Closing Time

56.

Sherlo- I mean, Lou, turned up the next day, looking deep in thought. I didn't get much out of him, so I figured I'd wait. But it was the same the day after, except he only stayed for two drinks and left before the majority of the customers arrived. It was out of sorts for him. I was worried.

However, I didn't have the luxury of worrying about him as the third day dawned.

Carla picked me up in her car with a half-dead Ryland in the passenger sheet. His aura was so muddled with sleep, I was surprised he even managed to grunt out a simple greeting.

"Morning... to you too." I mumbled, hoping that's what his grunt was.

Carla yawned, taking her foot and brake and resuming the car ride. "We were up finished a movie. You look pretty chipper. Got in early last night?"

"Not really?" I shrugged, leaning back in the seat and pulling out a flask. Technically, I'd gotten in early one night and just never needed the rest after that. "Hey, Ryland. I got some coffee for you." I'd just stopped working just a few hours ago, but they don't need to know that.

"Coffee?" A clear reply. Perked ears, and slightly brighter eyes glued themselves to mine like a hunter spotting his prey. "Coffee?" He repeated.

"Uh, yeah." I held out the flask to him. "I didn't have a thermos to carry it in, careful, it's hot."

Ryland didn't pay heed to my warning. The smell of coffee filled the car as he uncapped the steel container, pressing it to his lips and taking a long swig. Just looking at him do that made my tongue tingle. That has to burn.

"Black coffee?" Carla asked with a sniff.

"Yeah. I figured that's how you both take it." Health nuts that they are.

"I like to add some sugar." Ryland mumbled through a gulp. "But this'll do. It's pretty good."

"Thanks." I smiled as I met his eyes in the rearview mirror. "Nice to know my experience as a barista is still relevant."

"Always." Ryland chuckled, seeming a bit more awake now. "If you made coffee like this every morning, I'd be a regular."

"Thanks." I repeated. "But Henry makes the coffee in the morning. I just wait tables till Maya and Sierra show up."

"They work everyday of the week, right?"

"Yeah." I turned my head to look outside. "They wanted the shifts- otherwise I was planning to hire two different sets of waitstaff."

"Business booming enough for four different salaries?" Carla piped up.

I shrugged. "Yeah. It's fine. I pay them a lot more since they insisted on wanting to be the only ones working there." I paused. "Do you know them?"

"Apart from their first names- nope." Carla shrugged, making the car waver a bit on the empty road. "Only what you've told me about them. You should really hire someone. You wait, you tend bar, you manage- I'm pretty sure you can hire someone to fill one of those roles."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I've been thinking about it." I've not. "I'll have to run it by the Jameson's."

"Now them-I know." Carla nodded.

I chuckled, settling back into the seat as we kept the conversation casual. Ryland kept nodding in and out of conversation. Occasionally waking up to add his two cents to our meandering talks.

The sky was just starting to lighten as we reached the trail. The drive had been exactly an hour long, and I could see other cars here. It meant more people who'd been dragged out of their beds and would have to walk through the cold morning air in order to enjoy nature. I don't have anything against it. It's just cold.