Exploitation of Early Leave

Once again, Eugene was working his body and mind in the most prominent café of the town, "Monso Rooster". However, this time not only Jessie, who was currently away to buy some utility, but also Arnold himself were present at the place. Despite this old man not showing up to work for a few days straight, his skin was pale and eyes burrowed under bags. His actions, though, were not quite befitting of his sick look, he was brewing a cup after cup for the clients and occasionally himself. His mastery did not wither away after a while of preparation for the festival. Even though it was not the first time, when Arnold was giving up his soul and mind to the craft while the body was a mess, it was still surprising for the man. This diligence is worthy of the success and foul temper the old man had.

"Eugene, for goodness's sake, where the hell are you!?" he exclaimed from the kitchen while the man was serving coffee for young ladies. Of course, his tempo stumbled a little when those gals started asking questions about this place and himself. It had loosened up the bitterness in his throat that was still present from the previous day, and even the angry call of his boss was somehow endearing, not intimidating.

Eugene left the girls with a smile and dashed towards the kitchen door, upon entering which he said, "What's up, Arnold?"

"What did you say to me?" Arnold stared at him, but then shook his head and said, "Actually, never mind, take the order to the 5th order already."

And so Eugene did, brought a single cup of café crème to the lone client in the corner of the café near the display window. The man thanked him, but refused to say anything further, thus Eugene was finally free to enjoy the views of the place brimming with clients. For some, it was indeed a majestic look, but Eugene was unhappy with the outcome. There were not anyone to talk to, even those girls from before were preoccupied in their own conversation, meaning, he had to once again dwell into his thoughts that were overfilled but by one person, Sylvia la Avise.

How is she doing? Is she still mad at him and Maurice? Perhaps, she awaits for him? But if she did, would she just visit the café herself? Would Eugene even be happy seeing her? In the end, he was not sure whether he himself forgave her for such behaviour.

"Oh, God, why is it so hard…?" he whispered and leaned onto the counter. Luckily, he suddenly heard a mechanical sound and a wave of swearing. After Eugene, half the clients also gazed at the kitchen door in confusion. Eugene appeared to be the only one to immediately act, which was a given for an employee. Once again, he rushed into the kitchen and witnessed Arnold dismantling their espresso machine.

"What the hell are you doing?" Asked Eugene, to which Arnold replied, "This thing will drive me crazy. Eugene, give me something long and thin. I need to clean the insides."

Eugene nodded and quickly grabbed a spoon from a drawer. Then, he extended it to Arnold. The old man nodded in approval and said, "Ok, hold onto the iron sheet, it might slam if I let it go."

Eugene followed his lead and together, they managed to clean the machine from some coffee dust that somehow got inside it.

Right after they were done adjusting the iron sheet back in place to seal the insides, in came the third person and said, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Jessie! Finally, give me the towel, I will wipe this thing clean." said Arnold while forcefully taking away a stack of towels from Jessie's hands. Then, Eugene replied to her earlier question, "I guess, we were repairing it? Some dust got inside of it."

"Nothing was broken yet! Just a little mishap. Who is responsible for cleaning it?"

Eugene and Jessie looked at each other in confusion. The woman said, "Were we supposed to clean this thing?"

Now Arnold was also taken aback. After a few seconds of realisation, he removed the monocle to wipe his eyes and said, "Bloody hell, I forgot to tell about it. The preparations for the festival were tense."

Jessie shook her head, but then faced Eugene to say, "By the way, you have some special guests waiting outside."

"Special guests?" 

Eugene's whole body shuddered. Even though, his legs felt wobbly and the whole body heavier than usual upon hearing Jessie's words, he was still eager to see the one who paid him a visit. Alas, his expectations were destroyed by a firm man's voice coming from the entrance door.

"Hey, Eugene, how are you?"

One of the new coming guests was Lawrence, and besides him stood another man. Maurice also paid his visit, while waving, though his eyes were avoiding the contact with Eugene.

The enthusiasm evaporated from Eugene's face, which was caught by Lawrence, he asked, "Were you expecting someone else?"

Eugene shook his head and forced a smiling facade to welcome them. Even though, those were his friends, it was still an unprofessional behaviour to bloom with gloom. Eugene pointed at the table and the two followed his silent invitation, then, he peeked into the kitchen and said, "Three cups of coffee, please."

"Three? But did not only Lawrence and Maurice come here?" pointed out Jessie, to which Eugene replied, "We have to discuss something."

"I do not remember letting you off on a break, Eugene." protested Arnold and rightfully so, however, Eugene had an ace up his sleeve.

"This is regarding Sylvia… We had a little quarrel and… She is important to you, right? I will not ask why, but will also not dive into our situation. If you are making exceptions for her, then, please, let me make one for her as well."

Only the back of an old man was visible to Eugene. Jessie, however, was perfectly able to see the wrinkled face of the owner. Her expression was full of concern, but seconds after, her eyes rounded up in shock. Meanwhile, Arnold stood straight as if Eugene's words did not reach him, but suddenly, his shoulders twitched lightly, and he said quietly, "Do as you please."

Eugene bowed a little to thank his boss and left to finally sit down by the table with awaiting guests. Lawrence was looking at Maurice and Maurice at the table. They sat in silence for a while, but then, Maurice finally raised his head to face Eugene and said, "Listen, I apologize for what I said yesterday. Also, for how I played against Sylvia, I truly acted like a child. I am sorry."

After hearing him out, Eugene leaned back on the chair and said, "Well, that is surely rare for you to apologize for something. Seems like Lawrence lectured you well."

"Nah, give him credit, he was actually really sad and regretful about what happened, when he told me the story."

Eugene giggled a little and faced Maurice, whose face was barely red due to his darker skin, however eyes were directed at Lawrence and squinting. Eugene's motion was noticed by him and as soon as Maurice turned to the one he apologized to, Eugene said, "I am not mad at you, but do not you feel you should have directed your apology to the other person first?"

Suddenly, Maurice and Lawrence exchanged gazes and were about to tell something, but were immediately after interrupted by Jessie, who brought them the order.

"You will not believe what I saw when you talked with Arnold." she said and sat down by the table as well. Eugene raised his brow and the two other men prickled their ears. Jessie, narrowed her brows and leaned towards Eugene to whisper in his ear, "Arnold cried."

"Huh!?" Eugene stood up in shock, making a scene for all the unrelated clients. The pressure of their gazes lowered Eugene's posture, and he sat back down to say, "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. He told me that you can leave to settle everything with her, but would need to return. He has something to tell you."

"Maybe you would get fired?" said Maurice, to which Eugene grumbled, "Shut up, lukewarm narcissist! 

"Rubbing the salt into the wound was unnecessary."

"You deserve it. As if he would ever fire his best employee! But, seriously, what is the deal with him? Actually, I will learn soon after anyway, so let's hurry up and leave before he changes his mind."

Eugene stood up and was about to dash towards the front door without changing his clothes. Then, Jessie stopped him by saying, "But what about the coffee?"

Eugene took his cup of espresso and gulped it down in one go. Maurice followed his lead, however, did not touch his cup, only said, "I do not like coffee, sorry."

The last one to leave was Lawrence, he put the money for the three cups on the table and said to Jessie with a smile, "You can have mine, if you want."

This way, the loudest guests as well as the employee left the premise. Jessie remained standing dumbfounded before returning to her duties, and Arnold was peeking out of the kitchen door, his cheeks were softened up with a smile, however eyes were directed at the ground in sorrow and regret.