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Jacob's third day was going pretty well. Sure, getting up very early before the shop opened to bake food and learn about the different coffee brewing techniques he wasn't used to was a lot but it was still enjoyable. The other baristas and bakers were all tired and making jokes before the shop opened, and his boss was going to show him how to make caramel and chocolate chip scones. His boss, Robin, said she’s always happy to make the food and water the plants when first coming in.
“So we’re just going to punch the dough to flatten it out,” she said, rolling the dough and watching as Jacob added a bit more flour to his.
“Like it owes us money,” Jacob said.
“Maybe not money,” Robin said. “I’ve seen Taylor punch the dough and god, I think it stole her money.” She laughed out loud. Even hearing his boss’ voice or when she excitedly talks about things made her seem so likable.
“But if it stole like…money from a charity can we punch it that way?” Jacob said jokingly, pressing his fist into his portion of dough.
“Oh yes,” Robin nodded. “Then it deserves to die.”
They both laughed as other baristas were preparing the place with other foods, cleaning counters, and watering plants. There were so many plants to make the place lively, even if it was way before opening hours. He felt very glad now that he applied here, even if his friend that works here is on a different day than today. He'll see them sometime.
“And then we’re going to shove these little guys in it,” Robin showed him the cups of caramel and chocolate chips, like little orbs of orange and brown gems. She picked one out and popped it into her mouth, offering it to him. He took one and the mixture of both tasted very good.
They both sprinkled them on, as the clatter of other machines was being used in the background. Robin’s phone started playing a tune in one of the pockets of her apron.
“Oops, sorry,” she looked at it and quickly answered it. “Hey? What’s up?”
Jacob couldn’t hear the other person speaking as he sprinkled every other space of his dough, then waited to see what she’d say. She looked at him and quickly said to the person, “sorry I can’t hear you. Here, Jacob, you then take this cutter and cut circles out of them so we can bake them. Make sure every inch is covered with those pieces. Put them on this platter here. I’ll be back.”
Then she hurried out of the kitchen to avoid the noises.
Jacob then looked down at the dough and rolled it again, flatten it out, and placed more chips onto the surface of it. He then cut out circle-sized chunks of dough and placed them on the cookie sheet that sat on top of the platter.
He continued doing this, pushing each bit of dough so they could fit on the platters because he wasn’t sure if they were meant to or not she didn’t say. He tuned out the noise when one of the workers went past him.
“When we open, look out for the tall guy in black.”
“What?”
The female worker then went out of sight, as all the baristas tend to do as they worked. What the fuck was she talking about? Are they getting a health inspector today? Jacob might be new, but he for sure didn’t see any spills or rats or bugs or anything. This cafe honestly felt like a grandmother's home, not that his boss is, like, old, it just felt very homely and quaint. In fact, he wasn’t long enough to be here to see any customers sometimes, because he had an early morning shift.
…why the hell would she say that??
“So sorry about that,” Robin said as she came back in, dusting off her apron and putting her phone back into one of its pockets. “Ahh, you got them all to fit, such a superstar! In all honesty, that is not one of my superpowers in baking.”
“Yeah,” Jacob replied. He wanted to ask her about it, if they were going to get a health inspector of some kind today or if it was just some random guy they had on some…watchlist? Probably a homeless guy that comes in, he had seen a few come in at his old job ordering food and telling him stories. But then what homeless guy is tall and wears all black? He didn’t know, he just got here, and he just started making scones.
“So do you have any siblings?” Robin asked as she took them and popped them over into the oven, then got more dough for them to play with.
“I do, a younger sister,” Jacob mashed the dough between his fingers. “She’s like five years old, and likes all things My Little Pony right now.”
“Aww, that’s so cute!” Robin made quick work of the dough as it was second nature while she multitasked with getting other creations ready and pulling other cutters out. “My toddler really likes the uh, Pokemon now. I think her favorite is an um, oh what’s it called, it's like a yellow cat? Has electricity?”
“Pikachu?”
“Yeah, that one! I got her a Pikachu onesie so she could wear it. She keeps shocking my boyf– babysitter! Keeps shocking my babysitter when he- she! When she comes over!” She stammered.
“That’s nice. My favorite is Bulbasaur, he’s like a squat little guy.”
“Is he the one that’s red?”
“No, he’s blue with a large plant bulb on his back. Hence why he’s named that.”
“Awww! I’m not sure I’ve seen that one. That being said, if you have any plants at home, I’d like to see pictures of them.”
There are beats of silence between them working, as another worker comes in to finish with the bread and gets help from Robin in doing so. Jacob washes his hands and the few hours blur by as he goes from washing dishes to making more foods like bagels, and desserts, and looking at machines that he's never worked on before tried out.
Slowly, it got lighter outside as the sun peeked through the trees in the park and painted the sky with soft orange and blues, white clouds dotting it. Jacob was getting tired, even thinking that maybe taking the early shift wasn’t the best idea at all. Robin had wanted one of the workers to show him how to run the register in case he were to have a midday shift before he left.
“Can I take a break before I do that?” He asked when she debriefed him on it.
“Oh yeah, of course!” She said, looking at what time it was on her watch and glancing out to the parking lot. “Make yourself something to wake yourself up, hon, I’m not letting you guys go famished.”
Jacob quickly made himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a small cookie before hiding in one of the booths of the cafe. He could hear the bell dinging a few moments after the sign was switched over to being open, and heard the chatter and steps coming in of people getting their morning coffee. He sniffed and sipped his cup, tapping his foot against the floor out of habit.
He watched as customers came in, most being women and a few men coming in to get morning coffee and treats. None of them seemed very tall, or wore black, they mostly wore business suits or gathered together if they were from a workplace like the construction nearby or just guys in an average fit of flannel and jackets. That and neither the workers nor his boss drove them away. Welcomed them with a smile and made their drinks, Robin starting conversations.
Maybe he won't come in today, whoever he was.
Besides, Jacob is about to leave in, like, an hour or so, so he didn’t have to deal with him if ever he was an issue, to begin with.
He got up and slipped into the back, putting his cup in the sink and throwing his things into the trash. He waited until he got Robin's attention so that she could pull him up front, and waited until some customers had left to sit in the booths or go outside to show him what to do.
“Have you done the register before?” Robin asked as she got it set up for him.
“Yeah, it was like a computer one you see at fast food restaurants,” Jacob explained.
“Ok, cool! Hope this one isn’t going to be too hard, it’s just a very old kind with the big buttons and whatnot.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I like the sound it makes and it fits well in here,” Jacob chuckled.
“Thank you, so do I!” Robin chirped. “I’m going to be having Jay help you out here, I have to go on break right now.”
Said worker came out and it was the girl from before. Jacob didn’t say anything as Robin told Jay what she was going to do with Jacob, and then she turned and went to clock herself on a break.
“By the time I'm done, Jacob, you’ll probably be out of here! So if I don’t see you, hope you have a good day and drive safely ok?”
He nodded. “You too, Robin!”
The question went away when he was being trained by Jay, which wasn’t too hard really. He had a few scenarios and showed how to do things, even having to take Robin’s order as an example, before heading on to other customers that came in and asked for a coffee or dessert or food. It was a pretty good experience, even as he chatted and made conversation with the customers that came in. Jay helped if things were confusing or acted as an assistant to the orders in swiftly getting coffee ready or pulling desserts out from the curved dome under Jacob’s register and counter.
They seemed to be having a slow run then, so they kind of chilled out and cleaned up the counters and cleared them off for the next people coming in, whenever that was. The question came up again and Jacob turned to Jay then. “Hey what did you mean by, look out for the tall guy?”
She went to answer, before stopping suddenly with one glance at whatever was behind Jacob. Her eyes then went really wide, and she forced a smile on her face. Jacob looked at her confused before her eyes glared at him with this weird expression.
“It’s him,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Who?”
“Him,” her eyes flicked back to look behind him and back to him. “The tall guy.”
The color then faded in Jacobs's face as she told him about the tall guy. Surely he can’t be that bad.
He turned around and looked up to meet this rather stern, older gentleman. This guy was tall, but Jay didn’t say at all that this guy was big and had the expression of every disgruntled old man one could comprehend. But there was this aura as soon as Jacob looked at him, like this really weird feeling that this guy is not only important but demanded to be important and showed the part. God, this guy felt like the most intimidating character in a movie, how the hell is he here?
Was he really a health inspector? Or maybe the boss of his boss? He didn’t seem the type now as Jacob was looking at him. God, when did it get hotter right now? This guy looked like he was mafia, the mob even. What kind of guy like this comes into a cafe? He had little marks on his face also, they were so faint, but Jacob could see lighter bits where they went against the wrinkles and age in him. Little scars. From a fight maybe? Jacob looked away, he had been staring for too long, too long to judge a guy for coming in as a customer.
The man raised an eyebrow, as Jay elbowed his side.
“H-hi,” Jacob stumbled before swallowing. “Hi, sir.”
The man stared at him for a moment before pulling his lips back into a tight-lipped smile. It looked… so unnatural like he was trying to level with the other. The crow's feet around his eyes and the wrinkles in his face ceased even more, as the scars deepened a little. It looked so unnatural. “Hi.”
That pulled expression quickly went away as Jacob tried to recollect himself. He didn’t realize he was gripping the register so hard on the end facing him. “Hi- sorry, I already said that. I’m s-sorry sir, what would you like-?”
“Is your boss in today?” He asked instead. “I didn’t see her when I came in.”
Jacob nearly paled again. He had no clue where Robin was, oh god, this is the health inspector, oh god he just started working, he didn’t see any bugs at all, he can’t remember if there were any, you know sometimes plants bring in bugs, are there any bugs in the scones, but that can’t be that can’t be oh man oh man—
“Actually, uh, she’s on her break right now,” Jay piped up. The man turned to her as Jacob stood frozen, staring out the cafe doors and into the space between every little thing. He could see the stars and Jack Kirby’s dots dancing in his vision. “She’s sitting at one of the tables in the back if you want to talk with her.”
The man shifted and glanced probably around the corner of the front, where said booths and tables were back there. His eyes then snapped back to the both of them. “I would like one black coffee.”
“Here I got this one,” Jay said to Jacob, pushing him aside as he leaned against the counter behind them as she typed in his order. A single black coffee. Of course, he seemed to just have that, as all the other customers get special drinks or make it more complex. Just one black coffee. For one tall guy in full black.
She was just going to tell him the total when the man stopped her with a hand. He then looked down at the desserts underneath the counter, leaning on a cane Jacob had just now seen, to look at the quarter-curved dome display of treats and platters of assorted delectables. His eyes traced over every one of them, each one earning a scorn of judgment under his gaze. Jacob felt his heart stop when he pointed to the caramel and chocolate chip scones, a few taken.
“Who made these?” He asked as a knuckle was pressed into the glass.
Not a what are these made out of? NOT A ARE THESE GLUTEN-FREE? NOT EVEN ARE THESE HELPFUL TO AN OLDER GUY LIKE ME?
JUST WHO MADE THESE?
Jay smiled and said “our boss made them, like all the other foods as they were prepared this morning. They’re pretty new but they’re pretty tasty. You can get them as is or with a drizzle if you like.”
Jacob can see the man consider, or else he puts all his burning gaze into the small scones like they are something of rocks under his feet. He stands back up, straighter now, and says “I’ll take one with my coffee. That’ll be all.”
Jay quickly typed that up as Jacob scratches the back of his neck to release some of the heat built up back there. He heard the glass door slide open and he figured he might as well brew and make the coffee. He turned around and set his hands on doing that real quick.
“Here, I can do that, you’re about to leave anyways,” Jay said, reaching over to help before whispering under her breath. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I just need some water,” Jacob said, backing up. “I’m just going to stay in the back for a minute.”
“Ok, don’t pass out on me, dude,” she called after him.
He went to the sink in the back and filled up a cup of water. He took a sip and tried to collect himself, rubbing his eyes to get the dizziness out of them. Don’t fucking pass out at work, don't do it. He inhaled sharply and took his hat off, trying to think of cooler things. Jacob didn’t know why that guy scared him so bad, he was just standing there! Very tall, and very sharp and very…ahhh.
Jacob shook his head and sighed, carefully caressing his cup like it was hot as he just focused on sipping it right now. He looked up, however, and saw Jay and another barista through the other door of the kitchen, where the extra machines and where you can pick up your order were standing. They were standing there for a while longer and leaning over the counter to glance at something, something in the back. Jacob squinted and headed out to see what was going on.
“What are you guys looking at?” Jacob said as he came over to Jay and another co-worker gathered at the back of the connected countertop. The whole front of the cafe’s countertop upfront also connected to the side and stopped at the back end, just before you could see any of the booths and tables in the back. The two baristas here were practically pressed against the corner and a bit of the side, peeking around the corner.
Jay whipped her head around and motioned him to come over, asking “you ok, man?”
“Yeah, I’m alright. What are you guys doing?”
“Oh, noth–”
“Spying on our boss,” the other barista said. They whipped around and back to looking over. “She and that guy are sitting and chatting right now.”
“Uh, ok? Why are we spying on our boss?”
“Ok, so, you know that guy I warned you about? Apparently, she’s been talking with him and whatnot, or like we think has a big crush on him, and we’re just seeing what’s going down between them. We’ve never seen him before until like a few months ago and every time we mention him to her, she gets all excited and goes up front to talk with him,” Jay explained. “They’re like total opposites in looks but somehow she likes him.”
“And then Robin objects to it,” the other barista snickers. “Says he’s just a friend.”
Jacob peeked over with the other two and saw that man from before sitting with his boss at a table, not so much hidden but one that sat just away at first glance. They both were sitting across from each other, Robin seeming to fit perfectly at the table, the man not so much, as his legs were poking out/ having to bend them in from under the table. He had his cane resting along the table's side. He also seemed big for the table, but he sat at ease as Robin talked and led the conversation. She was talking about something as the man listened and nodded, reaching over to sip his coffee occasionally or letting her ask him a question and he’d answer. It was another strange sight, as she was dressed in a floral, billowy blouse and dress with a bee-patterned apron, while he was dressed in all black of a suit and slick back hair.
Jacob saw her hand touch his, for a brief moment and they both pulled away, not just her, but also him, as though the action was a shock to them both. She quips an apology with nervous laughter as he waves his hands at her, telling her it was alright.
“Aww,” Jacob uttered. It was strange, but slowly things seem to be coming together in a way.
“Oh my gosh, that was the fifth hand touch this session,” the other barista said. “Just hold hands already, come on.”
As if by magic then, the man reaches out and offers his hand. She takes it and rubs a thumb over his large palm, smiling contently at him. He smiles too, this moment being shared between the two of them.
“Oh my gosh.”
“That is so cute.”
“Finally.”
They watch still as Robin then points to the little bag between them, the scone. Jacob pales as he sees her talk and points at it again, probably saying that they had made them just this morning and that probably he should try it.
The man pulls it out as he talks, probably saying that he wanted to try it or something else, they can't hear them from where they're standing.
She beams, her eyes lighting up and posture straightening up as he looks at it in his hand. She's probably saying that she made it with care. Probably saying that she and a new worker made it as well…Gosh, Jacob can’t really think about disappointing right now.
He steps back a bit as he watches the guy eat it, then chew on it and let it simmer. Jacob can only imagine the chips are now bugs and that the whole scone is made with foam and grease tar, not soft dough and caramel and chocolate wonders. The cookie and coffee in him feel sour now.
But then the man slowly nods, and Jacob can imagine a hum coming out of him, as he looks approvingly toward Robin. He says something now, and Robin nods, listening intently. She speaks, probably telling him more about the dessert or other ones he can try if he’d like with his plain coffee.
Jacob can relax now. He can leave knowing he did something right, he can only guess.
“I don’t think they’ll be doing anything else than that,” Jay muttered. She turns to Jacob. “They just come in, hang out, and it’s mostly just this all day. Or however long their breaks are.”
“What does he work as? I thought that…I don’t know, he was a health inspector for here,” Jacob spoke.
“HA!” The other barista laughed a little too loudly. They all stopped and backed up, fearing that the pair could notice the three of them peeking at them. A beat of silence passed and the barista said “if that guy was our health inspector, I’d leave. No, I think he just does like a paper business.”
“Paper business?” Jay mocked.
“Ok, businessman stuff, I don’t know. Robin said it one time and I forgot. But he is not a health inspector.”
The sound of footsteps started and became louder, and the three quickly turned around to act like they were working, save for Jacob, who still had his hat off and drank his cup of water but still acted to be turned away. Robin walked by and spotted Jacob, coming to the counter and saying “Hey Jacob!”
“Yeah?” he said, turning around.
“Are you doing alright?”
“Yeah, I’m–I’m fine. I was just getting some water and I’ll head out soon.”
“Ok! Also, those scones we made? So good, they tasted so stinking good! Well, I hope you had a good shift today and drive safely! I’ll see you tomorrow!” She smiled before walking by and going to the front of the cafe, presumably to go back to work. “Oh-Oh, also, we’re going to be baking muffins tomorrow!”
“Ok!” Jacob called back, before mulling over his cup of water now. He needed to leave, why was he still here?
He swallowed and peeked back over with the other two at the man sitting alone now. He just sat there looking out the window beside him at the trees, as he absentmindedly sipped his coffee and ate the last bit of his scone. It made Jacob feel better that he heard the scones tasted good, as this strange and mysterious man was eating said sweet.
They watched him a little longer than one could wish, right as he was looking down at the table at something in front of him.
Then he stopped and looked forward slowly, jaw flexing in either swallowing the last bit of scone or setting it right in alignment.
Then he snapped his head straight at the three young workers looking at him from across, disdain written across his face.
The hilarious and frightening actions the three had reacted with were all separate and in genuine fight or flight fear that was inflicted; the other barista ducked down and bumped their head, Jay leaned back and ran into the kitchen behind her and Jacob yelped and twirled away to escape, nearly running into another barista next to him.
He apologized, getting a look and needing to get up and leave right now. He went to the back and got his stuff together; his coat, and his bag, before heading out right then and there. He stops and gets a dessert for his Mom and little sister, just some muffins real quick. He walks out finally, bell dinging behind him. The cold air has never been more refreshing, as well as the sound of construction and the wind in the trees happening currently.
He gets to his car and opens the back seat to lay his bag in, and turns around to close the door, when he abruptly meets the other driver of the car parked next to him.
The guy.
The guy that he and two other co-workers just spotted not too long ago sitting in the back with their boss.
The guy that is nearly going to give Jacob an aneurysm.
The guy that Jacob now realized is looking at his car door that is a little too close to his car.
“'m Sorry,” Jacob muttered, thankful his car door wasn’t hitting the other car entirely as he carefully closed it. Even now, he realized how terrible of a parking job he made and just wanted to get into this car and run it right out of the parking lot so he can go sleep at home.
The man looked over at the side that could’ve been hit, before heading to the driver's side of his surprisingly small car.
“Drive home safely,” the man called out as he swiftly got into his car, pulling up his cane to lay aside.
“You too, sir,” Jacob said, sitting then in his car and letting the other exit first. The man shook his head no and allowed the other to leave first. Jacob then quickly turned over his car and gunned it a little too sharply, before driving up and out of the parking lot. He hoped that the guy wasn’t behind him, and headed straight home just down the road.
Jacob let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and rolled down the windows to let the cold air in as he drove down his neighborhood. He glanced back to see if the guy was following him, and saw nothing as he went down a few winds of the neighborhood streets to where his house was. He parked his car in the street, and got out, getting his bag and going inside.
He got through the door and sighed, kicking off his shoes and shaking himself free from the built-up nerves in him.
“Hi honey!” his mom called. “How was work?”
“It was good!” he called back. “I got you and Maggie some muffins.”
His mom came out of her office and gasped. “Ooo, muffins! Thanks, Jake. Are you heading to bed now?”
“Yeah, I’m tired,” he chuckled, the irony of it all hitting him.
“Alright, get to bed young man, no crankiness out of you,” she grinned.
He nodded and shrugged off his coat, before heading to his room and throwing his bag into the corner. He landed on his bed, not minding his work clothes and letting out a big sigh at the same time his bed sighed also from his weight.
He pulled out his phone and texted his friend, asking:
“dude dude you up?”
A few minutes pass and the sound of a reply came:
“What’s up?”
“ you didn't fucking tell me that
kingpin comes into the cafe”
“LIKE WHO THE
FUCK IS HE??? 😭”
😭😭