Espresso in the Morning

by Dorie Graham

  “Lots of kids have Big Brothers, Grey. I think you should give it a try.”

  “Are you just trying to find someone else to palm me off on?” he asked, staring at her.

  “No, why would I do that?”

  He turned away, shaking his head.

  “Grey, it would be good for you,” she said, frustrated now. Somehow, she’d managed to mess up again.

  She’d no sooner parked in front of the shop than Grey bolted from the car and raced inside—away from his failure of a mom.

  * * *

  GREY STARED AT the teenager behind the counter. Stubble covered his cheeks and jaw. A cast encased his left forearm.

  “Where’s Lucas?” Grey asked.

  “He’s in back. Did you need him for something?”

  “No, it’s cool.” Grey glanced toward the entrance as his mom came in and headed in their direction. Why did she think he needed a stupid Big Brother? And why did they call it that? It wasn’t as though the guy would really be his brother. Who would want to be a part of their family?

  He shoved his hand into his pocket and his fingers closed around the ten-dollar bill Aunt Becca had given him for chores. It was a payment on the espresso machine. He blew out a breath. He’d have to find a way of getting it to Lucas without Mom seeing.

  Mom stepped up beside him, her fake smile in place. Grey hated that smile. Why did she have to pretend she was happy?

  “What are you having, little man?” she asked.

  Heat rose in Grey’s cheeks at the use of the nickname. He glanced at the kid behind the counter. A smoothie might be nice, but the kid already thought he was a baby. “Espresso.”

  “Make that a decaf mocha latte and I’ll have the same,” Mom said.

  “Yes, ma’am, coming right up. Do you want whipped cream on those?”

  “No,” Grey said. Only babies had whipped cream.

  Without looking at his mom, he moved to a nearby table and dropped his book bag by a chair. Maybe Lucas would come out and he’d find a way to slip him the money. But he still had to figure out how to get the espresso machine to the house.

  Would his plan even work? If Mom couldn’t sit still at home for an hour in the afternoon, would she be able to manage breakfast? She had managed on Saturday, though, and they could still blast her music.

  She stood at the counter, her back stiff as the new kid chatted while he made their drinks. She obviously asked about his cast, because he waved it, no doubt telling her the story. His sleeve slipped upward on his good arm as he reached for a mug, revealing part of a tattoo on his arm.

  Who was this tattooed kid? How long had he been working in Lucas’s shop?

  With a shake of his head, Grey pulled out his notebook. What did he care? He should at least finish his homework. Then maybe they could head home again and he could shut himself in his room. Why bother trying to hang out with his mom? She’d just blast her music and it wasn’t like they could talk over it. And obviously she didn’t want to hang out with him, if she was trying to push him on this Big Brother guy.

  A short while later his mother joined him. “Here you go,” she said as she placed his coffee drink beside him.

  “Thanks,” he said and then sipped the drink.

  “Honey, I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about getting you a Big Brother beforehand, but it doesn’t mean I’m palming you off on him. I love hanging out with you. We hang out a lot. I just think it’s important that you have a good male role model.”

  “If you love hanging out with me, then why can’t we hang out at home?” he asked.

  Her shoulders rose, then sank. “It’s difficult for me.”

  “Why?” He stared at her. Why would hanging out at home be a problem? It never used to be.

  “We hung out with Lucas this past weekend.” She gestured with her hand. “I made dinner.”

  “Fine, then let’s do it again.”

  “Fine, I’ll ask Lucas if he can come hang out this Saturday, but then I want you to give this Big Brother thing a try.”

  He shrugged and sipped his drink. “Fine.”

  At least they’d get to hang out with Lucas again. Besides, if Mom didn’t want to tell him what was really going on, he might as well try out the Big Brother. Maybe he’d tell him stuff.

  “Don’t fill up too much. We can stop for dinner when we’re done here.”

  Grey nodded. Of course they’d stop somewhere. Why would they do anything so crazy as to have dinner at home, like normal people? “I’ll bet Aunt Becca is making a nice dinner.”

  Mom stopped and stared at him a minute. “I’m sure she is. My sister is great about doing things like that.”

  Grey felt bad about hurting her feelings, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Had she even tried to work at home? What was wrong with her that she couldn’t manage something as simple as that?

  He shrugged and focused on his paper. He had a billion more sentences to write and then he still had math to do. He focused on the page. The bell on the front door jingled as a group of laughing teenagers entered.

  At least they were having fun. An upbeat song came on and Grey tapped his pencil to the beat. Why did his mom think this place was mellow? Just because Lucas didn’t play acid rock didn’t mean there wasn’t a lot going on.

  “Here are my favorite espresso drinkers.” Lucas appeared beside their table. “How’s it going, Grey?”

  Grey nodded and said, “Okay.”

  “Got a lot of homework?” Lucas asked as he peered over Grey’s shoulder at his sentences.

  “A little. I have to finish these sentences, then I have a math worksheet.”

  “Well, my man Ramsey has been hitting the math pretty hard these days. If you run into trouble, maybe he can help you.” Lucas nodded toward the scruffy teenager behind the counter.

  “Your man Ramsey has a tattoo,” Grey said. “I saw it when his sleeve rode up.”

  “What kind of tattoo?” Mom asked, frowning.

  Grey shrugged. “Couldn’t see all of it, but it looked like some kind of letters or something.”

  “He’s a good kid,” Lucas said.

  “Is he old enough to have a tattoo?” Mom asked. “Don’t you have to be eighteen?”

  Lucas’s eyebrows arched. “I don’t think he got it legally,” he said, “but he’s still a good kid. He may have gone astray at one point, but I’d say we’ve gotten him back on track.”

  “Astray in what way?” Mom asked. “Did he really fall down some stairs?”

  “Mom,” Grey said, “he just works here. If Lucas says he’s cool, then he’s cool.”

  Grey glanced at his mom. She still seemed intent on this Ramsey kid. Hurrying, he pulled his notebook into his lap and jotted a quick note.

  Need to give u $ and ask u something.

  He tore the note from the page and slipped it to Lucas under the table. Lucas read the note, then glanced at him and nodded.

  “Hey, Grey, can I borrow you for a minute? I need to get some cups from the back. I thought you could help me,” Lucas asked and glanced at Mom.

  She frowned. “Well, only for a minute, okay? He’s got to finish his homework.”

  “I’ll have him right back,” Lucas said as he pulled out Grey’s chair. “Follow me.”

  Grey smiled at his mom as he hurried after Lucas. She didn’t suspect a thing. Boy, was she going to be surprised on her birthday. They slipped behind the counter and then down a short hallway, before reaching a door marked Staff Only.

  Grey smiled as Lucas led them into the supply room. Shelves of coffee, bottles of varying shapes and sizes and all kinds of boxes surrounded them. Grey dug in his pocket and pulled out the ten-dollar bill.

  “Here,” he said and handed the bill to Lucas. “That makes just another thirty dollars I owe you, right?”

  Lucas took the bill as he bent low to look Grey in the eye. “That’s right, but it’s not too late to change your mind,” he said. “I mean, are you sure this is something your mo
m wants?”

  “Yes, she’s going to love it,” Grey said.

  She had to love it. He didn’t have a Plan B and he’d go nuts if something didn’t change soon.

  “I still have a couple of weeks until her birthday,” he said. “Her birthday is the weekend before Halloween. I need your help getting the espresso machine home, though. Maybe you can bring it over for me—you know, like we could get you to come to fix stuff and then you can stay and we’ll surprise Mom and celebrate or something. Maybe I can ask Aunt Becca to help me bake her a cake.” He frowned. “I’m not sure how to sneak that over if it’s part of the surprise, but I could try to figure it out.”

  Lucas straightened. “Maybe, but don’t worry. We’ll figure something out if that doesn’t work.”

  “Why wouldn’t it work? Aren’t you going to come back to our house to help us again? Mom says she’s going to ask you about this Saturday, but we’ve got lots of stuff that still needs fixing, so one day won’t be enough. We’ll have to stretch it out, until I can pay you the rest of the money. I’ll help you with fixing stuff and doing yard work.”

  “It’s not entirely up to me, buddy. I’d like to say we’re going to fix lots of more stuff together, but I can’t say what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone in a couple of weeks. But I’ll do what I can to help.”

  Grey was more frustrated than he ever remembered being. Why was Lucas saying this? Didn’t he like them?

  “Hey, you’d better take these out front, or your mom will be on to us.” Lucas handed him a stack of disposable coffee cups. “Give these to Ramsey. He’ll know where to put them.”

  Grey took the cups and glanced at Lucas expectantly, hoping he’d come back out front and hang out with them, but he’d already turned toward an office tucked away at the back of the stockroom.

  “Okay, thanks,” Grey said.

  Lucas turned to him and smiled. “You’ve got it, Grey. I’ll be back out front in a little bit.”

  Well, that hadn’t gone quite the way he’d thought it would. Grey found Ramsey at the far end of the counter, cleaning out some kind of metal filter. He’d have to ask Lucas to show him how to make espresso, so he could make some for his mom when they had their own machine at home.

  “Here,” he said, handing the cups to the tattoo guy. “Lucas said you’d know where to put these.”

  “Sure.” Ramsey took the cups. He removed them from the plastic bag and carried them to a spot midcounter.

  Grey trailed along behind him and asked, “So, how long have you worked here?”

  “Like, almost a year.”

  “How come I haven’t seen you? We’re here every morning.”

  “I’m only here after school.”

  “You’re in high school?”

  “I’m a senior.”

  “And where did you get your tattoo?” Grey asked. “My mom thinks you’re too young to have one.”

  Ramsey frowned and rubbed his arm. “It’s just something stupid I did. My mom got really pissed.”

  “Mine would kill me if I did that.” Grey glanced at his mom. She was watching him and she didn’t look happy. She motioned for him to come back to the table, pointing at his notebook.

  “You shouldn’t get one, then,” Ramsey said. “Not at least until you’re old enough.”

  Grey turned so he couldn’t see his mom. “Why did you get yours?” he asked.

  Ramsey busied himself fidgeting with the big espresso machine. “I was stupid. I was into things I shouldn’t have been into,” he explained. “But Lucas gave me a job here and helped me to get out of a bad situation.”

  “Were you in a gang? Is that why you have the tattoo? I saw a special on the History Channel about gangs and they showed tattoos kind of like yours.”

  “Look, it’s not something you talk about.” He shook his head. “Lucas is cool. I couldn’t have turned things around if he hadn’t been there.”

  “Yeah, he’s cool.” Grey glanced at his mom again. She was giving him her mom frown. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Okay, see you.”

  He trudged back to the table, back to his homework and his mom, who continued to frown at him as he slipped into his seat.

  “Sweetie, please try to concentrate now,” she said. “I think it’s best if you go to Gram’s after school a few days a week from now on.”

  Grey picked up his pencil and didn’t answer. Why argue? She’d made up her mind. Great, now he’d be spending more time at Gram’s. At least she seemed to like having him around. Maybe he could spend the weekend with her or Aunt Becca. These days any place was better than at home.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  LATER THAT WEEK Lucas paid his bills online as Ramsey settled in the chair beside his desk. Lucas’s decision to promote the kid had proven right. Ramsey had turned out to be a good manager.

  “What’s up, Ramsey?” Lucas asked.

  “I was thinking we should schedule an extra person Saturday mornings. We’ve had a lot of new groups showing up and it can get hectic with just two of us up front. Not for the entire shift, but starting midmorning would be good.”

  “Why don’t you see if you can work it out without us having to hire any additional staff? I gave you access to the schedule last week. Let me know the next time you log in and I’ll walk you through it.”

  Ramsey nodded. “Thanks. That’d be great. I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity.”

  “Well, I appreciate the work you do around here.”

  “Cool. Good.” He gestured toward Lucas’s cell phone on the corner of his desk. “I can get you a deal on a new cover, if you’d like.”

  Lucas picked up his phone, with its simple black cover. “You don’t like my cover?”

  The kid’s shoulders rolled in an easy shrug, as a rare smile curved his lips. “A guy needs to stay current,” he said. “You know, to gain the interest of the ladies.”

  “Ah, you think I’m an old fogy.”

  “No, not at all.” Ramsey shifted in his seat. “I think we all just need whatever help it takes.”

  Lucas shook his head. There was no way Claire had even noticed his cover. “I think this one’s fine, but I’ll give it some thought.”

  “It’s not a bad cover. It suits you. And really, I still feel like I owe you. If you change your mind let me know and I’ll get you one.”

  “Thanks, Ramsey. I’ll let you know.”

  “I’m going to do my best around here.”

  Lucas grinned, resisting the urge to ask the kid to explain just how the plain black cover suited him. “I gave you the opportunity,” he said, “but you wouldn’t still be here if you hadn’t shown you were up for a challenge. Now, how’s school going? You’ve been putting in a lot of hours here. I don’t want your grades to suffer.”

  “Oh, no, it’s all cool. I’m doing okay. I was having a little trouble with physics, but I have a friend tutoring me now.” He smiled. “I made an eighty-four on my last quiz.”

  “Good job.” Lucas patted him on the back. “We can adjust your schedule if we need to. Just let me know.”

  Ramsey shrugged. “My plans for Saturday fell through. I can work that morning until closing, since Ken is taking off.”

  Lucas cocked his head. He’d planned to spend the morning working in the back office, but be on hand in case it got busy. Hopefully, he’d be at Claire’s that afternoon, though he wasn’t going to push her. “I can’t remember the last time I slept in and took an entire Saturday off.”

  “You should totally do it,” Ramsey said. “I’ll come in and you can do whatever you want that day. I mean, you’re the boss. You should be able to take time off when you want, right?”

  “Thanks, kid. That’s actually not a bad idea.”

  “Cool. I’ll add myself to the schedule then.” He nodded. “I’d better get back out front.”

  As Ramsey left, Lucas leaned back in his chair. His mother’s boyfriend had returned from his trip and was available to help her with pr
ojects, or to do whatever the two of them liked to do. With The Coffee Stop covered, Lucas had plenty of options.

  A vision of Claire drifted through his mind. She’d mentioned that afternoon that Grey would be at his aunt’s all day Saturday and Saturday night, so they’d postponed his visit until Grey would be there.

  What would it be like to spend the day with her, without doing handyman projects? They could do something outside and active. She’d been so relaxed at the park last weekend. It was bound to do her good.

  It can’t just be about her. It has to be about you, as well.

  His mother’s warning echoed through his mind. Why was it a bad thing that he wanted to help Claire? And getting outside with her would be good for him, too.

  Would she be up for it, though? He picked up his phone in its plain black case. There was only one way to find out.

  * * *

  “I DON’T want to go to Aunt Becca’s,” Grey said early Saturday as they made their way to Claire’s sister’s. “We were supposed to hang with Lucas today. All of us. It isn’t fair.”

  “I’m sorry I forgot about your plans with your cousin, Grey.”

  “You should have remembered,” he said.

  “I don’t always remember everything.” She focused on the road. Her memory issues were getting to be a problem. “We’ll reschedule with Lucas. Amanda is excited about you coming. Aunt Becca is taking you guys to the zoo and the Cyclorama. You love the Cyclorama and I thought you had fun at Aunt Becca’s house.” She pursed her lips. “They have dinner at the table the way you like.”

  “But you get to hang with Lucas and we eat at the table when he comes. I like being at our house then. Why can’t I stay and hang out with you guys?”

  Claire’s head pounded so hard her scalp felt tight. Why had she agreed to go with Lucas this afternoon? She didn’t know the trail he’d picked to hike, she’d gotten even less sleep than normal fretting about it and now Grey was getting upset.