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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:23 pm
It was lunch time, and Lonnie was having a hard time focusing on his editing today, so he had decided to go back to the coffee shop to get his green tea a few days ahead of schedule, though the line was almost out the door, which led him to a bakery about a block away. He wasn’t normally in the mood for sweets, but the online menu said that they had drinks as well as the pastries, so. Here he was, opening the door and pausing as a very pleasant smell of sugar and bread assaulted his nose.
Hm. Maybe he would grab something to eat after all.
Moving to the counter, Lonnie looked at all of the offerings and nodded to himself. There was an egg tart that seemed as though it were calling his name…and if they had green tea…that would make all of this worth it and would hopefully allow the day to go much more smoothly.
He looked up, finally, intending to make his order when he realized just who it was that was behind the counter.
“Oh. The artist. You work here?”
If he worked here…why was he in a different coffee shop the other day? That…seemed strange.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:33 pm
Caius stared at the familiar face of a man who had given him several hours of anguish not so very long ago. For a few seconds he was stunned to silence–was it too late to run? Could he just bolt? Arias could take over, right? Making new pastries wasn’t that important, right?
But, he’d been found out. If he did a bad job, maybe this guy would leave a bad review. Maybe he’d rat him out to Nick and Arias. Maybe they’d kick him out.
–Maybe he should breathe.
“Yeah,” he said, a little self conscious of the name tag that identified him, or all the papers that identified their social media accounts. “Hi. Is this your first time here or am I only noticing you because of the coffee shop?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:42 pm
“No, I haven’t been here before. I was intending to get a drink to keep me awake at the coffee shop, but the line was out the door and I only have a half hour lunch…do you have green tea? I would like one of those egg tarts too, please. To go. And if you don’t have green tea, whatever kind you have will do.”
He gave a small smile, and then noticed the keychains, one with a white bunny dressed in a spring outfit caught his eye and he reached for it, smiling softly. “...Is this your art? It’s very whimsical. I’ll take it too, if they’re for sale.”
Lonnie hesitated and the smile grew, his normally icy eyes growing warm. “...I love rabbits. Especially white ones. I’ve never seen a bakery who had merchandise as well as food. That’s interesting.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 10:06 pm
Caius’ face turned pink rather quickly when the man noticed the bunnies. “They are, yeah. I’ll–we have green tea, just a second,” he said, and hurried extra fast to make sure he got it quickly. And perfectly. He didn’t want to let this guy down.
He set the drink down and only then seemed to have been able to muster a response. “I got really lucky with this bakery. They took a chance with me and my art. I get to draw a lot of cute things. The rabbit is one of my favorites. I like to draw different costumes, and–well, I think they look cute in anything.”
He reached for the egg tart, mindful to make sure he did everything properly; he’d worked here for long enough that he was able to give him the price without even having to tally it up on the register first.
“We have some sweets based off of the characters, too. Including the rabbit. We get a little busy but if you order online the day before we can do special orders for pickup. There are more charms, too. And stickers, with the rabbit. And a few others. I didn’t take you for the kind of guy who liked cute things, but–I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover. But ever since I met you–I don’t look like a creep, do it?” he asked, with such honesty that it seemed like it was something that had genuinely been bothering him.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 10:12 pm
Lonnie fingered the rabbit, nodding as Caius spoke about all of the different treats and charms and keychains…perhaps coming to this bakery had been a mistake after all. A mistake for his wallet, at least.
“I’ll do that. Order for pickup. That’s a good idea. And, no.” He looked up, reading the boy’s nametag. “Caius, you don’t look like a creep. I apologize most humbly for saying that. I don’t normally butt into people’s business, and this is the reason. I say things before I think them through and I end up hurting people’s feelings. I am so very sorry that I ended up hurting yours.”
He bowed his head slightly and pulled out his debit card, handing it over without a qualm. “You are not a creep, you are a talented artist who needs to have a few lessons in stealth looking at people.”
He smiled then, looking amused. “It’ll help your neck too. Move your eyes, not your whole head. People can’t detect eye movement as easily.”
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:43 pm
Caius breathed a sigh of relief and only then realized just how much this had been weighing on him. He accepted the card and nodded as he rang everything up.
“Yeah, my neck was stiff yesterday. I’m not usually so out of it,” he admitted, “But I’ve been really distracted lately. I have to do something to clear my head. It’s part of why I was out.”
He didn’t think this guy needed to hear all of his problems so he didn’t fuss about them. He didn’t need to hear about how he was still hurting from losing his friend. Instead, he grabbed a paper bag and slid in the charm, along with a sticker sheet he pulled from under the counter. He grabbed a promotional card and punched out two holes in it before putting it in the bag as well.
He smiled when he passed that over, as well as the egg tart, drink, and the man’s card.
“It’s a relief to hear that though, thank you. No hard feelings. Thank you for the kind words. I’ll, uh. Have to see if anyone’s offering stealth lessons at the community center.”
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:46 pm
Lonnie snorted softly and took the bag, nodding and looking at the punch card before slipping it into his wallet along with his credit card. “And I’ll have to put this place on my list of places to visit. It will be good for me to have some new hobbies. And new places go get tea from. The other shop is wonderful but growing far too crowded for my taste. At least recently it seems that way.
He nodded to the boy and gave a small wave, taking the egg tart from the bag and taking a bite before he left the bakery. Oh. It was perfect. Quietly, Lonnie turned to look at Caius again. “Tell the baker that the egg tart is almost as good as what I remember my mother making. And that is the highest compliment I can give.”
With a small smile, he turned again and left the bakery, eager to enjoy the rest of his treat.
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