Page 1 of Mountain Bean Dream
Chapter One
“Thanks for supporting Coffee Loft.” I handed the unfamiliar customer a takeout cup of our newest creation—Never Bean Kissed—a delicious concoction of espresso, mocha, and secret spices sure to make anyone pucker up and smile in delight. It was a hit on many levels.
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “A friend suggested when I pass through town that this was the place to get the best coffee.” With a nod, she grabbed her package of sweets and exited the store.
A motto the co-owners Elliot and Nina took to heart. Nina loved to order new blends from her colleague at the Ridge Heights location. Carter personally roasted the beans to keep the menu fresh and appealing. This was probably one of the reasons the coffee shop was on everyone’s radar.
Nina had put a lot of time and money into the location, and it really was the best place to visit. Local goods, a cozy atmosphere, and an array of puns to dazzle and delight the customers with.
Oh, beans! I’d forgotten to use any with my last customer. Whoopsie. Hopefully, no one missed that.
I glanced quickly at Elliot, who was tucked into the corner deep cleaning one of the machines, bringing it back its sparkle. He was as obsessive with cleanliness as he was with punctuality.
Something I failed at repeatedly; one more verbal warning and I was getting a formal write-up.
Since that customer had been the last in line for a few minutes—and I needed to prove I was still a good employee, even if I was tardy—it gave me the perfect opportunity to clean the dining area and take out the trash. With a wet cloth and a spray bottle of eco-friendly cleaner, I set to wiping down the firsttable, making sure I sprayed in the opposite direction of the next table. Only made that mistake once when the overspray landed on the customer’s tableand food.Whoopsie.
“How’s your breakfast this morning, Jeremy?”
He took a long, deep breath and answered slowly, as if I was disturbing him and his crossword puzzle and mumbled through a mouth full of food while keeping his eyes focused on his phone. “It’s good, thank you.”
Hmm… he was talkative today as that was one more word than I usually got out of him when he frequented the Coffee Loft. Even when he arrived and ordered, as a long-term regular,like clockwork regular, all we had to ask was if he was having the usual, and that was greeted with a drawn-outpleasefollowed by a nod. No more, no less. For as long as I’d known him, that’s just how he was. Even as the motel owner where I rented out a room, he was a soft-spoken man of few words. No doubt he was a great listener, or maybe, he just didn’t care. An ordinary guy who did nothing extraordinary and wore the same type of clothing every day—a white shirt under a grey hoodie with a beige jacket and blue jeans—and sat in the same spot (forty-five minutes, no more, no less) and without fail, ate and drank his usual. Always the same. Predictable. Boring.
“Great. I can’t espresso how happy that makes me.” At least that warranted an eyebrow raise when he tipped his head up and let out a half smile.
I didn’t need to explain to him how puns were part of the job; for many of the Coffee Loft staff saying them was as easy as breathing. However, on the days we were drawing a blank, as not everyone’s personalities were bright enough to carry the load, Elliot and Nina had graciously printed a poster-sized cheat sheet in the stocking area to help us out. Ironically, as quirky as it was, it did help with sales. Most people enjoyed a good pun. And a pun said with a wink and a smile went even further.
I scrubbed the other tables, humming along to the music playing overhead and twirling between the chairs as I tucked them back in. As I made my way back over in Jeremy’s direction, he called out.
“Hey, Molly, you’re pretty smart.”
“Thank you.”I think.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” I set the cleaner and cloth on the table beside him as I rested against it.
He tapped his pencil on the crossword puzzle. “I hate looking up answers on my phone, but I feel I should know this. Are you good with celebrities?”
I shrugged. “I watch TMZ from time to time, so maybe?”
He looked down at the crossword. “People Magazine’s 2018 Sexiest Man Alive. Two words. First word has a D in spot two and the last word ends with an A.” He pointed to blank spaces.
I leaned over his shoulder and looked. “Oh, that’s easy. Idris Elba.”
“Who’s that?” He penciled in the letters. “It fits.”
“Seriously?” I grabbed my supplies and stood on the opposite side of the table. “He played Charles onThe Office?” No spark of recognition. “You never watched that show?” It was the best comedy series out there.
Jeremy shook his head.
“Wow,” I said with a hint of shock and surprise in my voice. “Okay, Idris was in that movie with Kate Winslet. They were trapped on a mountain…” Waving my hand through the air, I tried remembering the name. It wasn’t nearly as good as the book—movies rarely were—but the actors gave solid performances. I snapped my fingers when it came to me. “Oh yeah,The Mountain Between Us.”
“Is that a chick’s movie?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s probably why I don’t know that name. That’s not my genre.”