The man continued smiling as he spoke. “You got me all figured out.”
She nodded as she looked down to the screen to ring him up. “As long as you don’t change it, I’ll remember.”
“I never change. You work every day, don’t you?”
She looked back up. “You’ve gotmeall figured out.”
The man grinned, a toothy smile made even brighter surrounded by his beard.
Andie said, “Just about every day. I’m new, but we’re short-staffed.”
“Must be tough.”
“Nah, I like it. Eleven sixty, please.”
The man pulled a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to her. As she began making change, he said, “If you don’t mind my saying, you look pretty young to be holding down a job.”
Andie was surprised by this. This man was the first person to say she looked too young to be working here.
She handed over his change. “I’m fifteen.”
“Is that right?”
“My mom is friends with the lady who owns the café, and she gave me a part-time job.”
The cowboy nodded, still not taking his eyes off her as he put all his change into a glass tip jar next to the register. He’d given the same gratuity every day, and she thanked him, as always.
“Thanks.”
“It’s great you’re getting some work experience at your age. It will make you stronger.” He quickly added, “Mentally tougher, I mean. Ready to take on the world.”
She looked at him quizzically now. Unsure how to respond, she just said, “I like it here.”
Andie stepped away, poured the man’s coffee and put his Danish on a plate, and then walked back to the counter where he stood. As she poured sugar into the coffee, she said, “You don’t need the Danish heated, right?”
“Right again.” The man took both items from her. “How’s school?”
She cocked her head a little. On his earlier visits here, this guy hadn’t been so chatty. “School?” she asked.
“Yeah. Having a good year?”
“I guess.” She shrugged. “It’s school…how good can it be?”
“I remember thinking the same thing. Just do your best. No one can expect more out of you than that.”
She chuckled. “Yeah? Tell my mom.”
The big man said nothing. His eyes were kind but simultaneously intense.
Andie’s boss stepped up next to her. With authority in her voice, she asked, “Do you have everything you need, sir?”
The bearded man looked away from the girl and towards the woman. “Yes, ma’am, this young lady has taken great care of me.”
“Is there anything else we can do for you today?”
Andie realized Ms. Cara was being protective, and she wasn’t trying to hide it.
The old cowboy smiled at Cara now. “Nothing else, ma’am.” He held up his pastry and his coffee. “Got what I need.” Looking back to Andie Delaney, he said, “Take care. Make it an outstanding day.”
