Part 2 of 6

Monday, November 19.

I currently hate Jenkins for putting me on the bright and early Monday shift. I had to be here at 5am and the business was not slowing down much with the morning rush. Jenkins had given me this envelope with the Monday Riddle written on the top to write on the chalkboard. Whoever gets the answer right gets a free small peppermint hot chocolate today. I wrote the message all pretty with swirls.

If there are 4 apples and you take away 3, how many do you have?

I have Jerry at the cash register taking orders as I make the drinks that keep adding up. I just have thirty minutes left of work and this so called critic Jenkins spoke of hasn’t really made much of an effort to be here yet. Unless he’s undercover and I missed him but it’s probably because I’m so busy. Either way, he got a great tasting pumpkin spice. November is the season with more pumpkin drinks. Gerald, one of our other co-workers, is over on the espresso side of the store swamped with coffee orders like us but sends them out faster. Our coffee shop, StarTwix, is separated into three sections: the Bakery line, the Espresso line, and the Twix line, which is where I work. It has a fourth section but it’s just the customer’s seating area.

The door chimed as another customer walked in, my back turned to the door as I was topping off another pumpkin spice latte. I read the label once before placing it on the pick-up table.

“Pumpkin spice latte for Francis.” I turned back to my work starting on the next pumpkin spice cup. This one for someone named Abby. I placed the finished drink on the table announcing whose drink and starting the process over again.

Jerry tapped on my shoulder as I put the fourth pumpkin spice latte out.

“Why don’t I make these and you take over the cash register. You look like you could use a break from the drinks.”

“Thanks.” I headed to the register as Jerry started on the fifth latte. 

“What can I get you?” I asked to the man in a suit.

“I’ll get a medium pumpkin spice latte,” he said wallet in hand.

I wrote his order on a cup. “And your name?”

“Carlton.”

I passed the cup to Jerry’s stack before I tapped in the order. 

“That’ll be $4.78.” The man handed me a five dollar bill and I handed him his change and receipt. He walked away and the next customer came up, this time a girl. I did the same routine over a bit thankful for a change of scenery. I did her order and grabbed a cup for the next person in line.

“What can I get you?” I asked not looking up from the cup in my hand.

“Three,” the customer said.

“Three what?” I asked and looked up. It was the guy that bumped into me on Saturday, only he’s wearing black rimmed glasses.

“Three apples, it’s the answer to the Monday Riddle,” he responded pointing towards the chalkboard that I wrote on earlier this morning. I slid the little envelope out from under the corner of the cash register. I pulled out the paper and there showed the answer three.

“Looks like you’re right. I guess you get today’s free drink.” I put the envelope back and looked up to see him smirking. “A small peppermint hot cocoa coming right up.” I wrote the letters PHC on the bottom square.

“Make it a soy,” he responded and I added an S above it.

“You know that costs extra.” He just simply nodded. “And your name?”

“Dexter.” I wrote his name plus ‘hi’. I set his cup down near the other stacks before getting his order in on the register.

“That’ll be 75 cents, Dexter.” A small smile danced its way onto my face. He handed me a card decorated with fall leaves on it and I swiped it before handing him the card and receipt back. “Hey Jerry. Wanna switch back?”

He was placing a drink on the table, probably already bored of making four drinks.

“Yeah. Pumpkin spice for Tiffany.” We switched and I got to work on Dexter’s soy hot chocolate. I topped it with just a tad extra chocolate chips before placing the lid on it.

“Dexter.” He came up to the counter. “One free peppermint hot chocolate with soy.” I smiled lightly as I passed him the StarTwix drink. He smiled back saying thanks. “By the way, I think fate decided.”

I turned back to my work hoping he saw the ‘hi’ by his name. I made a few other pumpkin spice lattes before checking the clock. The tiny coffee shop only having four people seated, none of them Dexter.

7:57 am. My shift is over. I placed the cup for a Kelly on the table and made a free drink for me. This time a peppermint hot chocolate. I set my finished drink where Jerry could see it, my name written on the side as an extra precaution before heading to the backroom for my things. I clocked out and had my drink in hand as I stepped into the cold air.  

When I took a sip of my drink, I felt something brush my hand from between the sleeve and the cup. A thin piece of paper was stuck in the sleeve.

Matty’s got a crush!

I smiled at Jerry’s note and kept walking towards my bike. Maybe I should take the Monday shift more often.