Holiday Perks

by Lanai Juniper

  Holiday Perks

  By Lanai Juniper

  Chapter One

  “DOPPIO espresso!” The order came down loud and fast as the paper cup slid into Andi Rossi’s workstation.

  Andi stopped the incoming cup with her finger. She turned her attention back to the drink she was currently crafting. Her espresso machine sizzled with the sounds of perfectly steamed milk. Andi lifted the milk pitcher from the steam wand and the cup cradling the freshly pressed shots from the machine. In a motion she had done countless times before, Andi poured the silky milk over the espresso shots, added a billowing cloud of whipped cream and topped off the latte with a dusting of cinnamon.

  She passed the fanciful creation to a teenaged blonde in yoga pants who promptly held it up to her glittery lips and took a selfie with it before scuttling out onto the blustery Washington, D.C. street.

  Inside National Brew, Andi sighed inwardly and pushed the buttons on the espresso machine, setting up two shots for the doppio espresso. At least it wasn’t another holiday latte. Andi took her craft as a barista seriously, and just didn’t believe that the gaggle of high schoolers that assaulted the coffee shop every afternoon truly appreciated what they were drinking. That wasn’t caffeinated sludge they were drinking. It was espresso—a marvel of heart, body and crème.

  “Andi!”

  Andi snapped her attention back to the espresso bar, worried that the shots had finished pouring and were passing their miniscule expiration window, but found that the machine was still busy pressing the beans. She looked to her fellow barista Noah to explain his urgency and saw that he was standing with his hands on his hips, awkwardly nodding his head towards a woman with chestnut brown hair who was standing on the other side of the counter, her head buried in a newspaper.

  “There she is,” he mouthed, while pointing to their tip jar, which now held a brand new twenty-dollar bill.

  Andi smiled. Noah and his big dreams. For four straight months now, Noah had been crushing on the good-looking woman had who blown in one day in late summer, very put together despite the stifling weather. The woman had visited National Brew every day since, always dressed in a well-tailored pantsuit. Andi and Noah both guessed the woman was an attorney maybe, or perhaps a politician. Her ensemble was too classy for a lobbyist, that they knew for sure. Whatever her profession, the woman was most likely a junior tier—overworked, under pressure and completely dedicated to her work. She didn’t seem to be in the game long enough to reap the rewards of seniority—no car service dropped her off at the coffee shop, no assistant fetched her drinks.

  Andi and Noah had seen this scene play out time and time again. Once or twice a year, usually after the November elections, idealists rolled into town, bright-eyed and ready to tackle whatever D.C. threw at them in hopes of making a difference—or a power grab. And by December, the downtrodden from the previous term left in droves, chewed up and spit out by the sharp politics of Capitol Hill.

  Yet, the brown-haired woman arrived in the off-season, the dog-days of summer when the whole city seemed to laze to a stop under the sweltering heat. And she seemed to never unwind, not even for a moment. Whatever was in the paper on any particular day commanded her complete attention. The woman cared not to engage anyone in National Brew—staff or otherwise—aside from ordering her usual doppio espresso and dropping a twenty-dollar-bill in the tip jar. If Andi had time to care about these sorts of things, she might find the makings of a mystery.

  Andi glanced at the calendar next to the coffee grinder. Today was December twenty-first, the first day of winter and only a few days until the end of the year. Would their customer be back for her same doppio espresso next year, or would she be on the next bus back to Iowa-Ohio-Tennessee? Only a few more days to find out.

  Noah read her mind. He turned away from the calendar, scowling. “I’m running out of time,” he whined, his lips turning into a pout. “The pretty ones are all about to leave. I can see it in their faces. And I’m going to have to start all over again. Not that I would mind if I nabbed someone on a senatorial track—or a Kennedy—but if she was gorgeous enough, like my lady here, I’d settle for a junior Congresswoman.”

  Andi laughed. One of the things she loved most about Noah was his honesty.

  “I say all the right things, give all the right compliments and still come up empty handed. Now our friend here puts a twenty spot in our tip jar every time she comes in and still she hasn’t asked me for a date. Tell me the truth, Andi, am I coming on too strong?”

  “Not for the right woman,” she offered, honestly. Andi hoped Noah would find his Ms. Right. Even though he was a bit more assertive than the average Washingtonian, which was saying a lot, he was a sweetheart through-and-through. He deserved someone who appreciated him.

  “I completely agree,” Noah said, grabbing a red-and-white peppermint stick from a metal canister on the counter. “I just can’t afford to stand around anymore!” He tore through the plastic wrap and snapped off the end between his teeth.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t,” Andi suggested, hoping Noah wouldn’t pick up on the irony of her advice. If anyone needed to be more proactive about their romantic life, it was her. At least according to nearly all of her friends and family.

  “You know what, you’re totally right!” Struck by inspiration, Noah tore off his apron and jogged out the front door after the attractive woman in the pantsuit. A cold rush of wind blew in and rattled what was left of the peppermint sticks.

  Andi absent-mindedly rearranged the candy in the canister. Who had time for dating when there was always so much to do?

  Chapter Two

  FORTY minutes later, Noah returned to the coffee shop, his expression so cross that he flipped the door sign to closed the moment he stepped inside, switched off the Christmas carols that were jingling over the shop speakers and brusquely shuttled the remaining patrons out into the street.

  Squashing the irritated grumbling of his customers, Noah declared, “we’re closing early today, folks. Consider it our holiday gift to you. Now you have more time for shopping or visiting with your families or preparing yourself for whatever catastrophes, I mean happy memories, this season is going to bring to you and yours.”

  “Have a merry one,” Andi said, trying to play Noah’s decision to close early like the most reasonable thing in the world. In truth, she wouldn’t have minded another few hours in the coffee shop, because although business was frantic, it at least kept her busy, kept her mind off of things it should have come to terms with long ago.

  Noah pulled the front door shut and locked it with a frustrated grouse.

  “Six blocks I followed her, Andi, but I just couldn’t catch up. People with arms full of boxes, of gifts, were everywhere. I bobbed left, I bobbed right, and nothing. The weird thing is, she kept her nose in the newspaper the entire walk and didn’t run into anybody once. It’s like the streets magically parted for her.”

  “Magical, like an elf,” Andi joked, emptying the beans from the espresso machine’s hopper.

  “A sexy five-foot-six elf,” Noah quipped, before revisiting his prior statement. “Seriously, though, it’s like people knew to stand down. Like she was somebody.”

  “Almost everybody in this town in somebody.”

  “But I’m not talking about an anybody-somebody. Not even a somebody-somebody, I’m talking bigger. Like 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue bigger.”

  “The White House,” Andi echoed with a laugh. “Come on, Noah.”

  “Listen to me, Andi, this lady’s the real deal, in some way, shape or form. I just know it!”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “Shut this place down for the night so I can go home and google her to my heart’s content. Oh hey, I ever tell you I went ou
t on a few dates with an NSA agent? Nice gal, just a little too puppy dog-ish.”

  Andi shook her head. “So you’re going to get the National Security Administration to stalk this woman?”

  “The sky’s the limit when it comes to love.”

  “Do what you got to do but don’t do anything that’s going to put me out of a job.”

  “Don’t worry, Andi, I’ll invite you to the wedding. You’ll be my groomswoman.”

  Andi chuckled. “I’ll wear my best dress.”

  Noah kissed her on the cheek. “Then I’m confident I’ll have the best-looking bridal party in the world.” He reached into the tip jar and pressed all the money inside into Andi’s palm. He continued, “here, sweetie. Thank you for covering for me. Go on home. I’ll close the place down.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow,” Andi answered, removing her apron and stepping out into the cold D.C. fray.

  Chapter Three

  ANDI spun around once and then twice, trying to avoid getting knocked over by power walkers armed with huge shopping bags. Noah was right. It was chaos out here. And to make matters worse, she had just stepped into the dreaded D.C. rush hour. Usually she closed National Brew late enough that she had a relatively peaceful commute home, but now that Noah insisted they shut early, she was thrust into the mania of the greater D.C. area desperate to squeeze in a few last minute holiday errands before rushing home. If she attempted to follow suit, she could be assured that the rest of her afternoon would be a veritable hell of trying to navigate the pandemonium just to get jostled on the packed-to-the-gills metro.

  She walked past the metro station, warily eyeing the throng of commuters waiting to get sucked into the underground station on the crammed escalator. If she was going to kill time, she’d rather do it in a way that didn’t want to make her set up an emergency appointment for anti-anxiety medication. Besides, the afternoon was crisp and clear, and she was due for some fresh air.

  These past few months had been a blur of late nights and dark mornings. She left her apartment in Adams Morgan before the sun came up, and returned after the sun had set. That way, she could slip into and out of the cocoon of night without having to face the daytime consequences of her life. But now that she was outside, with the sun warming her face and the cool air filling her lungs, her skin prickled in a way it hadn’t in a very long time. She had a sudden urge to do something—to go for a jog around Rock Creek Park or a bike ride around the National Mall or kayak down the Potomac River.

  Andi decided against all three. It took nearly all of her energy to even get out of bed and go to work these days. She didn’t want her mother to receive a call from the coroner’s office about an unidentified woman in an out-of-date track suit found dead of exertion after running less than a mile. She may be down-and-out in a lot of respects but at least she had enough dignity left not to want to embarrass her dear mother.

  Andi chose the safest option—to take a walk. That way she could more easily find a route that traveled against the flow of D.C. traffic and be able to enjoy the afternoon in the most peaceful way possible. Perhaps she would find a park and just relax, clear her mind from all that had been troubling her.

  The tip jar cash in her pocket reminded her that at least she wasn’t totally broke anymore. At least breaking up with Elaine had made her wallet a little fuller. Her fist automatically balled up, clutching the bills in her pocket. She slowly unclenched her fist and removed her hand from her pocket. Elaine. There was a name she had hoped not to think about, ever.

  ELAINE was Andi’s ex-girlfriend whom she supported through law school. Out of nowhere, it seemed, their previously happy relationship turned sour. In the days leading to Elaine’s graduation, Elaine became a different person—distracted, snappish, cold. Andi let Elaine’s behavior slide, thinking Elaine was just stressed at the reality of soon being thrust into real life, and went about making plans for their future. Should they return to their favorite spot on the shore for a week of rest and relaxation after Elaine passed the bar exam? If so, Andi would have to give Noah an adequate heads up. Andi’s question was never answered because on the night before Elaine’s graduation, Elaine dumped her.

  Too shocked to argue, Andi accepted the dumping without a fight, half-believing that Elaine would come back to her once she got through the pressure of graduation. It was only when Andi, brokenhearted, checked online for clues as to why Elaine didn’t call her to at least tell her the location of her graduation dinner that Andi learned the truth. There, for the whole world to see, was Elaine with her arms flirtatiously around a tall, snake-eyed woman that Andi recognized as the partner of the law firm that Elaine had interned at in the spring.

  Were Elaine and the attorney in a relationship? They seemed so comfortable with one another. Had they been in a relationship for some time? Had Elaine been cheating on her? Had Elaine just been using her, playing her for a fool the whole time they were together? Two bottles of merlot later, Andi realized that none of her questions mattered. Elaine had moved on. Elaine no longer wanted her.

  The next morning, amid a raging headache that felt like her brain was being split in two, Andi deleted Elaine’s number from her phone and blocked her online. The only thing that was clear was that Elaine was capable of dropping her like a stranger, and she should be able to return the favor. And so Andi stuffed her rage and humiliation at how Elaine had tossed her aside once she was no longer useful down inside herself and continued to live her life like Elaine had never existed in the first place.

  Andi thought her strategy to refuse to miss Elaine was successful—mostly. But every once in a while a sharpness would rise up in her so strong that it would feel like she was both being fatally suffocated and desperately abandoned all at once. At first she was able to squeeze her eyes shut and force the sharpness away, but as the days went on, the sharpness returned with greater frequency.

  Noah was beginning to catch on, too, pausing all of a sudden during a rush of customers ten deep to ask Andi if she was alright, something he always had confidence in before. Andi would toss back that yes, she was fine. Of course she was fine. But lately there was a glint of suspicion in Noah’s eyes that made Andi think that perhaps she wasn’t fooling him after all. How could she admit to another person that sometimes she felt so alone she could cry, that often in the darkest hours of night, she yearned so badly for a warm body to hold close that it prevented her from getting any rest at all, when she couldn’t even admit it to herself?

  AS Andi followed a trail along the wide Potomac River, she tried again to shove thoughts about Elaine away. She didn’t need to know if Elaine and the attorney walked this very path under the barren branches of the cherry trees that lined the way, just like they had in their many years together, enjoying its romanticism. She didn’t need to know if Elaine and the attorney admired the cool white pillars of the Lincoln Memorial, just like they had last fall as Elaine mused on Lincoln’s legal tenets and Andi mused about how the former president took his coffee. She didn’t need to know if Elaine and the attorney paused just like she was now to take in the beautiful majesty of the nation’s monuments. She didn’t need to know if Elaine and the attorney were still a thing at all.

  A vision, then, sparked through Andi’s mind—of herself with a partner, a faceless someone to walk by her side along this very path. Andi realized immediately that as afraid as she was in the nighttime to be without someone, she was absolutely terrified of being in the daytime with someone. Being with someone meant being open, unguarded and vulnerable.

  A cold sweat broke out over Andi’s brow. So there it was. She was either doomed to be miserably alone or terribly together. She quickened her pace. She had to get home, to hole herself up again. Venturing out this far had obviously been a mistake. Wandering among such antiquities stirred up realities that Andi wasn’t at all prepared to confront. At least if she were at home, she’d know what to
expect. But just in case, she should have a bottle on hand. Did she have any from her last breakdown? Nope. She polished off every last drop. This meant that she’d have to stop off at the liquor store before heading home. Oh well, maybe with the holidays just around the corner they’d have a two-for-one special on spiked eggnog.

  Andi strode with confidence now that her mission was clear—stock up on booze, go home and drink until she remembered nothing about this miserable day. She tried not to feel pathetic. She was doing what plenty of Washington politicians did nightly. Heck, many even daily. And she doubted they felt an ounce of guilt. Now where was the closest liquor store?

  She seemed to remember there being a small shop that carried her remedy just a few steps ahead. Two winters ago she walked this way, although under pretenses too painful to remember now. But those pretenses did involve slipping into the warm shop and grabbing a bottle of cabernet too expensive for her usual budget off the shelf. But the occasion was special and absolutely in warrant of a celebratory drink. She and Elaine were in love.

  While Andi’s legs first carried her in long strides, they now moved so fast that she was almost running. The D.C. streets flew past her in a blur. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized that she had absolutely no control over where she was going. Certainly not to the charming little wine shop and certainly not home. She tried to slow down but it was fruitless. Her body was entirely in the hands of another force altogether.

  When her legs finally slowed to clumsy clomps, and her chest thudded loudly underneath her jacket, Andi realized she was in the one place she had never hoped to visit again. Sweat pouring from her brow, she almost fell to her knees on the green grass which spread endlessly beneath her feet. The Ellipse.

  As her eyes traveled northwards from the park’s grounds to the sky, her worst fears were confirmed. Towering before her, in a majesty of fragrant pine boughs topped with confident garlands of glimmering lights stood the National Christmas Tree.