Chapter 7 Morning Coffee

• ***Evelyn’s POV***
• I heard the music from my alarm and I moaned. If someone said that waking up at 4 a.m. gets easier with time, they were lying. Lying through their damn teeth. Stretching, I reached out with my left hand to silence my phone. Rolling over, I set my feet on the ground and sighed. Wood floors, great for cleaning, freezing cold in the morning. I looked over and my son Elliot was still curled up on his side of the bed. It took him a week to learn to sleep through my alarms. He had his own little alarms with his favorite songs that got him going in the morning. One of the songs was sung by his father and I didn’t have the heart to tell him he couldn’t listen to it.
• Smiling, I kissed his head and went into the bathroom for the usual morning routine. Showering, I dried off quickly and placed my brace around my upper body. Attaching my bionic arm to my socket, I locked it in place. Adjusting my neck, I took a deep breath and tightened the muscles in my shoulder. The arm reacted to the movement, turning side to side, as well as opening and closing the metal hand. Smiling, I grabbed my shirt and tossed it on. I walked out at 4:15 a.m. I pulled up my pants and buttoned them as I raced down the stairs.
• Going out the back, I saw the grocery truck drive up and I waved. David, the usual driver, backed down the alley and pulled up toward the door.
• “Morning, Ev! You doing alright this morning?”
• “You know me. Before my usual coffee allowance I’m useless. Want a cup?”
• He smiled and jumped out of the truck. “You know it.”
• Nodding, I left the back door open for him and I ran around to the espresso machine. I turned it on and while it warmed up, I turned on everything in the entire shop. There were a couple coffee regulars at 5 a.m. but they were always in and out without any fuss. Usually, Mike was in by then as well, but the machines took their sweet ass time to wake up. Nearly as bad as me.
• “You got your new cake flour in this time. We were able to snag a bag of it before it went to the big bakeries.”
• “Thank the gods. You are awesome, you know that? If I thought I could handle being married again, you would be the first one to know.” I called back to David.
• I heard him chuckle. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind, but my wife might question why I come home in such a good mood every day.”
• “I don’t think she would mind the free coffee and books. We both know she likes my ass better than yours.” This time I heard a deep belly laugh.
• “Damn right about that.”
• I quickly wiped down the machine and pressed some fresh grounds into it. Getting two to-go cups, I pressed the brew coffee and began frothing the whole milk. David came around the front as I poured the two separate espresso shots into the cups.
• “I’ve put the two regular flour bags up on the shelf, but I left the cake flour down. I figured you would be using that one at some point today.”
• I nodded. “Probably not ’til tonight, but definitely today. Thanks again. I appreciate you bringing all these in for me. I couldn’t do it without you. I’d make Mike come in earlier, but you know how he is before 5am. I already lost one arm, I’d like to keep my other out of a bag of angry cats.”
• David laughed. “How’s it doing? The storms coming in soon here. Weather always messes you up.”
• “It’s fine today it seems. We will see how long that lasts, though. You got my paperwork?” I held up his drink. “Trade yah?”
• “You know the deal. Sign one, take the other.”
• I nodded and grabbed his pen with my left hand. Signing it, I wrinkled my nose. “Three years and my signature still looks like shit.”
• David chuckled. “You should see some of the people who sign. Trust me, yours is way better.”
• Shaking my head, he took a sip of the coffee and moaned. “Damn girl, every time. Marry me?”
• Laughing, I gave him the middle finger with my bionic arm. “Fuck off, David or I will just steal your wife.”
• “I know you would. Have a good day, Ev!”
• “Yeah yeah! Get out of here!” I called out to him as he laughed.
• The back door closed, and I started the usual set up for my 5 a.m. morning group as well as adding last night’s bakery items I had been working on. Once I headed in back, I tied my apron on and started turning on the usual bakery equipment before I heard a knock on the glass door out front. Looking at the time,I saw it was 4:55 a.m. and I cursed. Moving out front, I went to the windows and pulled up all the blinds. Mike was leaning against the glass, half asleep and I chuckled.
• “Good morning, Mike.”
• “Fuck the morning, Ev. Fuck every morning. Honestly, don’t talk to me until I have had coffee.” Mike brushed past me and I smiled. Pulling the chairs off the tables, I also made sure the book shelves that line two of the walls were in order. I heard Mike curse in the back and I snickered.
• “Who put this damn bag of flour on the ground.” I heard him call out and I laughed.
• “That bag of flour is worth more than your entire month’s paycheck so you better be nice to it or I’m going to take it out of that paycheck of yours.”
• I heard a cough and I smiled. “Oh, what a good bag of flour you are. Don’t worry, Uncle Mike will take good care of you. Yes, I will. You and I will be best friends and one day, I’ll marry you off to my children.”
• Shaking my head, I couldn’t help but laugh. Mike had saved me in more ways than one. When I was struggling, he had been the friend that was always there for me no matter what. Whether it was helping after I gave birth to Elliot or when I was starting the Book Nook. I met him going to culinary school and we clicked. We were always just friends, but friends that had each other no matter what. I had been there when his family disowned him for not following in their footsteps, and when his wife of two years broke it off because she was sleeping with another man. Well, three to be exact. We just ended up being there and seeing the worst in each others’ lives and made it through together.
• “I swear to god, if that old man comes in and makes another comment about me being unmarried, I’m going to lose my shit.”
• Coming back, I got stopped by his hand on my chest. “Go get some shoes. I know I’m not awake, but really, Ev?”
• “What? This is my home!”
• “No one wants to see your gross ass feet.”
• “No one wants to see your gross ass face but unfortunately we have to.” I snipped back.
• Mike shook his head. “Enough sass. Shoes. Now.”
• “Fine.”
• I wiggled my toes at him one more time and then went upstairs to grab socks and my combat boots. My dark jeans and band t-shirts looked like I was out of the 90’s, but I loved them and I refused to change. If anything, my friends fueled my love of band shirts and bad ass attire by giving me some of my favorite wardrobe pieces and held a special place in my heart.
• “Hey Ev, it’s begun!”
• I raced back down the stairs and smiled as I saw the five usual morning customers. They all waved and I started to head to the front. Getting their orders ready, I already knew them by heart. The last one in line, of course, was our notorious old man who will die on the hill that Mike should already be married with five kids, living on the countryside on a farm. Where he ever thought Mike would fit in a farm lifestyle obviously showed he didn’t know how Mike showed up in the morning.
• “You know, when I was your age…a young man like you who wasn’t tied down to a woman was considered a player. A man without morals. Son, are you a man without morals?”
• Mike sighed, pulling the skim milk cappuccino in a large cup with room at the top for nothing more than to be obnoxious. “Yes sir, yes I am.”
• I snorted because Mike wasn’t actually listening.
• “Oh, well that explains a lot. You being here alone with a married woman and a child. Without being married yourself. Makes sense.”
• “Wait…what?” Mike turned around, confused and I couldn’t hold it in and I laughed.
• Slapping him on the back, I leaned in. “Sir, he may be of loose morals, but he makes the best cappuccino in the area and I won’t be able to find someone to replace him. So try to not scare him off.”
• “What? Loose morals?” Mike looked utterly confused and I snickered.
• The old man behind the counter cracked a smile and nodded as he took his coffee. “Thank you, son.” He teetered off and I just threw my head back and laughed.
• “What the hell just happened?”
• “You weren’t listening is what happened. Now, forget it. We have the 6 a.m. people coming and I want to get some fresh baked items out before they come in.”
• I rolled my shoulders which stretched out my bionic hand and I smiled. Pulling on gloves, I got started on the usual process of the day.