Chapter Text
“Only one thing is certain about coffee: Wherever it is grown, sold, brewed, and consumed, there will be lively controversy, strong opinions, and good conversation.” -Mark Pendergrast
There are three drinks that bring people together: Tea, alcohol, and coffee. The first is enjoyed much more in the south and overseas. The second isn’t great for making a first impression. But the third has worked wonders on transforming two strangers into two friends. “We should go grab coffee sometime,” has been used often for a reason. It works.
It was the first day of July and Bro’s vacation to a humid, tropical island. Without a doubt, it would be interesting and entertaining to hear the tale about the quirky man’s journey to a foreign place. He was probably having the time of his life as he relaxed with his toes in the warm sand and his arm around his favorite puppet. Maybe he was even drinking a fruity concoction.
But this isn’t a story about that. This is the tale of the little brother who stayed in Washington to manage their coffee shop, Drop the Bean. Would he have loved to tag along with his brother? Not really. But it would have been cool of him to at least offer. What a raging douche.
Coffee had never been his drink of choice. In his opinion, energy drinks were much better when he wanted to be energized. Hell, apple juice was tastier, and soda had a better bite. Coffee was alright, but in the northwest, it sold like brown gold. The little brother had no problem with making a profit off of the substance.
As soon as said sibling opened the doors and switched on the lights to their quaint coffee shop, he knew what he needed to do. Every morning was the same, but he didn’t mind much. It paid the bills to their apartment, and for a month, he got to be his own boss. The blonde couldn’t bring himself to complain much.
The first thing he did was don his tan-colored apron. A loop draped over his neck, and he knotted it in the back. On the top right, “Dave” was stitched in little white letters. To be honest, he would have preferred a comic sans font, but it was in papyrus.
After that, he started the music. The young man knew that he could have done this last, but the place was hella boring with no people. Getting the coffee shop started definitely required some ill beats, which is what the place was known for. During the day, they served coffee to the morning crowd. On weekends, they typically stayed open as a lounge with guest musicians.
Since they were near a university, they unsurprisingly drew in a bunch of students. The older crowd usually avoided the place like the plague, and Dave couldn’t imagine why. Maybe they were allergic to loud bass.
Shrugging to himself, he poured some coffee grounds into the machines, added water, and he started them. Dave took inventory on the cups, creams, and milk as he waited for the pots to brew. Ten minutes until he opened for the day.
As soon as opening time came around, the blonde man hopped off of the counter he was sitting on and went to unlock the glass doors. The sky was a dim shade of cobalt. It was perfect for seven in the morning. Dave yawned and leaned against the open door as he gazed upwards. There were a couple clouds floating upwards, and as he tried to figure out what they resembled, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, and a curse fell from his mouth. “Shit!”
“Hello, Dave. I wasn’t intending to take you away from your fantasies, but I was wondering when I could order a cup of coffee. I do hope that I’m not being a burden to you,” the feminine voice responded in an amused tone. It belonged to his half-sister, Rose Lalonde.
While Dave had decided to help his brother with Drop the Bean, Rose had made the move to go to the local university and study Psychology. But it wasn’t like he was jealous of her or anything. More school just sounded like a drag.
“Lalonde, what are you doing here so early? No, scratch that. What are you doing here at all? This place has a strict ‘no snarky broads’ policy. I think you need to leave.” Dave spread his arms, blocking off the entrance before Rose just ducked under them to step inside.
“Our brother told me to make sure that you were keeping the place in its proper condition.” She spun around slowly, looking the place over. Dave let out a slow sigh as the blonde woman pretended to inspect the coffee shop.
As usual, band merchandise and records covered most of the walls in Drop the Bean. Under those, the walls were a midnight color that matched the floors. The coffee bar was wooden and polished while the stage for artists was hidden from sight with a red velvet curtain. Small tables dotted the floor, as well as a couple of old couches.
“Well, I see that no one has been injured yet. However, you should expect me to stop by every once in a while. I don’t want this place going south because of your negligence,” she concluded as she approached the counter. “And a medium coffee, please. Black.”
“Don’t worry about it. I love this place almost as much as Bro does. There’s no way I’m letting it go to shit just because he’s not here to watch over me,” he explained to his sister as he poured the coffee into a paper cup. “I’m a grown man, you know.”
“Yes, you are a grown man with a blog and a regular webcomic. I am fully aware, Dave. We’ve been over this before.” She accepted the coffee and handed him a bill that she had fished out of her purse. “Yet, as they say, ‘When the cat is away, the mice will play.’ I’m not trying to put pressure on you by any means, but please realize that your brother is putting his trust in you. Don’t screw this up.”
“It’s just a month. I don’t think anyone is capable of running this shop into the ground in just thirty days. We’re always busy.” As if to prove his point, a young couple wondered into the store and gazed up at the menu behind the counter. “So thanks for checking up on me, but I have this shit covered. Come again.”
The blonde college student rolled her eyes. “If you need any assistance, you know how to contact me. Good luck.” With that, she sipped her coffee and departed.
“I won’t need any luck,” Dave mumbled to himself before the couple walked up to his counter. Then, he spoke louder. “Yo. Welcome to Drop the Bean. You guys see anything on the menu that you like?”
At a little after four (because Dave was always lenient with closing times), the doors were locked and shut. Dave sighed loudly and kneaded the palms of his hands with his thumbs as he made his way out to his car. It had been a long nine hours.
The blonde man drove a beat-up Honda Civic. He had got it as a gift from his brother when he had begun driving four years ago. If you looked past the many dents and chips in the red paint, it wasn’t a bad car. As long as it started, Dave was fine with it.
The route back to his apartment was so familiar that he didn’t have to think about it at all. Every turn was automatic, and every stop was predictable. Instead, his mind wondered to the events of the day.
It had been a lot more difficult than he had anticipated. Doing the work that he and his Bro typically shared had been hectic. At one point, a woman had complained to him that she had been waiting twenty minutes for her latte. (She seemed like a bitch to begin with, but Dave still didn’t want to lose a customer.) With a small frown, he adjusted his aviators further up the bridge of his nose and watched the traffic around him.
Then, he had nearly sneezed while holding a fresh pot of coffee in his hand. Of course, the blonde played it off as a joke to the customer, but that could have turned out terribly. Hopefully, he wasn’t coming down with something. Now would be the worst time to get sick.
As he pulled into his designated parking space, he leaned back in the driver’s seat and tried to relax the tension in his neck and shoulders. Tomorrow would go better. He was sure of it. But tonight, he would celebrate by ordering pizza for dinner and watching a couple of movies on Netflix.
Dave didn’t realize how much better tomorrow would turn out to be.