Page 111 of Daily Grind
That was something, at least.Do you want me to swing by Saturday?
God yes. I miss you so much.
Rob’s spine and chest ached and it took a moment to catch his breath.As do I.
BTW, I’m training Beth on closing. Gonna start rotating her in.
Oh thank God. About bloody time.That’s good!
Thought you’d want to know.
Brian’s way of saying he was trying to improve things. Rob leaned back in his chair. Maybe he was worrying about the relationship for naught. Seemed Brian was getting his shit together.
Thank you, I do, yes.
So I’ll see you Saturday?
Oh yes. Just like old times.
Hopefully, it would be. Rob put down his phone and eyed his cold coffee. In the end, he drank it. Bitter penance for doubting Brian.
On Saturday, he could get a decent cup of brew.
* * *
So far everythingthat could have possibly gone wrong for Brian on a lazy Saturday morning had. First, upon opening, he’d found an entire gallon of milk had been left out overnight. He’d let Beth run through the closing procedure and when she’d finished—everything hadlookedfine, but he hadn’t checked behind the counter—and there the milk was, all nice and warm on a shelf and not in the fridge.
He dumped the whole thing down the drain. He had enough, but what a waste. It also meant Beth needed more training on closing procedures, which left him holding too many shifts. Again. Still.
The order of brownies that should have arrived from the local organic bakerydidn’t, so now there was a nice hole in the pastry display. His most popular item, too. Then Lamont had called in sick, leaving him the sole person manning the shop.
To add even moreexcitement, Jan, Ev, and Dan had been goofing off and had managed to topple their drinks all over their table and the floor—and onto the college professor next to them, the one who always came in to grade papers.
The professor was a gentleman and only mildly admonished them. His jacket had taken a beating—but not any of his paperwork or books, so he was fine.
Ev hadn’t been quite as lucky—Ev’s sketchbook was now a soggy mess and zie looked about ready to cry.
Hadn’t helped that Brian had snapped at them, his voice echoing through the shop. “Goddamn it! Don’t you three have something better to do?”
He’d regretted that outburst immediately. Several customers left and all three kids looked crestfallen.
He’d cleaned the mess up, with their help. “I didn’t mean to yell like that. I’m sorry.”
They’d mumbled some words, Ev had tucked the notebook in a plastic bag, and they’d all slinked out of the shop, leaving the place uncomfortably silent in their wake.
The professor had packed up not too long after.
Fucking hell. Alienating his customer base. What a way to start the weekend. He rubbed his temple.
Of course, it was also the day to work on payroll, the ordering, and the schedule. God, he didn’t want to look at any of that.
Even the thought of Rob coming in didn’t quell his frustration—or fear. He should cancel—too much work to do. If Lamont were here, he could concentrate on the ordering. But flying solo—he had only bits and moments to figure out how to make all the numbers he needed to match to, well, match.
As soon as Rob arrived, he’d expect Brian’s attention. A coffee. Chitchat. Everything he didn’t havetimefor.
Brian closed his eyes for a second to keep the tears of frustration in, then went back to washing mugs.
His skin itched for Rob’s touch. The way he made Brian’s worries vanish—at least for a time. He missed their talks and rides and—everything. Lately when they saw each other, they more or less fucked and slept.
