Morning rain had kept Owen in bed longer than he intended. The rain’s rhythmic thrum on the roof, paired with the purring of his cat that insisted on sleeping on his chest, were incentive enough to doze in thirty to forty minute episodes all morning.
There were spells when he wasn’t in demand for business purposes, and then there were spells when he couldn’t get a moment alone. Having recently taken on a number of new projects, Owen found himself being pushed from a lull in to a busy period. And the frequency that his phone vibrated across the floor signaled the urgency that he take care of business.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, he had no internet service at his current residence: an abandoned old theatre. So that meant he would need to venture somewhere in town for free wifi service. He ignored the multiple unanswered texts, calls, and emails to make a quick Google search for a cafe or similar setting. Some place called Dolce seemed to have good enough reviews. One patron had confirmed free and reliable wifi.
Dolce. Sweetly.
Good enough for him.
“Time to get up asshole.” The insult was as much for himself as the cat that refused to budge from his chest. He shoved the animal aside in an almost loving way. The cat glared at him and definitely curled up again in the middle of the bed where the impression of Owen’s body remained.
Theatre cat didn’t have obligations. Owen did.
The rain had cleared enough to allow him to take his Harley. He kept the jeans on that he’d fallen asleep in and put on a clean t-shirt. The graphic depicted the evolution of man starting from a bent over ape progressing to a standing man and regressing back to a man bent over a piano. Some gag-gift shirt from his mother. He had dozens of them. He zipped his leather riding jacket over the shirt and laced up worn boots.
He arrived at the cafe just after a reasonable hour to begin eating lunch, though he himself was more interested in breakfast having just woke up. He shoved his messenger bag style laptop case around to his back and it thumped against his butt as he approached the counter to order from a teenage looking boy who greeted him when he walked in.
“‘Morning,” Owen set his helmet on the counter. “Or maybe, I guess, good afternoon? Quick question, is there wifi here?”
Harrison shrugged, he didn’t care what time of day the customer indicated it was. He’d heard the mistake and correction probably hundreds of times. He pointed silently at a chalkboard featuring ornate handwriting and doodles. Something straight off of Pinterest no doubt. It pictured new menu items and at the bottom the wifi information.
“So what can I get for you?” Harrison asked of the man now staring at the menu overhead.
“Um. What do you recommend?”
Again another customer interaction Harrison would love to avoid. The indecisive question asker type. The worst. “I like everything on the menu.” He responded noncommittally.
“Right.” Owen pursed his lips and frowned at the menu. “Americano, that’s a double shot, right?”
Harrison punched some numbers into the register. “Sure. Anything to eat with that?”
Owen hesitated, he hadn’t intended to order the Americano so much as clarify the drink. Some were a one-to-one some were a two-to-one and he couldn’t remember how to distinguish the difference. “I was just - I didn’t mean - ”
Harrison stared blankly back at the customer. He was so uninterested in charming customers and selling drinks. He just liked making them. The smiles and sales were best handled by his boss who was...who even knew where.
Eden meanwhile had rushed through the counter and to the back to find Julianna. It was better to let Harrison handle little tasks that didn’t involve much customer interaction. He was quickly botching this sale.
“Hey Jules, Harrison is going to scare this customer away if you don’t take over.”
There were spells when he wasn’t in demand for business purposes, and then there were spells when he couldn’t get a moment alone. Having recently taken on a number of new projects, Owen found himself being pushed from a lull in to a busy period. And the frequency that his phone vibrated across the floor signaled the urgency that he take care of business.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, he had no internet service at his current residence: an abandoned old theatre. So that meant he would need to venture somewhere in town for free wifi service. He ignored the multiple unanswered texts, calls, and emails to make a quick Google search for a cafe or similar setting. Some place called Dolce seemed to have good enough reviews. One patron had confirmed free and reliable wifi.
Dolce. Sweetly.
Good enough for him.
“Time to get up asshole.” The insult was as much for himself as the cat that refused to budge from his chest. He shoved the animal aside in an almost loving way. The cat glared at him and definitely curled up again in the middle of the bed where the impression of Owen’s body remained.
Theatre cat didn’t have obligations. Owen did.
The rain had cleared enough to allow him to take his Harley. He kept the jeans on that he’d fallen asleep in and put on a clean t-shirt. The graphic depicted the evolution of man starting from a bent over ape progressing to a standing man and regressing back to a man bent over a piano. Some gag-gift shirt from his mother. He had dozens of them. He zipped his leather riding jacket over the shirt and laced up worn boots.
He arrived at the cafe just after a reasonable hour to begin eating lunch, though he himself was more interested in breakfast having just woke up. He shoved his messenger bag style laptop case around to his back and it thumped against his butt as he approached the counter to order from a teenage looking boy who greeted him when he walked in.
“‘Morning,” Owen set his helmet on the counter. “Or maybe, I guess, good afternoon? Quick question, is there wifi here?”
Harrison shrugged, he didn’t care what time of day the customer indicated it was. He’d heard the mistake and correction probably hundreds of times. He pointed silently at a chalkboard featuring ornate handwriting and doodles. Something straight off of Pinterest no doubt. It pictured new menu items and at the bottom the wifi information.
“So what can I get for you?” Harrison asked of the man now staring at the menu overhead.
“Um. What do you recommend?”
Again another customer interaction Harrison would love to avoid. The indecisive question asker type. The worst. “I like everything on the menu.” He responded noncommittally.
“Right.” Owen pursed his lips and frowned at the menu. “Americano, that’s a double shot, right?”
Harrison punched some numbers into the register. “Sure. Anything to eat with that?”
Owen hesitated, he hadn’t intended to order the Americano so much as clarify the drink. Some were a one-to-one some were a two-to-one and he couldn’t remember how to distinguish the difference. “I was just - I didn’t mean - ”
Harrison stared blankly back at the customer. He was so uninterested in charming customers and selling drinks. He just liked making them. The smiles and sales were best handled by his boss who was...who even knew where.
Eden meanwhile had rushed through the counter and to the back to find Julianna. It was better to let Harrison handle little tasks that didn’t involve much customer interaction. He was quickly botching this sale.
“Hey Jules, Harrison is going to scare this customer away if you don’t take over.”
Bitch, I'm limited edition.
The following 1 user Likes saronym's post: megs
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »
Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 01:38 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 01:45 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 03:06 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 03:27 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 04:10 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 07:17 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 09:07 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-16-2017, 09:56 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-16-2017, 10:45 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 10:01 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 11:15 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 11:54 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 12:46 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 01:17 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 02:05 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 02:53 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-17-2017, 07:15 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-17-2017, 08:43 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-20-2017, 11:21 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 04-21-2017, 04:37 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 04-23-2017, 02:50 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-07-2017, 05:14 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-13-2017, 09:26 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-15-2017, 01:48 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-16-2017, 12:44 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-21-2017, 12:54 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-24-2017, 12:10 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 05-29-2017, 04:50 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 05-30-2017, 07:51 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 06-24-2017, 09:38 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 06-28-2017, 07:39 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 07-31-2017, 11:09 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 08-29-2017, 12:16 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 09-29-2017, 07:04 PM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by saronym - 12-01-2017, 01:17 AM
RE: Variations on a Theme [Closed] - by megs - 08-04-2019, 12:06 PM