Work Text:
“Sleep in and stay with Marlee, Walker. I have the cafe the covered for the morning,” is what Judd tells his brother eyeing the clock. Two hours of sleep would be fine. It was only two hours less than he normally got.
That’s how Judd finds himself getting ready to open the cafe.
Sienna and Toby would later point out to him it was fate he'd decided to take the morning shift. Judd would like to call it, being considerate of Walker having spent the night up with Marlee who had stomach ache all night. However, fate appealed to Sienna and Toby’s romantic natures so fate it would be.
He texts Kaleb just after he talks to Walker ore warning him he would come into the offices later than normal. Kaleb sleeps even less than Judd. Kaleb quickly said it was fine. But Kaleb would have said it was fine if Judd had called him the morning of, telling him he just didn’t feel like going in, because Kaleb didn’t actually need him around the office 90% of the time. He and Kaleb both know he’s around only because with Kaleb’s net worth he should at least pretend to have some private security, as if Kaleb isn’t as well train as Judd. But that was beside the point in Kaleb’s eyes who paid Judd a ridiculous amount of money for someone he doesn't even need around. That's part of the reason Judd always went in. A silent thank you and understanding flowed between them.
It was no secret that Judd's income from playing "bodyguard" to Kaleb was part of the reason they could keep the cafe running.
So this morning when as he got ready to open the cafe, he's ready for a boring day. The cafe is the family business now. It used to be just his sister’s, but after Katrina passed, and it had been on the verge of closing Sienna had threatened to quit college to run it. Walker offered to just close it temporarily, just until she finished school, but Sienna had not budged. Sienna should have majored in stubbornness, they always joke, but he had been proud. He suspects Walker had been too, especially with the PowerPoint presentation and five year plan she drew up.
In the end it left him and Walker staring down their determined twenty year old niece and agreeing to help her run the cafe. It worked out fine, for the most part. They ended up having to juggle a lot of things so Judd could keep going to work, Walker would be able to keep teaching at centre, and Sienna could finished her masters. They then hired a few more people to help out, most of them being Sienna's friends, and people from the neighbourhood. And in the end they made it work.
It wasn't perfect with the kids growing up, Judd and Walker working two jobs, and Sienna balancing her school work and her internship, but family was family. You made sacrifices for their happiness. It would have destroyed Sienna and Toby to lose this last link to their mother, he and Walker had seen it in their dark eyes as they pretended to be so strong as they presented their PowerPoint slides.
It didn't hurt that Marlee and Toby loved the cafe as much as Sienna and insisted on helping out any way they could. Marlee was usually found greeting people and making more friends as soon as she flies in from school, Toby on her trail, shaking his head fondly at her.
And then the flu hit like it did every year. This year however it hit both of younger the kids hard. Toby spent most of the weekend curled up in his bed, his fever breaking Sunday afternoon. Marlee's fever stubbornly clinging to her, leaving Walker to stay up all night with her.
It had been around 3 am, two hours before Walker usually woke to open for the morning pastry delivery, Judd told him not to bother and that he’d open. For being such a stoic character the relief was palpable on his brother's face. It would be hilarious he didn't even ask Judd for help if it wasn’t for the dark circles and worry for his daughter evident in his face.
But later it becomes fate. Not the flu. Judd loves his niece and nephew enough to give them that and the morning had gone well enough, nothing interesting.
Judd doesn’t mind uninteresting. He’s had too much interesting in his life. He doesn’t regret living the life he had before, doesn’t think he ever will. He still better now, the hours he can sleep.
But, fate. Well the kids are right about one thing, later when they tell the story: he doesn’t normally work Monday mornings.
Evie and Cory are clearing up after the morning rush. There’s not many people around. Tammy who used to work nights at the hospital down the street, but now works days so she can pick up her sons after her shift ends, is sitting sipping tea in the far corner, a novel in hand. She’s on break. A couple more regulars and a few stragglers are enjoying the quiet. So is Judd.
That’s why he’s reading a text from Kaleb when the door opens.
“Hey, Walker-- Hey, you’re not Walker,” a bright voice says, words flowing together in happy cadence.
Judd looks up and almost drops his phone.
All he sees is sunshine.
Judd blinks.
The sunshine takes the form of a girl. No, young woman. The sunshine is just the glare from the sun against the glass door behind her. It has to be. Nobody generates actual sunshine.
He blinks again, but the smile is still bright -- brightest smile he’s ever seen -- and her eyes seemed amused. Judd knows he’s not a talker, but he’s usually polite.
“No, I’m not,” he says, and wincing internally. He’s usually more polite than that. Sienna drilled him for a weekend about customer service and toning down his normally cool attitude. If she were here she’d glare at him. Behind the woman, Evie snorts and rolls her eyes at him. He’s gonna put her on bathroom duty after this.
The woman just keeps on smiling, the edges turning sly.
“Definitely not. So you wouldn’t know my usual, not Walker?”
“I’m sorry…”
She shrugs and leans her hip on by the counter. A shock bright blonde hair falls against her cheek. Judd has never wanted to push someone’s hair over their ear before.
“Brenna, and my usual is--”
“Hazelnut with a shot of caramel,” Evie pipes up, and slips behind the counter already starting to make the drink. She loves mixing the drinks. Judd’s always thankful for that. “I got you covered, Bren.”
“Thanks, Evie, sweetie.”
Judd watches the exchange silently, curious to how this woman--Brenna, knows not only Walker’s name, but Evie’s and probably Cory’s too. He’s never encountered her before and he knows most of their regulars. Then again, he never works mornings. She’s still smiling at Evie and for some reason Judd feels the need to say something and get her attention back on him.
“For here or to go?”
Cory shakes his head from where he’s clearing up table five. Judd is aware of Tammy’s attention honing in on them. Kenji’s eyebrows are raising from where he’s looked up from his phone. He’s going to remember this next time they want to start a tab.
Brenna turns back to him and Judd’s shoulders tense. She tucks her stray hair back and hums, tilting her head at him. “To go, today, not Walker.”
He nods and before he can tell her how much the coffee will be she’s handing him over exact change and dropping a few coins into the jar for Marlee’s school’s library fund. She does it with an ease of habit and he has the very distinct feeling she does this every time. Judd wants to smile. He asks her if she wants her receipt.
“No thanks, that’s fine…” She lets her words trail off and it’d be just the right moment for him to introduce himself, but he lets the silence linger a second too long and then there’s Evie, grinning, like a life saver, even though Judd is fairly sure she’s laughing at him, handing Brenna her coffee. (Tammy is pushing her novel over her lips. She’s definitely laughing at him. Kenji, the bastard, is probably texting Jem now. He hates everyone in the cafe right now.)
“Here you go, Bren! Threw you an extra shot too,” she slides her eyes to Judd, looking a bit unsure, and flushing a bit. “No charge?” They usually charge for extra shots, but he knows Evie didn’t mean anything by it. Had she been ringing up Brenna she would have probably charged her.
Judd nods at her, “No charge.” Evie’s shoulder deflate. She smiles at Brenna. Brenna drops a few more coins into the library fund and winks at her. Judd swallows. It’s a very cute wink.
“Thanks, sweetie. See ya tomorrow!”
“Bye!”
Brenna turns to leave and Judd can’t looks away from her happy bounce of her sunny ponytail. He swallows.
She’s at the door.
“Judd.”
He’s not even aware it’s him speaking until Brenna pauses.
She half turns back and her smile brightens by incalculable degrees. “Judd,” she repeats, tipping her coffee cup at him, like he’s responsible for it, and hadn’t just acted like the coldest coffee provider this side of Den Street. “Bye. Maybe I’ll you tomorrow, too.”
He nods. She leaves.
As soon as the door closes he turns to Evie and Cory who are looking way too amused for what they pay them. He narrows his eyes at them. Evie ducks her face and pulls her phone out. Looks like he’s going to get the third degree from Sienna later tonight. Cory just go back to cleaning table. Kid deserves a raise.
Tammy is pretending to read her book when he looks over at her and Kenji doesn’t even bother hiding he’s been enjoying the show. He throws up a couple sarcastic thumbs up at Judd. Judd actively ignores Sienna’s speeches and gives him the finger.
He waits a few minutes, thinking a few things over before he picks his phone back up and texts Kaleb back.
I have to work at the cafe tomorrow morning, too. I can be in around three.
Ten minutes pass.
Take the day.
One minute later he gets a message from Silver.
what did you say, he’s pouting. and by that i mean he’s glaring at the reports I gave him.
Judd laughs, but it looks like he’s working tomorrow. Again, not exactly fate, but fortuitous nonetheless.