“I know,” Jody said slightly out of breath as she threw her bag under the counter and grabbed her apron, hastily throwing it over her head and tying it behind her. “It won’t happen again.”
“Damn right it won’t happen again,” Horace said while collecting change from a customer. “Give me a grande caramel frap, extra whip, and drizzle chocolate on this one.” He watched Jody start to walk toward the machine, dutifully fulfilling her duty in the TriBeCa Starbucks shop. Sure Jody was a great employee- she worked hard, she was personable, a hit with the regulars, and seemed to bring lots of positive energy- but she just couldn’t seem to arrive to work on time. She had been warned on various occasions and after one last look at Jody, Horace muttered in her general direction, “See me after your shift. We have to chat.”
Jody turned around, obviously being startled, and silently nodded as she understood what she was to be reprimanded for.
Just a few hours later, the morning rush had died down and Jody was behind the counter surveying the store. After a few months at the store, Jody realized that she was a people watcher. So one glance around the store and she saw it all- the informal business meetings, people on break from work, weary travelers in need of some caffeine, the musicians, the brokenhearted, the regulars.
Just as she was finishing her observations, a young man walked into the store. On first observation she guessed that he was a typical high school kid ditching class. However, his order changed her mind about him. The mysterious man ordered a raspberry chi tea, which was notoriously ordered by musicians who thought they were just too cool for the mainstream. One look at his shaggy, blonde hair and well put-together apparel, Jody figured that this guy was trying to get away with the ‘pretty-boy rocker’ look and not on actual talent. Mildly miffed at her latest observation, Jody also noticed a sad look in the stranger’s face and his lack of eye contact.
“He’s probably a sad little emo boy,” Jody thought as she gave him his change and he walked off to a quiet corner.
Checking her watch, Jody noticed that her shift was up. Removing her apron and placing it in its usual spot under the counter, she took her purse and headed to the back room where she knew Horace was waiting.
Nervously she tugged on her shirt hoping to somehow make herself seem more professional. She knew this would not be a good meeting. The last time she was issued a warning, but under the pretense that if she was late three more times she was out of a job. Today was tardy number 4.
She knocked on the doorframe. “You wanted to see me Horace?” she asked as she stepped into the back room.
Horace looked up at Jody and sighed. “Take a seat.”
Silently she followed his direction and sat in the chair next to his office. By the serious tone in his voice she could tell this was not good.
“Jody,” he started and abruptly stopped. Firing one of his most loyal employees was not going to be easy. A silence loomed overhead.
“If this is about me being late, I can understand,” Jody began. “As an employee I have a duty and responsibility to be on time to work. I’m not fulfilling that requirement.” She nervously looked at him. “Is that what you wanted to say to me?”
Horace smiled. “Something like that.” He took a pause. “Jody I know that this commute is not an easy one for you and that you have a lot on your plate. Maybe it would be in your best interest if I made a call and transferred you to another store that was closer to you on Long Island. That way you could save some time and money and be on time for your new store.”
“With all due respect, sir, if I really wanted to work out on Long Island, I would have asked for a transfer.”
Horace leaned back in his chair. “So what do you want me to do? It’s a bad precedent to have you come in late all the time while calling out the others for doing the same thing. I’m afraid that if you’re unwilling to take the transfer, there’s no other option than to let you go.”
Jody’s jaw dropped. She was on her way to being unemployed yet again.
“Let me go? Is that what you’d really be forced to do?” Horace nodded. Jody took a pause to try to think about what to say next. “Well, if it’s for the good of the store, then I guess you’re making the right decision.” Horace stared at her and tried to figure out what she was up to. “I mean, with the holidays coming up and having to train new people, I just thought that maybe you’d want someone who knows what they were doing to help with the training while you ran the store. I was hoping maybe you’d give me until after the holiday season so I could help out.”
“You’re not making this easy, Jody.”
She lowered her eyes. “Neither are the options you’ve given me.”
Thinking rather quickly, Horace knew that letting an employee like Jody go would be a huge loss to the store. She was always so cheerful that letting her go would, in essence, make him the Grinch who stole the X-mas spirit this holiday season. “Well,” he started, “the holidays are right around the corner. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone who’s experienced help out with the training.” Jody’s eyes lit up. Maybe all was not lost after all. “I don’t see why we couldn’t have you on a probationary basis until mid-January.”
“Oh Horace, thank...”
“However, you’re limited to one tardy. If you’re late, you’re fired. Do we have a deal?”
Jody let a big smile creep over her face. “We have a big deal.” She extended her hand and they shook. “Thanks Horace.”
“You’re welcome. But you only have one tardy. Don’t make me regret this.”
The meeting ended quickly after that and soon Jody was back on the train back to her school on Long Island.
However, something nearly miraculous happened the next morning- Jody was early for work. She arrived before Horace and helped to open the store and clean up a bit. Since Jody was a commuter, and the subways and trains were less than safe after dark, she was really only around to open. By being there early, Jody was able to learn what went into the actual closing of the store.
After the usual morning rush, the mysterious, good looking, emo kid walked into Jody’s Starbucks and scuffled over to the register. His eyes seemed filled with turmoil and the gum he was chewing seemed to have the taste of bitterness. For someone so young, this young man seemed to be slipping into something very dark very fast. He ordered the same raspberry tea as he did the day before and, making sure he was all but invisible, slinked off to the corner he was sulking in the pervious day.
Jody’s eyes followed him around the corner as she tried to contemplate what there was to be upset about on this bright September morning. She continued to track him until she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Just because you were early doesn’t mean you can daydream, Jody,” Horace noted. “Stop staring at the customers.”
“Sorry,” she claimed as she grabbed a towel and wiped her hands from her last encounter with a café mocha. “He just seems so sad.”
“That’s why there’s people like Dr. Phil.” Horace nodded toward the few customers on line. “Why don’t you take the register. I’m scared to let you near the blender with the way you’re daydreaming today.”
“Ha ha ha,” Jody joked and went back to ringing the customers.
The next few days were relatively uneventful, however Jody managed to scrape by with being on time. The mysterious raspberry tea guy managed to show up as well, just after the morning rush and he was out before the afternoon tide hit. He always scowled, always looked depressed. There was something behind his eyes that intrigued Jody and made her want to help him. There was no way she could put a finger on it, but after 3 weeks of seeing this guy nearly every morning at the same time, she felt the need to do something.
One morning she came up with a plan. She saw him coming and decided to call him out on being caught in the monotony of his routine.
The door opened slowly and the man slinked in. The familiar scuffle of his feet could be heard and he approached the counter and put the exact amount of money down. His hand immediately went back into his jacked pocket.
“Venti raspberry chi tea...”
“Extra raspberry, not so much ice?” Jody finished for him as she reached behind the counter next to her and grabbed the beverage.
This caused the stranger to look up startled. He narrowed his eyes at Jody.
“I’m a people watcher,” she offered as an explanation as she placed a wrapped straw on the counter.
“Hmm,” the stranger muttered as he took his drink and shuffled off into his now familiar corner.
“That went well,” Jody remarked to noone in particular as she put the blender top in the sink and began to wash it out.
“Meddling with the customers again?” Dana, another worker, asked.
Jody shrugged. “Not really. I just predicted what he was going to order. No harm done.”
Dana rolled her eyes and went back to making another cappuccino. “Whatever.”
Jody kept up the routine of having the stranger’s drink ready when he came in, somehow hoping he’d crack a smile or appear to cheer up. Nothing happened and after another 2 weeks, Jody was nearly driving herself crazy every time the door opened and the stranger walked in.
Jody had all but given up when a morning in late October gave her an idea.
“Happy birthday Jode,” Horace greeted as he opened the door from the inside to let her in.
“Thanks,” she replied as she rubbed her hands together. “It’s cold out there.”
“Welcome to October, Old Lady.”
“Since when is being a 20-something considered old?” Jody teased.
“Since you had enough candles to set off the smoke alarm.”
“Very funny Horace,” she replied as she made her way to the back room to put her jacket on the coat-rack.
Work continued on as usual. Nothing too spectacular happened until the stranger walked in. Then, struck with an idea, Jody went to work. The usual routine of handing over the venti raspberry chi tea in exchange for the precise amount of cash without a word being said continued and she let a few minutes go by before the plan went into action.
“It’s my birthday, right Horace?”
He looked at her through the corner of his eye. “What are you up to, Jody?”
“I just figured that I was entitled to a piece of birthday cake and since nobody has supplied a cake, I kinda had my eye on that piece in the case...”
“Happy birthday, Jody. Go on break with your birthday cake.”
“Thank you!” Jody said as she took the slice and managed to steal away with an extra fork.
