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Luke opened his mouth to greet his uncle when Eddie spoke. “We’ve got orders.”
How did Eddie know he was there? He hadn’t even turned around.
As if summoned by his thoughts, his uncle swiveled and pinned him with a hard stare. “Are you deaf? Go!”
Luke jumped into action and snatched the tickets pinned to the wheel near the kitchen. He memorized the orders and headed outside to the blenders where he filled them.
He made all the frozen drinks and waited tables, shipping orders to and from the kitchen. The room soon buzzed with the chatter of happy customers.
Luke worked in a slight daze. He was used to the lunch rush, but found himself getting orders mixed up and making rookie mistakes. Thankfully, he was able to rectify all the orders and finished out the hour with no major errors.
When the customers returned to their workplaces and the tables cleared, Luke cleaned up. The sunshine sparkled over the tables left with filthy napkins and soiled chopsticks.
He stacked the coffee mugs and empty plates on a tray and carried them to the kitchen where he tossed them into the sink.
The silence was heavy. Luke bent backwards as he tried to spy into the kitchen through the metal shelves separating the two rooms. Uncle Eddie was nowhere to be seen.
He eventually gave up and grabbed the nearest plate to start scrubbing. Something told him that seeking Uncle Eddie out before he was ready to talk would be a bad idea.
While he washed, Luke struggled to understand his uncle’s motivation for inviting him back to work.
Had he called him over because he hadn’t been able to find a replacement under such short notice? Would Luke be forced to work until Eddie hired some other guy?
Ashanti would be outraged to hear that he was working when he’d already been kicked out, but Luke didn’t mind. Even if it was just for a few more days, he wanted to linger in the café.
There was nothing he enjoyed more than brewing coffee. Luke had spent hours tinkering with the menu for both the drinks and the food.
Cooking was Uncle Eddie’s forte, but Luke wasn’t too shabby either. On his off time, he experimented with Caribbean and Chinese cuisine. It was more than a hobby. Creating fusion dishes honored the cultures that represented who he was.
His parents had been disappointed when Luke chose not to find a job at a fancy firm with the accounting degree they’d paid for.
He had been miserable, wondering if he’d have to work a nine to five office job for the rest of his life.
Uncle Eddie had been his hero. He stepped in and offered an opportunity to do what he loved, even if running the café meant putting in more hours.
No matter how things shaped out with his parents, Luke would repay his uncle in any way possible.
The kitchen door opened with a creak. Luke straightened and rinsed the plate he had just washed, stacking it in the drainer. His uncle’s footsteps echoed like Garifuna drums. His heart thudded in response.
Eddie cleared his throat. “Let’s talk.”
“Yes, sir.” Luke let the plate drop back into the soapy water and followed his uncle to a table in the middle of the room.
Eddie pointed. “Sit.”
Luke did.
Eddie waddled to the door and changed the sign from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’. Luke’s eyes widened. His uncle never closed the store during working hours.
Last year, Eddie fainted in the kitchen and had to be carted away in an ambulance. Even then, he clawed the oxygen mask off his face just to instruct Luke to stay at the café and take drink orders.
“What’s going on?” Luke whispered nervously. His gaze darted to his uncle’s hands. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?”
Uncle Eddie gave him a hard stare that said he was considering murder now. “Be quiet. Just listen.”
Luke clamped his lips shut and nodded.
“A long time ago, I was engaged to be married.”
