Page 36 of It's a Brewtiful Day
“I’m taking part-time online classes, but I’ve stalled over the last semester. Again.”
“Oh yeah?”
I rolled my lip between my teeth. “I’m wavering.” I hadn’t even shared that with Cassie. “I have half of a Library Sciences degree under my belt, but I have dreams of buying out the bookstore when Harvey’s ready to sell. Then I’ve been thinking aboutmaybe switching tracks and learning how to run a business since I don’t really know how to do that.” I also had a year’s worth of schooling trying to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree, as well as two accounting courses, which were the most boring classes I’d ever attended.
“I’m sure you know more than you think.”
“Well, what I do have a grasp on is what customers love reading, and I know lots about different titles, genres, and top sellers, although Iammore lenient toward the romance genre. However, knowing what customers like to read and actually getting those books on the shelves, those are two different aspects.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. But it might not be as hard as you think either.”
“It could be harder.” I wasn’t fishing for a compliment, so I was relieved when Elliot didn’t reply. I had a friend that would constantly put herself down so others could lift her up, and I always thought that was the most backward way of thinking. I knew what my strengths were and also knew my weaknesses, but as far as running a business went, I knew next to nothing. “However, I’m ready for the challenge.”
“Challenge is good.”
“Challenge is what I’m used to,” I said with a puff and reached for another treat. My hand hovered over a couple of options. “What do you recommend next?”
Under the flickering glow of the flameless candle, he surveyed the items. “The Nanaimo bar. It’s my favourite.”
“Done.” I picked up two, handed one to him, and took a bite. It was heavenly; the perfect thickness of custard seeped out from under the crisp chocolate layer but mixed perfectly with the coconut and walnut crust. “Oh my goodness,” I said with my mouth half full.
“Right?”
I finished my bite. “I could eat a whole tray.”
“You could, but you might regret it.”
“Nah., I don’t regret anything. Do you?”
“Yeah. It’s a daily battle for me.” He said it so forlornly that my heart ached a little.
“Why?” I took another savoury bite, licking my lips for good measure.
“Just wished I’d done things differently, maybe taken a different path.”
“Oh? Like what? Doing what?” I leaned forward, leaning on my left side so I was closer to him.
He shrugged. “Like schooling. I always struggled but I gave up in my senior year. Didn’t have any teachers who were able to help or offer different solutions. I loved math and science but couldn’t process what I was being taught to understand.” Pausing with a tight, pensive expression, he scuffed his feet on the floor while the weight of what burdened him pressed on his shoulders. “My gradetwelve math teacher told me, in front of the whole class, how I was too stupid to be taught because I kept asking questions.”
My jaw dropped right to the floor, but I was ready to jump into action. “What? That’s awful.”
“I agree. It was a huge hit to my self-esteem, and I stopped caring about things. I lost my zest and stayed in dead-end jobs. I barely had enough credits to graduate, and when you’re seventeen and humiliated like that… It made high school less than the ideal that society would have you believe with the whole ‘best years ever’ motto filled with all the magic. My years there were rough. Kids made fun of me.” In the span of a few seconds, Elliot had de-aged—as if remembering the torment of his high school years brought that version of himself back to the surface.
I placed my hand on his arm, but what I really wanted was to wrap the heartbroken seventeen-year-old Elliot in a deep hug, tell him how important he was, and what a kind heart he had. “That’s nothing short of disappointing. I hope that teacher was fired, and those kids that taunted you? Well, karma is just waiting for them.”
“He retired the next year, so I heard, and as for the kids who made fun of me, well, I have no idea.”
I gave his arm another squeeze, fighting back a slight blur in my vision. Cassie regularly talked about who was getting picked on in her school, and it always bothered me. I told her if she wasn’t going to let meteach the bullies a lesson, she needed to stop telling me about them because I was going to figure out who they were, and then they’d be dealing with massive regret.
“I’m really sorry. You should never have been treated like that.”
He brushed off my hand and my weak attempt to comfort him. “It’s okay now. I’ve learned from it, I’ve dealt with it, and I’ve moved on.” He picked up the water bottle and took a drink, giving the plastic bottle a tight squeeze. After taking a deep breath, he set the crumpled bottle down. “Like you, I’ve taken a few online courses, but I’m still not sure what I want to do for the rest of my life. Even being almost thirty. Makes me a loser, doesn’t it?”
There was that seventeen-year-old again. Licks of anger swelled in my gut, and dislike for people I’d never even met roared through me. If they only knew how their words hurt people. How long those scars last.
I needed a deep breath myself, and when I finished, I curled back up in my chair. “You are definitely not a loser. Not everyone wants to be a doctor or a lawyer, and the world needs things that make them happy. Like books. And coffee shops. And handmade crocheted scarves. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with working in either of those industries. Besides, I think you are perfectly suited for this job and the reason this store is so successful.”
It was the truth; he was the reason I came inevery morning before work to grab a coffee. I didn’t need the caffeine boost. Just seeing his infectious smile and hearing the way he greeted me was equivalent to a rush from an espresso drink, and I craved it.