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Mark grabbed the stock cart and headed out to the young adult fiction section. He hated when Kerry, the no-nonsense store manager, put him on stock duty, and to make it possibly worse, he was told to work with Robert, who of course was nowhere to be found.
Mark preferred working on the registers for two reasons: he liked interacting with the customers and Robert only made his stocking duties more difficult. Robert hated working with the public and had taken the bookstore job only because he needed money while looking for another job in a restaurant kitchen or overnight stock at a grocery store, where he didn’t have to talk to customers. Bookstores weren’t as likely to have overnight stock roles, no matter how much he tried to convince Kerry, who was hoping he’d grow some people skills.
He also seemed to disappear a lot to try and impress Elizabeth, a barista in the cafe who Mark had his eyes on as well.
“Hello Mark,” Robert strutted over to the cart and grabbed a handful of books, once again pretending to stock diligently. “Listen, uh, I was talking to Elizabeth on my break--”
“You’ve taken three breaks and you’ve been here for two hours.”
“Who are you, the manager? Now as I was saying before you micromanaged me, I went to the cafe to get a bottle of water and visit Elizabeth. And she told me you and she went to the movies last week, and now she’s booked again tomorrow because you’re taking her to a poetry reading. A poetry reading. I would think a woman like Elizabeth would enjoy something like a comic con.”
“A comic con? Robert, please. The way to a woman’s heart is to show her you’re also into the classics and can appreciate poets like Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. Comic cons are for superfans who spend all their time on Reddit starting fandom wars. Personally, I like to live life away from my computer every so often.”
“Have you ever seen a comic con?” Robert asked. “They can actually be very fun, for those of us who like to have fun. I have some great costumes; I even went as Batman one year. There’s nothing wrong with having a hobby that’s not just sitting around trying to pretend you love The Raven when you probably haven’t read it since high school English.”
Then he stopped, realizing maybe he sounded a little silly. “You know, I’m just saying. A woman like Elizabeth also wants to let loose every once in a while and get into costume. Pretend she’s in another dimension and escape real life. The panels at Comic Con can also be very informative if you’re into behind-the-scenes stories and celebrity reunions.”
Mark looked over at him. “Have you even taken her out yet?”
“We did go out for pizza a couple weeks ago and she said she’d like to see me again, but she’s never returned my calls. I know, I know, maybe she’s just not that into me, whatever. But I’m sure she’s just busy with work and her studies. I gotta admit, Mark, you seem to know the way to her heart. Just wish there was room for the both of us.”
Over in the cafe, Elizabeth’s coworker Shirley also seemed like she was trying to get out of doing any kind of work. Granted, it was a quieter weekend day than usual with a few inches of snow in the forecast, but it hadn’t started coming down yet.
“You have been tapping on your phone all day,” Elizabeth said. “What are you working on?”
“My book,” Shirley replied. “Yeah, it’s cliche, the barista who wants to write her novel. My parents are less than pleased and want me to get a real job. I explained creative writing is a real major and that I could always work in marketing or get a professional writing certificate, but I think they wish I hadn’t backed out of nursing school. Aren’t you just here to save money for medical school or whatever you’re doing?”
“That’s the plan. My father was hoping I’d stay in England and go through a program there, but I wanted to live somewhere different. And that’s assuming I can pass all my science classes and get the grades. I feel like I just barely made it through my first anatomy lab.”
Shirley laughed. “Ah, that’s the reason I dropped out. I get that it’s important to understand the human body, but I just couldn’t keep up with all the terminology and felt like a fish out of water. My advisor did say it gets better and tried to encourage me to push through, but she also said if it was causing me that much stress I’d have a harder time before clinicals and the more advanced classes started. Writing it was.”
A woman bickering with someone on a cell phone while she juggled some books interrupted their chatter. Shirley raised her eyebrows and immediately started eavesdropping, but Elizabeth couldn’t remember who the woman was. Shirley had been working at the cafe for almost two years now and knew all about the regular customers and their habits. Elizabeth had only been there six months and tended to forget.
“Looks like one of our regulars is here?” she asked Shirley.
“Yep. Janet’s back,” Shirley chuckled. She lowered her voice and turned to Elizabeth. “She’s trying to work out a divorce settlement and she and her soon-to-be-ex-husband have had some quite entertaining phone calls. Although I don’t know why she does that in public.” She shook her head. “Janet’s usually pretty nice, but sometimes her inner Karen comes out if you don’t acknowledge her immediately to take her order.”
“Anyway, I keep hearing rumors in the break room about you and Mark and Robert. Is there a love triangle going on?”
“I think that’s what they’re calling it,” Elizabeth smiled. “They each want to win me over. Robert already has some fan convention booked for this summer and he was asking me if I’d picked a costume yet. To be honest, it looks a bit bizarre but I’m excited to see what really goes on.”
“Mark’s great too, though. He has great conversation skills, he’s polite, and I can tell he’s brushing up on his classics. But sometimes I wonder if he’s really passionate about them. I can tell when a guy is trying too hard. He should just be himself. If it turns out he likes science fiction or sports history, I’m not going to judge him. I’ve never been shallow. Robert can be a jerk, but he owns it. He doesn’t pretend to be someone he’s not. I just wish he were a little less brash. Makes it hard for me to take him seriously as a long-term partner.”
“Well,” Shirley grabbed herself a cup of water. “There’s no saying you have to choose right now. Did you commit to Mark yet? Like tell him you’d be exclusive with him and both of you agree to not pursue anyone else?”
“No, not yet. I liked my dates with both of them. I can’t really decide. I know no matter what they both have flaws. It’s just whose flaws could I put up with in a relationship.”
Robert walked into the cafe, with Mark following not far behind. They both looked in a hurry to get to the counter.
“Can I help you two?” Elizabeth asked as she folded her arms. “Robert…I know you are not supposed to be on another break. I just heard Kerry complaining that next time you take another unofficial break she’s writing you up.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Robert waved a hand as if to suggest he was not at all intimidated. “Look, Elizabeth, Mark and I were talking about how we both enjoy spending time with you and want more. And neither of us is ready to lose to the other. So, we had a thought…”
“How would you like to go out with both of us?” Mark interrupted.
Elizabeth’s face flushed and she fumbled for words. “Well, I, ah, don’t know what to say. What if I don’t know who to kiss at the end of the night?”
“We’ll each turn a cheek!” Robert replied.
Shirley pretended to be stocking cups and lids, looking amused.
“It has the potential to be awkward,” Elizabeth laughed nervously. “But sure. We can give it a try. As long as you two don’t spend the whole night fighting over who gets to do what and can care about making sure I’m enjoying myself, I’m in.”
“Bowling?” Mark asked.
“Bowling?” Robert shook his head. “That’s such a nerdy activity. How about board game night?”
“Board games? As if that’s an improvement. Like what? Battleship? Risk?”
“Guys…” Elizabeth shook her head. “Bowling sounds quite fun, actually. How about next Friday?”
Mark and Robert each pulled out their phones, staring at their lack of social calendars, and nodded in agreement.
“Hey!” Kerry walked into the cafe. “No phones on the floor. Mark, Robert, I noticed the cart left unattended in the young adult section. Get back to work and don’t let me catch you in here flirting on shift again.”
Shirley sighed, putting her phone in her apron pocket before Kerry noticed she'd been writing again. However, she knew that Carol, who ran the cafe, was a little more lenient than Kerry. Carol had a customer-first mentality, but looked the other way if Shirley wanted to write after catching up on her work, even asking her about her novel ideas and being supportive.
“Excuse me!” another voice cried out as the small crowd headed their separate ways. “Any time you’re all ready to stop socializing you do have a customer!”
Shirley and Elizabeth looked up and saw Janet standing in front of them, looking impatient with a set of cookbooks in hand.
“Hello,” Elizabeth put on her best customer service smile. “It’s the almond milk latte, right, Janet?”
“Yes. Please.”
Elizabeth headed to the latte machine, and Shirley followed after taking payment.
“I think that’s love that just came up through the air. You’re so lucky, by the way. To have two guys fighting over you. I can’t even get a date with one. Tell me your secrets sometime. After, of course, you take care of our favorite customer.”
“I don’t know that I have any secrets,” Elizabeth replied. “Just…lucky in love.”