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Steam hit Palos’ nose, covering his face with a layer of moisture. He stared down at the distorted reflection at the bottom of the thick, black liquid, its surface rippling when he tapped his thumb to the side of the cup.
“Are you going to finish your break and get back to work or will you keep wistfully staring away at your coffee?” If Palos had no regard for his job he would have thrown the cup at Ray’s face. It would’ve been enjoyable to see that pissed off look drenched in the boiling beverage.
However, he just chuckled and took a sip, letting the painfully hot, bitter taste of plain ole’ black coffee resonate until the liquid burned down his throat. “Give me a moment, Bezos.” He stood with his hips resting against the counter, facing the windows where rain lapped heavy on the glass, causing the outside world to be faded and nonsensical. Palos was so familiar with the view of the street and the opposite establishments, yet just then it felt like such a distant blurry memory. There was only the evening rain.
It wasn’t really a break; he still kept watch for any customers and would be expected to abandon his coffee to serve them, but it was pleasant to have that refreshing sharp heat on his lips. Sleep restlessly tugged at him, and the terrible taste of plain coffee brought him back to a state where he could function on 2 hours of sleep.
Tonight, it was just him, Ray, and Camil. Camil didn’t have to be there. They could perfectly well run a typically slow Thursday evening with two people, but the kid stuck to his brother. Ray and Camil simultaneously seemed so inseparable yet so distant. Palos knew that they’d faced drastically different childhoods; however, he knew not to pry into such sensitive topics with Ray, so he didn’t know much.
It was while he took the second sip that the bell for the door rang, and after setting down his cup, he saw a fairly tall man in a large, baggy white jacket (or perhaps he just had broad shoulders?) with what had to be the longest ponytail he had seen on anyone.
After a yawn that earned a glare from his boss, he left his spot to go to the register, where the blonde fellow waited. The first thing that came to mind is how the hell he kept his hair dry with only a hood, and the second was the dumbass smile. “Good evening, what do you want to order?” Palos asked, direct as he usually was despite how Anmi would tell him to give his words more eloquence.
“Do you have anything with meat?” Apparently he hadn’t bothered to look at the menu. He wasn’t the first.
“We have sandwiches, soup, and kebabs.”
“Kebabs?”
“Yes we have mixes with fruit, chicken, be—“
“I’ll have a sandwich. Double the meat.”
Palos put it into the computer, deciding not to charge extra. When he looked back up, the Blonde’s goofy disposition hadn’t changed one bit. He just smiled down at him. If the man had a tail Palos could very vividly imagine it wagging. “Uh, anything else?”
“Could I have the…” He squinted at the menu above, “Gal-ah-oh?”
“Galão?” The silver haired server inquired. Obviously this guy didn’t seem familiar with ordering coffee, but it wasn’t like galão was going to be in most cafés. Ray leaned towards the obscure, which was why kebabs were one of their signature items. It was sort of peculiar though, that this dude would order something that was out of the norm, when it didn’t even seem like he had ever had the norm to begin with. Well, it wouldn’t be Palos’ fault when he didn’t like coffee because it was too milky—or something like that.
The man nodded quickly and jovially, hands shoved in the pockets of his dripping jacket. Palos wondered how expensive that was. He wasn’t one to know brands, but he could tell just from the quality that it was at least fifty bucks—not something he’d find at Goodwill.
“That’ll be 9.35.” After taking the cash and returning the change, he motioned to the various seats around the desolate room. “Sit anywhere you want, I’ll bring your food out.”
It wasn’t until Palos had the tall galão and sandwich in his hands that he realized where the guy sat: at the largest table they had. He already felt bad for Camil, who would be charged with cleaning the whole six person table.
“Here you go..” He mustered a smile, setting down the order. When he looked to the customer, he was looking up at him, chin resting in his palm as he had that same dumbass look of joy.
“Thanks!” And then the guy just chowed down on his sandwich like it was nothing, like he hadn’t just looked at Palos with puppy eyes that could compete with a real puppy. It made Palos want to rip out his intestines the way they squirmed. He turned away, hoping to leave the feeling behind and then—“Hey, Palos!”
He swerved back around, and his customer service look was gone. “Wh—how do you know my name..?”
Then, the blonde just so casually pointed to Palos’ chest, “it’shon yur name tag,” spoken with a mouth half full of tomato, bread, and extra meat. After he swallowed his food, he attempted language once more: “I’m Pelley!” An offering of a pearly, sharp-toothed grin.
Palos was tired, confused, and taken aback. Did he want to talk or something? He wouldn’t deny that he found the man sort of endearing on a surface level, but he was exhausted and it was almost time to close. “Cool.” He pressed his lips together. “Enjoy your meal.” Then, Palos turned and went behind the counter, hoping his bluntness had given him the message.
It had enough that Pelley didn’t bother to say anything more to him, but when Palos was back to drinking coffee, glancing at the customer, his stomach dropped. He was still so weirdly happy while he drank the mix of espresso and hot, foamed milk. Palos could see the wonder in his eyes, and it brought some strange bitter feeling into his blood.
He turned, poured his coffee into the sink, and stood next to Ray, who had been watching intently while he leaned against the door to the kitchen. “I’m going to take care of the kitchen, excuse me.” When he tried to slip past his boss, however, he didn’t budge.
“Camil will take care of it. We still have a customer.” Of course, that didn’t stick well with the barista, and he let it show through his scowl. Ray sighed. “You can start packing up the counter.”
That was a better answer. That way he wouldn’t have to stare at their one lone customer. Though, it was still perfectly possible for him to simply glance over and spot those unbearably white teeth. Once when he looked up, the guy was gulping down his coffee like a penguin to fish. Palos scrubbed at the counter a little harder at that. Of course a dude like that couldn’t take the time to appreciate his craft.
After a few minutes of wiping away dust, sweeping, and locking up cabinets, there was a cough from the outside of the counter. Palos hadn’t noticed that Pelley was standing at the register again. The silver haired barista sighed and walked over, hoping that he wouldn’t try to engage in some kind of pathetic conversation. “What do you need?”
“Could I have another one of those..uh..Galos..?” He spoke, and it seemed like he was trying to pronounce it right, but he didn’t quite hit the mark. It was an attempt, and a pathetically endearing one at that. “To go.”
Palos nodded, rang him up, and when he came back with the coffee, the blonde was leaning on the counter on his elbows. The smile wasn’t as strong, yet the brightness lingered and shifted into something else. Its softness bit and tugged at his stomach until he felt like he was going to puke. It was sickening. “Have a good night.” Palos clenched his teeth.
“You too!” Pelley waved enthusiastically, lighting up at the half-hearted goodbye—if there was any heart in it at all.