A Deal With God

Chapter 24: Quinn's Whim

After a blessedly quiet morning, Quinn was hoping for a calm, uneventful shift at work but here she was, Samantha's unexpectedly strong grip on her apron holding her halfway over the pickup counter.

"These healed so well," Samantha commented, admiring Quinn's ear lobe from up close. Indeed, it was barely a month since Quinn had gotten her ears double pierced and she had already changed the earrings out without issue.

"Usually people have infections after they get their ears pierced with me," Samantha continued. Chrissy caught the face Quinn pulled from her spot behind the till. She giggled behind her hand watching the spectacle from afar in between taking orders.

"I'm not sure you should be saying that out loud," Quinn remarked as Samantha released her from her iron grip. She brushed off her shoulders, tugged on the points of her collar, and straightened her apron before completing the order Samantha had interrupted her in making.

"My boyfriend and I went halfsies on a tattoo machine...," Samantha started, wiggling her eyebrows as Quinn slid her cappuccino across the counter.

"I'm good with the piercings, thank you," Quinn said, the finality making Samantha pout.

"Well, if you feel like getting more piercings, you know where to find me," Samantha said with a wink as she walked out with her order in hand.

"How did she get that job?" Chrissy wondered, watching the girl dressed in all black head off to work at Claire's.

"She's easy to spot in all those bright colours and glitter everywhere," Quinn shrugged, wiping the counter in front of the espresso machine with a rag.

"Pay attention, Chrissy, we've got a line," Fred Benson scolded as he finished restocking the sandwiches and baked goods in the display case. The girls simultaneously rolled their eyes at Fred's wannabe manager routine but Chrissy diligently returned to the till.

Corporate protocol dictated that each staff member work equal amounts of time behind the till, doing inventory and restocking, and behind the coffee machine. While that worked for the other members of staff, Dorine, the manager, quickly learned that Quincey Adams, Chrissy Cunningham, and Fred Benson worked best by being assigned exclusive stations. Exceptionally efficient, Quinn proved to be a coffee making machine in her own right. Even in the busiest of times, her station remained immaculate and her error rate was remarkably low (usually a result of the barista at the till marking up an order incorrectly rather than a mistake of her own).

Fred was awkward in front of people and too easily frazzled during a rush; he was much better at keeping inventory and restocking. Quinn was a little too down to business behind the till. It's not that she was bad at talking with people, it's just that she would tell you what you were getting. (Dorine expected to get complaints from this, but what she actually got was a spike in sales.) Warm and patient, Chrissy was therefore the best suited to being the customer's first interaction. Dorine wasn't willing to let a sales opportunity slip by though. Since Quinn had a talent for pairing drinks and food — and since certain customers seemingly enjoyed being told what they wanted — the "Quinn Combo" was born, advertised by a little blackboard sign in front of the till.

After a lot of back and forth, Eddie found himself in line at Starbucks. He stayed up all night, replaying what had happened in his mind and thinking about what the old geezer had advised him to do. He'd made it to the mall, gotten up the escalator and then, at the sight of the green mermaid logo, had turned around and gone back downstairs. He went up and down three more times before deciding that he was being absolutely ridiculous and did a long tour of the mall instead (as if that was any better). Finally, he just went for it, kicking himself mentally when he joined a much longer line than the one he'd seen his first time around. It was nearing the end of lunch now so it was the café's turn to be busy. At this point, you actually do need the coffee, he tried to reason with himself. He felt incredibly out of place in the line, his eyes trying to find something to focus on. He spotted the little sign on the counter with "Ask for a Quinn Combo!" handwritten on it and thanked his lucky stars when the older woman at the front of the line inquired about it.