can get a free muffin of their choice for the wait this morning.”

The two employees she was working with rushed through the line, letting everyone know.

“Do I get a free muffin since you’re being ridiculous this morning?” Aiden asked as people started shifting around to the appropriate lines.

Avery looked nervously from me to him, unsure what to do.

“Stop being a crybaby. I’ll get you your damn coffee,” I teased, rolling my eyes before turning my attention to Avery. “It’s a black coffee with two shots of espresso. Piper can help you with the other espresso machine if you need it.”

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