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Me: Okay, yes. I’m in.
Even if finding a new spot forTurbinein three tries was wishful thinking, I can’t help being a little disappointed. Looks like I’ll be spending my afternoon on my laptop searching for new options.
I turn my key in the ignition, and my car shudders but doesn’t start.Oh shit.I do not have the energy for this today. I try again, holding the key longer this time, hoping it’ll magically start.What was the name of that mechanic again?This is not how I want to spend my day. I flip the key back and forward again, giving it one more try, and it actually works.Whew, false alarm.
When I get toTurbine, Marisol greets me from behind the counter. “I know just what you need!” She’s uncannily good at knowing what kind of drink someone ‘needs’ before they order.
In my experience, knowing your drink is like knowing your astrological sign or your Enneagram type. People wear ‘Nonfat latte, extra shot’ or ‘Iced mocha, no whip’ with pride, but I can never pick a favorite. It’s not fair to the drinks.
A moment after, I sit down on a barstool at the counter and pull out my laptop to start my search again, Marisol puts a small ceramic cup filled with a double shot of espresso on the counter in front of me. Okay, maybe notuncannilygood. I needsomething cold and refreshing that’ll solve all my problems, not something hot and intense. I take the first sip, making a conscious effort to shake off the morning and bring a smile to my face. My employees knowTurbinewill have to move, but they don’t need to share the weight of figuring it out.
A whirring sound comes from next door, and a look through the glass wall shows Luke and Cameron working on something below the eyeline of the bottom of the windows. Cameron is lanky with fair skin that barely shows through the tattoos that start on his hands, cover his arms, and run up his neck. Fire red hair crowns a head that manages to tower over Luke’s significant frame. They’re quite a pair.
The whirring gets louder. How is the loud part over there not finished yet? This is getting ridiculous. Closing my eyes, I take a long sip of espresso.This is fine.The whirring is accompanied by a bang.Totally fine.
Marisol reappears, smiling broadly. “Are you ready for the best part of your day?” she asks.
“Absolutely.”
She hands me an iced orange drink with carbonation bubbling from the bottom and cream slowly easing down from the top. “Peaches and cream Italian soda. It’s tart and playful, and I’ve never seen you drink one.” She points at the espresso I’ve just finished. “You needed caffeine first, though.”
I take the first sip and can’t help but giggle.Uncannily good at knowing what people need.Never should have doubted her. “Dammit, Marisol. You’re right. This is a good time.”
“I know.” she tsks at me before moving back to the register.
Cameron saves me the trouble of dealing with Luke by being the next customer in line. “What are you doing over there that’s so damn loud?” I ask him.
“Not sure if you noticed, but I’m not overthere,” he says, laughing at himself. “I’m over here, buying sandwiches.”
The whirring gets even louder, and I raise my open palms and jut my chin out to emphasize my point.
“It’s not me!” He shrugs his shoulders and points down his long body, to show that it is, in fact, not next door. “Take it up with Luke!”
When I look through the window again, Luke’s staring back at me and Cameron, his facial expression indecipherable. Though, I’m guessing it’s not an apology. Grabbing my new comfort drink, I hop down from my stool. “Iwilltake it up with Luke.”
When I enter his shop from the back parking lot, there’s a fine layer of dust in the air of his shop, and it smells like a parking garage. The whirring is coming from a machine with a t-shaped handle and a circular base that he’s pushing across the floor. Without the barrier of the windows to dull the sound, it’s more of an intense scratching sound.Lovely.
He continues pushing the irritating machine, not acknowledging me. Between the whirring and the ear protection, he can’t hear me, but I know he saw me walking over here. Hell, I’m sure he can see me in his periphery right now.
I am not interested in being ignored, so I move to block his path, checking the floor first because I am also not interested in being thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes again. No rusty nails this time, just a thin layer of water that squelches with each of my steps.
He doesn’t slow down, even though I’m in his direct line of sight. So, we’re playing some kind of weird game of chicken?Fine.I plant my feet and put the hand not holding my drink on my hip, daring him to find out what would happen if he ran into me. Right when he’s about to, the noise pitters out, and the base of the machine stops spinning only an inch from my feet. Hetakes off his ear protection, looking at me with a mix of irritation and a smirk of amusement.
“People are trying to enjoy their coffees over there,” I say to him, keeping one hand on my hip and pointing through the window with my drink.
Luke holds my gaze for a moment before looking over his shoulder at my shop. “It looks like they’re succeeding, sweetheart.” My cheeks flame with indignation. He only calls me that because he knows I hate it.Fucker.
“Of course, they’re fine now, jackass. You turned it off.”
He smirks. “I should be done in an hour.”
“You can’t do this during business hours. We close at five. You can pick it up then.”
“I’ll finish sooner if you get out of my way.”
He starts to put his ear protection back on, but I’m not done. “No. I have a right to peace and quiet. You can’t impede my business.”
He points through the windowed wall at the people enjoying their coffees. “I’m not impeding your business.”
