Chapter Text
After his shift at the local florist, Cody was fast out the door to grab a spot in line at the first Average Joe location in Canada. Thankfully, the line didn’t go all the way to the end of the street. Cody had heard tales of this chain - once exclusive to only Americans - and the man behind the chain, Dewey Pasternak.
Cody was in the door, surprisingly, with some room to walk around. It looked like he missed the hefty rush, as there were employees cleaning up after customers nearly tore the place apart. He let the workers get their bearings again while he looked around at the artwork and a sign by the door.
“Who the fuck is Dewey Pasternak exactly?” Cody asked, hushed.
Ah, well. Nothing like reading up on the chain’s history to kill time, right? There was no way in hell Cody knew what to order, since this was no multimillion dollar coffee chain. There were unfathomable items on the menu, including some lemon madeleines one of Cody’s coworkers brought in on their break.
“What do I want?” Cody scratched his head and looked at the boards that were hung from the wall. It would take some time, bless his indecisive heart.
After some time, Cody walked up to the counter, greeted by a man who wanted nothing more than to be done with the whole “grand opening” bullshit. The employee - Noah - wore a smile, but Cody could see in his eyes that he wanted the day to be over. Typical people pleaser Cody looked up at the menu again, jumbling his words before being able to place an order.
“Hey, it’s fine,” Noah said nonchalantly. “Just be glad you came in after the storm.”
“Well, I was working all day,” Cody chuckled. “I’m working at the florist about a block and a half away from here and I just finished.”
Noah nodded. “Mm-hmm. Know what you want yet?”
“Yes.” The confidence came back to Cody. “I’ll try the hot caramel latte, but could you put extra caramel sauce on the whipped cream?”
Mindlessly, Noah punched the order into the system, still struggling to find where every item was located on the screen. But hey, he was relieved Cody didn’t mind. Noah couldn’t help but notice Cody wandering over to the plaque he was reading earlier.
“Sir?” Noah called. “Can I grab a name for the order?”
“Oh, sorry,” Cody laughed. “My name’s Cody. C-O-D-Y.”
“Alright, I’ll let you know when that’s done.”
Cody wandered off back to read the plaque on the wall by the entrance. No matter where he was, whether that be a park or a museum, he had to stop and read everything.
“Cody, caramel latte?” Noah set the drink down on the counter, which sent Cody running over.
“Thanks,” Cody exclaimed.
“Oh, by the way, these lemon madeleines are gonna go bad soon. You want them on the house?”
Noah pulled out a tray of madeleines from the glass counter and set them down. Nothing was getting in the way of Cody’s sweet tooth. He nodded as Noah put the treats into a to-go box.
After Cody took his drink and the box, he began to walk to the door. Noah called out to him, stopping Cody in his tracks at the exit. Still like a statue, Cody waited for Noah, who was clocking out for the day. He threw his apron onto the counter and jumped over the register.
“I couldn’t help but notice you wanted to read that plaque on the door?” Noah stood by Cody’s side and looked up.
Cody nodded and finally got around to reading past the first word. Noah took his glasses out of his case, being a huge history nerd, and stayed by Cody’s side the whole time.
Average Joe got its start in Dover, Delaware, with the doors opening on June 10th, 2017. The company, founded by Dewey Pasternak, has since opened up locations all across North America. Right here in Surrey, British Columbia, is Average Joe’s first Canadian location.
Fifteen years after Dover’s doors opened, ownership of the company’s starting location has been passed on to Delaware native Taylor Flowers, who had been working for Average Joe since 2018, taking a management position in 2021. She currently runs the company with her husband, Asher Flowers (né O’Leary), who had been with Average Joe since 2023.
Cody snickered and covered his mouth. Noah stopped reading to look over at Cody, wondering what the hell was so funny. He lowered his glasses to the tip of his nose.
“Cody?”
“Sorry.” Cody stopped laughing, but couldn’t stop smiling. “Flowers. I work at a flower shop.”
Crickets.
“No? Oh, okay.”
Just Cody’s awkward personality was enough to get a grin from Noah. His failed attempt to crack a joke was what got to him the most. All the two could do was wave goodbye before walking away to go to their cars.
The next day, Noah was back at work. He stared at the door with whatever free time he had in hopes he’d get to see Cody again. However, working at a florist must’ve been too draining for him to even head to Average Joe for a lunch break. Noah looked at his watch, eager to go on his lunch break.
“Noah, feel free to take your lunch.” His boss emerged from the back, offering to take over on cash until another employee came in for their shift as well.
Before clocking out for his break, Noah kept the caramel latte Cody ordered yesterday in the back of his mind. He took out his wallet and - with his employee discount - ordered a caramel latte with extra caramel sauce on the whipped cream.
Noah walked the extra block and a half until he stopped in front of a florist called Mae’s. There was no other florist a block and a half away from the café. The door opened with a woman walking out, two hanging baskets in her arms. Noah ran through the door to get inside and saw Cody at the counter.
“Hey, Noah.” Cody waved to him and closed a folder of online orders that had been printed off. “What brings you here?”
“Well, I went on my break,” said Noah. “But, I figured you could use a pick-me-up.”
He put the hot cup down on the counter next to the debit machine. Cody’s eyes widened, tears slowly welling up. Noah felt guilty, but had no real reason to. Soon, Cody slammed his head on the counter, weeping softly.
“Holy crap, what’s the matter?” Noah put a hand on his shoulder, hoping he didn’t do anything wrong.
Cody stood up straight again, dragging his thumbs underneath his eyes. His face was red and a lump formed in his throat; it hurt to swallow. It took some time, but he managed to calm down. All Noah could do was wonder what had pushed Cody to this point.
“I’m sorry.” After a few deep breaths, Cody was able to speak clearly again. “I’ve had the worst day. It’s just me here today, and since I opened, I’ve fucked up three mobile orders and may or may not have sent someone to the hospital.”
Noah’s eyes widened. All he could do was offer comfort to Cody. He took his hand and pulled him out from behind the counter.
“Retail sucks,” Noah said, pulling Cody in for a hug. “No ifs, ands, or buts about it. For what it’s worth, I hope the drink helps. Did you put together all these bouquets yourself?”
Cody looked over at the display of marigolds by the checkout counter. Soon, Noah continued to point out more displays of daisies, sunflowers, and even some daffodils. Spring flowers were Cody’s specialty.
“I did,” said Cody. “You’re really liking the marigolds, aren’t you?”
Noah nodded. “I don’t like to tell people this, but I really like marigolds. Might be my favourite flower. You have a real knack for this, Cody.”
Similar to how Noah took note of Cody’s sweet tooth, Cody made a note of Noah’s cold exterior with a soft side hidden inside him somewhere. As soon as Noah left the florist to go back to work, Cody got an idea, writing it down on his hand before he had to close up shop for the day.
After hours, Cody locked the door behind him, hoping Noah hadn’t left Average Joe yet. Thankfully, he saw the same car Noah drove away in yesterday. Cody’s arms were filled with a special arrangement of marigolds for Noah. He pushed his back against the café door and walked in.
“Is Noah here?” Cody asked without looking away from the door.
“Cody?” Noah walked out from the back of the café and was shocked to see him with the flowers he was just talking about. “I’m here; about to clock out, actually. What the hell is this?”
Cody set the flower arrangement on a nearby table. “It was really nice of you to bring me a drink on your break. I just finished closing for the day, so I was hoping to at least catch you before you went home.”
Noah’s mouth hung like a dead trout. It had been a long time since someone as sweet as Cody did something that nice for him. Sticking out of the flowers was a card Cody wrote by hand.
Noah,
Your good deed is not going to go unnoticed. I’m just paying it forward!
Cody.
“Are you really paying it forward if you’re just returning the favour?” Noah chuckled.
“Well, you know what I mean.” Cody pulled out a chair and sat down, waiting for Noah to sit with him. Noah came out of the back, out of uniform, and with two hot cups in his hands. “What’s that?”
“Coffee,” said Noah. “I take a dark roast with one sugar.”
“Dude, are you good?” Cody laughed.
Noah shrugged and took a sip of coffee. So he could at least see Cody, he put the arrangement on the ground by his feet. If this was what working at a coffee chain’s first Canadian location was like, he didn’t think so much about the negatives and considered seeing Cody as a reward for getting through the shittiest of days.