Mr. Mouthful

1. Josh-3

“Good morning.” Luke mumbled, giving his usual shy smile. For the first time in weeks I felt it actually was a good morning. Unusually for him, he’d dressed in clothes that weren’t splattered with paint. When he wasn’t managing Percolate he was an artist, and we’d hung several of his paintings on the exposed brick walls as a mini-gallery. Hopefully he’d snag a sale or two.

“Hey Luke.” I gestured toward the entrance. “Ready to open?” Luke nodded and shuffled toward the double wooden doors. Sneaky positioned herself behind the counter in case it got busy. We’d spent weeks learning the recipes and equipment, though if push came to shove, we’d hire more staff. She had her bar next door, and I had my job too.

The doors opened and to our surprise there was a line of people outside. Luke waved them in, then took the sandwich board sign outside and placed it on the sidewalk. For the next twenty minutes the three of us raced to fill orders. After the initial rush, Luke turned in our direction and c****d an eyebrow.

“Maybe you guys should drink a little coffee yourselves. Let me handle it, okay?” He glanced toward the sink where a thin glaze of white cream spattered the metal. Neither Sneaky and I knew the recipes as well as Luke, and he’d had to remake some of them.

“You’re the boss.” Sneaky clapped him on the shoulder and filled two mugs of coffee for us. We’d lucked out with Luke. I had a feeling we wouldn’t be spending too much time behind the counter. There was only a couple of booths left, so we grabbed one near the rear.

“This table is too new looking for me.” Sneaky ran her fingers over the smooth wood. “It needs graffiti.”

“Don’t worry, I can guarantee that within a year most of the VCU students will have scratched something on every single table. Let’s enjoy the newness while we can.” I laughed. Sneaky’s idea of decor was grungy to say the least. I leaned back against the wall of our booth so I could keep my eye on the front door. It was gratifying to see so many faces I didn’t know, but that made me wonder why our friends weren’t here.

“Where the hell are your brother and Spencer? I’m surprised they haven’t shown… Oh, there they are.” Michael, Sneaky’s brother, stood outside on the sidewalk talking to someone on the phone while his fiancé Spencer waved at us and got in line to place his order.

“Have they decided where the ceremony is taking place yet?” I asked Sneaky.

“Mom is being strange, even for her. On the one hand she wants to throw them a huge wedding, but on the other she worries about her reputation at the country club. She doesn’t mind having a gay son, but she worries it will scandalize her old biddy friends. Michael doesn’t have the heart to tell her not to bother, that he and Spencer would prefer a small ceremony. Plus,” Sneaky giggled “she knows I will never let her plan my wedding. Michael might be the only chance she gets to marry a kid off.”

“I heard the word ‘marry’.” Spencer slid into the seat next to me. “Your mother is making me insane.” He muttered to Sneaky, then turned in my direction. “A little bird told me you are starting your new job soon.”

“How the hell did you know that?” I’d only found out a few minutes ago, so how would Spencer know about it before me?

“I got the inside scoop from your new boss, kind of. Well, he moved into the building, and his job was on the rental application. The dude isn’t much of a talker.” Spencer said, then Michael sat next to his sister and piped up.

“Josh, your new conductor leased Spencer’s old apartment.” Michael owned the building, plus a few more around town. When the two of them got engaged, Spencer moved upstairs to his penthouse.

Michael kissed Sneaky on the cheek and glanced around the room. “Congratulations you guys. Looks like every table is filled. I predict this place will be a huge success.”

“Thanks. Now back to the first thing you said.” My mind was racing from this bit of news. “You’ve met my new boss? What’s he like?”

“He’s mean as shit.” Michael grimaced, and sipped his latte.

“Michael, don’t scare Josh. Who knows, maybe the man was having a bad day or something?” Spencer scolded, then I felt something swing past my leg and Michael jumped in his seat.

“Ouch!”

“He’s probably exhausted from moving. Heck, I moved upstairs a month ago and I’m still not recovered from it. So why do you think he’s mean?” I asked. This was my first time playing for a decent orchestra, and I didn’t want to make a bad impression on a grumpy conductor.

Spencer gazed at Michael and shrugged. “We knocked on his door yesterday, you know, the welcome wagon type of thing, brought him a bottle of wine. Anyway, he curtly thanked us and started to shut the door in our faces.” He said, then Michael continued the story.

“Before he could get the door shut, I asked if he wanted to come to the next party I’m throwing for the residents, oh, and you guys are invited too. He snarled, like have you ever heard anyone really snarl before? It was weird. Anyway, he just snarled ‘NO’ and slammed the damn door on us.”

“Oh, you mean the tall sexy guy with the slicked back dark hair I saw yelling at his movers? Damn, he’s a fine specimen of a man. I was hoping to set him up with someone I know.” Sneaky lived in the building too. She glanced in my direction and Michael and Spencer cracked up laughing.

“Don’t you dare set him up with Dracula. Josh will hate you for the rest of your life if you even try.” Spencer put his arms around my shoulders. Sneaky was well known for being the neighborhood matchmaker. So far, I’d refused every attempt she’d made to find me a boyfriend.

“Dracula? Why do you call him that?” I wondered. God, this man sounded scary.

“It’s just a joke. But, he’s tall, has dark hair and pale skin, and he speaks with a slight, Eastern European accent.” Michael said, then he swung his legs out from under the table and into the aisle. “Plus, he’s mean as s**t!”