Page 20 of In the Middle of No(ah)where
"That's an understatement. Tell you about it over lunch."
"Sounds good. See ya when you get here."
After hiding the food around the habitat, I head back into the barn to put my bucket away and fill out the daily food logs. Just then, my phone vibrates in my pocket.
Barrett:I need coffee. Stopping at Steamed.
Barrett: Want anything?
Me:Seriously?
Barrett never goes to Steamed because his ex-boyfriend used to work there, and it was nothing but drama. Another guy who thought real life was a reality TV show and took everything to an extreme.
Me:You must really need your coffee fix.
Barrett:Yep. IV drip. I'll just surprise you.
Me:Thanks.
The rest of the morning is uneventful. Barrett has been humming to himself all morning, even though I can tell he's stressed about the birth of the new calf. His office phone has been ringing off the hook, and he's been glued to his computer screen, banging away on his keyboard. That's why he gets paid the big bucks. I laugh because he doesn't get paid much more than I do, but he does more of the office work and less of the hands-on, day-to-day activities with the elephants.
Poking my head into his office, "You ready for me to kidnap you to lunch."
"God, yes. I won't even resist." He tells me while closing out multiple tabs on his computer.
"It can't be all that bad. You've been smiling like a fool all morning." I tease.
"I don't know, Marcus," he says while motioning me to shut the door. "He was just so perfect. Everything I would want in a little."
"The barista?" I ask to clarify.
"Yes. Caleb was so tiny and sweet. It's not common to see brown eyes paired with copper-red hair. They were just so soulful," he says with a dreamy facial expression.
"Dude. Take a step back. You barely know the guy. For starters, he may not be into age play or looking for a daddy." I pause when I see his facial expression drop. "I don't want to rain on your parade here, but I want you to keep perspective. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I know, man."
"Hey. Let's go to the pavilion and grab lunch. I need to be back on time because I'm helping erect the fence in the habitatso Kavi can have a bit of privacy for this birth away from the public eye." I tell him.
Elephant births look brutal because of the way they stomp around and throw dirt on the babies. It's natural, but to someone unfamiliar, it appears as though the herd is trying to harm the baby.
"That was a good call," he compliments me. It will be good for the public to witness this, but having that small bit of privacy will also not scar the children for life. He laughs.
"Thanks, man. Come on, let's go say hi to our calf."
10
Noah
Overall, I enjoy my time working at Steamed. The customers are great for the most part, except for the asshat that went off on Caleb this morning. Hanging out with Caleb while getting paid is the best part of working here. He's the best friend I always wanted, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. But… I'm twenty now, and I need to start thinking long-term. My parents' words from years ago ring in my head: 'What are you going to do with your life?'
I pull out my phone while I'm on break, sitting at the small bistro table in the back room. Clicking on the screen to wake up the device and seeing the background—an alien scene I had drawn the previous week—my heart aches. I wish I could do something with this. I let out a small laugh. How cliché. A starving artist who works in a coffee shop. I shake my head before pulling up the LEGO website. Some new space kits were just released this morning, and I want to check them out. I typically don't buy the kits and prefer to create my own masterpieces, but...hello, space stuff.
Slipping deeper into a middle mindset, I start scrolling through the site and already see a kit that I want. I enlarge the image of the astronaut and add it to my cart. This will be perfect on display in my room. I already have a few other limited-edition sets on my bookshelf.
"NoNo! NoNo! Are you busy tomorrow?" Caleb yells, bouncing into the backroom with excitement. Tomorrow? I have the day off and don't have much planned. Thoughts of touringthe aquarium again run through my mind, but seeking out Marcus is only setting me up for heartache.
"You know I can't deny you anything when you use that nickname," I tell him with a wide smile. He only calls me NoNo when he's hovering or deep into little space. "Where would you like me to take you?"
