Page 2 of Taste Me Daddy

Korben sent the message and smiled. It was nice to know that his friend had found his Forever Daddy, even if that did mean that his and Louie had a little bit less time together.

Still, Korben didn’t have enough time to be standing around and pondering life’s questions. It was time to get his backpack on, put a big smile on his face, and head to work.

And if Louie happened to pass his favorite coffee shop on the way, well he might just have to make a quick pitstop there too…

Korben walked down the street toward Cute Cup, his favorite coffee spot in the whole city. The fact that Cute Cup was quite literally on his way to the workshop was an added bonus that Korben felt very grateful for – although his expenditure on coffee and cake was almost certainly a lot higher because of this fact, that was for sure.

As Korben walked into a bustling Cute Cup, he took a moment to breathe in the rich aroma of that morning’s freshly brewed coffee. The intoxicating smell of the coffee blends hit his instantly, and from that moment Korben knew that he had to place his order in double-quick time.

Fortunately for Korben, his favorite barista was working that day – and with Julian behind the counter, Korben knew that his coffee would come with the cutest, most exquisite coffee art in the world.

‘So… koala or tiger?’ Julian asked, his neatly parted hair and big smile looking as radiant and wholesome as ever.

‘Koala please!’ Korben replied, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be disappointed when Julian presented his koala based coffee art.

‘Korben, I love your hair by the way,’ Julian said, busily prepping the coffee machine for Korben’s fresh cup. ‘Did you get it cut?’

‘Yeah, I wanted to bring the choppy style back,’ Korben giggled, flicking his fingers against his freshly cut blonde hair. ‘I was always love changing the style up. Keeping it fresh, you know?’

‘I hear that,’ Julian giggled. ‘I love my parting, but if I could afford some of these salon prices, I might actually get it cut a bit wilder one day.’

The two friends giggled together.

Korben rarely spent money on himself. In part this was because Korben just didn’t care about material items or showing off about what he owned. As far as Korben was concerned, the best things in life were free.

Of course, there was also the reality that the business didn’t make enough money consistently for Korben to make any big purchases. Any money that Korben made typically had to be spent on living costs or ploughed back into the business. But this was a reality that Korben was happy to live with, certainly for the foreseeable future.

As long as Korben had enough money for his daily trip to Cute Cup, everything was golden.

‘Ooh, this is your best yet!’ Korben said, taking the koala-style coffee from Julian. ‘When’s the big barista competition? Next month?’

‘Yup,’ Julian said, a slightly apprehensive look on his face. ‘But it’s the nationals. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. There’ll be some baristas there who have been doing this for way longer than me. Like, seriously amazing people with ridiculous foaming skills.’

‘Hey, they’ve got nothing on you,’ Korben said, reaching out and bumping firsts with Julian. ‘I’ll make you a little box of personalized candies ready for when you go. You know, some perfectly sugary treats to keep you going all day.’

‘Perfect,’ Julian replied. ‘Catch you later, and don’t work too hard today.’

‘I’ll try,’ Korben said, rolling his eyes and grinning. ‘But you know me. When it comes to candy, I’ll going all in, all the time.’

Korben took his coffee and made his way toward the exit.

As Korben made his way toward the large double door, he couldn’t help but notice the amount of people in Cute Cup who were wearing smart suits, draped in flashy jewelry and expensive watches, and carrying what looked distinctly like legal documents.

Momentarily stopping in his tracks, Korben let out a sigh.

That could have been me.

Would I be happy though? Nope.

It’s just a shame not everyone in my life agrees…

As Korben walked out onto the street, he felt his heart droop a little at the thought of how unhappy his parents had been when he announced to them that he wouldn’t be taking up the offer from the corporate law firm after all. His parents had struggled to understand why the heck Korben would ditch a career in law for setting up something as frivolous seeming as a candy company.

Even now with his growing success, Korben could always sense that his mother and father quite simply didn’t approve of his choice. Korben wasn’t going to let his parents apparent lack of enthusiasm put his off chasing his dreams, but he really did wish that they could share in his optimism and passion for what he was doing.

‘I need to cheer up,’ Korben said, turning and arching his head back toward his backpack and Jazz’s face as he poked out the backpack’s top compartment. ‘Even if it was just you supporting Korben’s Kandies, Jazz, I’d make it work.’

Korben took a sip of his coffee and felt the autumnal flavored roast hit his tastebuds and the caffeine take a direct line to his brain too. With a renewed spring in his step, Korben began to walk the remaining couple of blocks toward his workshop.

---