Mr. Babydoll and the journals of his inner blizzard [peterick]

VIII

"have to admit, it doesn't look bad." Joe said, eyeing the new pastel coloured wall thoughtfully, like a police detective investigates a corpse.
Maybe that comparison sounded a bit odd, but I kid you not, it really looked like that.

Hayley was standing next to him, her hands on her hips and she was smiling from one ear to another. She seemed really proud of her work and I have to admit she has a reason to be. The shop looked a lot brighter and costumer-friendly than before.
Hayley had exchanged our old rusty coffee machine with a new, more modern one.
Also, we didn't necessarily need to approach the costumers anymore when their order was done. They get a number which appears up on a screen above the counter.

Everything was a bit more modern, but it still looked pretty simple. I have no idea how she did that in such a short amount of time.

"Alright folks, I want to discuss some things with you before we open the shop!" Hayley started.

"As long as I don't have to walk around in pastel tutus, I'm fine with everything that's about to come." Joe said.

"Okay." is what I said.

Hayley sat down on a chair, her front side facing the inner backrest of the chair. She rested her arms on the backrest.
"First of all, I don't want just you two to work here on your own. We need more baristas."

"We still have Bert." Joe mentioned
Bert wasn't a barista, he was just responsible for the delivery of coffee beans and other essentials and he brought them every Monday with his van. He hasn't done a good job at that lately as you have probably seen a few chapters earlier.
I never felt the need to mention him since he's not important in this story.

"I fired him." Hayley told us blandly. I swear I just heard a fly cough, that's how quiet it was.

"You did what?!" I could tell Joe tried his best to stay calm. "I mean sure, he's as useful as a blind donkey, but it took us months to find a driver!"

Hayley stopped him with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry Joey, I asked an old friend of mine to do it."

Joe looked like he was still quite unsure, but he didn't say anything else. Hayley continued telling us her plans.
"I attached some flyers in some places in town, but I want you to ask some people you know if they'd be interested."

"I could ask Andy, but I'm not sure if he's the right person to work here." Joe recommended. Now, that kinda surprised me to be honest, since Joe and I always know the same people, but I don't know anyone named Andy.

"Just go for it, we'll take any help we can get." Hayley encouraged him.

And I guess I missed the rest of this conversation because I still tried to figure out if I knew someone called Andy.

The day went by without me needing to be mentally present. Hayley left 10 minutes before closing time and waved us goodbye as she reached her car. I waved back and smiled. I didn't understand where she got all her motivation from, but I feel like it is important to have someone like that in your life. Just so you don't fall asleep of boredom.
I normally leave earlier than Joe because he had always been responsible to lock up the shop. This time I stayed a little longer and we left the shop together.

"Joe?"
"Yes?"
"Who's Andy?"
"A friend of mine."
"Have I met him before?"
"Would you ask me who he was if that was the case?"

I shrugged and I felt kind of stupid. It seemed like I made him upset since he was talking in an annoyed tone, but Joe talks like that almost all the time and it's already half past 8.

It was cold and dark outside and it seemed to be full moon. Joe climbed into his car. "I can drop you off at home if you like." he offered me and it seemed like he felt guilty for responding a bit harsh earlier. I declined his offer.

I felt better walking.

-

I woke up at 3 am.
Well, it's not like I had slept until now, I had spent an unhealthy amount of hours just staring at the ceiling. Until the sound of my ringtone woke me up from my trance.

The following may sound a bit weird, but it was Joe who called me and he told me that Andy is the guy he's dating.
Andy still lived with his parents, but he was working at several places to afford enough money to move out. His parents would throw him out if they found out that he was dating another guy which seemed pretty exaggerated if you ask me.

I don't understand why he felt the need to tell me about this, but he probably just wanted to silence his conscience.
I told him that I understood and that I won't tell a soul. He said he knew I wouldn't and he just wanted to tell me about this, so I wouldn't think it's all about me or something.
I thought that was actually really nice.
I told him that and he ended the phone call with a "good night"

So I continued laying there in silence and the sound of the clock ticking murdered my last braincells in a slow process.

I don't remember when I finally fell asleep, but it happened eventually.

It was December the 12th. That's not even remotely important, but I dreamed of Patrick that night and I kinda remembered that it happened in the wake of Saturday.

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