Page 3 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
Because of this, Saphira received a small stipend from thetown for creating a space that dragons could enter. At first, she thought the extra cash was brilliant. Why didn’t all businesses allow dragons into their establishments and receive the payment? How silly they were!
Her feelings of superiority were quickly quashed after her first month, in which the stipend was spent on repairing nearly every piece of furniture in the cafe. And it had been the same every month since opening six months ago—the money slipped from her fingers before she knew it, and she had to dip into her savings to keep up with repairs. She had not anticipated just how unruly the baby dragons would be.
Saphira was now clear out of savings, hardly keeping her head above water. But so long as nothing burst into flames this week, she was sure it would be okay …
Unfortunately, her optimism only lasted about an hour.
“Flare, no!” a little girl’s voice called. Saphira looked to where the girl was chasing after her baby dragon. It was the girl who had been eating lemon-raspberry cake with her father—Aziz, Saphira believed his name was.
“Everything okay, Aziz?” Saphira asked, stepping out from behind the counter.
“Hana, we need to get Flare down,” Aziz told his daughter. “Sorry, Saphira, Flare’s just a little hyper, is all.”
But the baby dragon looked to be more than simply overactive. He had climbed onto the table and now jumped into the air, attempting flight.
“Flare, stop!” Hana called, tone petulant as the dragon landed on the back of a chair. The little draggo had mischief in his eyes, and before Hana could catch him, he jumped from the chair again, trying to fly.
Saphira grabbed some fried bitter gourds—baby dragons loved them!—holding her hand out for Flare. As he came closer, he caught the scent, turning towards her. His eyes widened with glee, and he jumped toward her, but the sight of the gourds seemed to excite the baby dragon too much. Leaping into the air, wings fluttering, he opened his mouth. Saphira saw red light at the back of his throat.
She knew what that meant.
Without hesitation, she ducked, covering her head just as flames shot over her. A few moments later, the heat faded.
Heart pounding, Saphira stood.
The smell of burned rubber and hot steel filled the air. The cafe went quiet, all eyes turning to the mess.Oh God. Slowly, Saphira turned, and that was when she saw.
Her espresso machine. The center had collapsed completely, and Saphira froze, staring at the melted mass. Her hands were shaking.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry,” Aziz said. He reached into his pocket, pulling something out. “Here’s a copy of my insurance—I’m sure they’ll cover it.”
He handed Saphira a small card with information on it; riders were accustomed to carrying around copies of their Drakkon insurance for instances when their dragon was expressly to blame for damage.
“No worries,” Saphira squeaked, trying her best to give Aziz and his daughter an unbothered smile. She fought back the tears pricking her eyes. “Thank you.”
Distantly, Saphira heard Aziz scolding his daughter as they exited the cafe, but she hardly focused on it.
Saphira knew the insurance wouldn’t cover such an expense.Drakkon insurance only covered up to a certain amount, and Saphira had signed a waiver at the very start of her business, acknowledging this fact and the risk she was taking by allowing baby dragons into her establishment.
Insurance had not covered the damaged bathroom pipes, and it would not cover a ruined three-thousand-dollar espresso machine.
Panic flared through her. What was she going to do? She didn’t have the cash to buy a new espresso machine and, without it, how was she meant to run a cafe? Most of her sales came from overpriced lattes.
Anxiety spiked through her, tears welling in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away, forcing herself to take a deep breath, to stay calm. She would not freak out in front of her customers.
Maybe it wasn’t such a disaster, she told herself. After all, her menu was vast. Surely she would still be able to turn a profit, even without the espresso machine! It would only be a few weeks, she reasoned. Just until she could save up to buy another one.
Saphira knew one thing for certain, though: she would not give up. She couldn’t. Not when she had invested everything into this cafe. Not when she had promised Nani-Ma.
“Everything’s fine!” she called out to the cafe, donning her biggest, brightest smile. “Sorry about that! But you know how the baby dragons get!”
That earned her a few laughs, and in no time everyone was back to sipping their drinks, chatting amongst themselves.
For the next few days, Saphira ran business as usual. She made pastries and small plates, as well as snacks for the baby dragons. She had her teas—black, green, and herbal—andother types of coffee—pour-over, drip, cold brew. She had chai and refreshers and cocoa and matcha … but no espresso.
And suddenly, it seemed likeeveryonewanted espresso!
The Baby Dragon Cafe’s specialty, after all, was dragon-roasted coffee. The coffee beans were roasted by dragon flames until the beans developed sweet and rich profiles, full of body and texture.
