Daddy G
I'm happy to hear that, baby. Are you OK seeing them again?
I am okay. I know that it won't be a cut and dry reunion with our dad, not with the history we have. It's a start, though, that he seems to be doing better. Trying, at least. I'll go to see my siblings and be cordial to him, but I won't reach for a relationship if he doesn't offer it.
By the time I get to work, my brain switches from family and Garrett to coffee. I clock in and jump right into customer service mode. Tyler is back on my side and this week he seems much better. There are small bags under his eyes, but he seems to have energy today. We make small chit-chat between customers and take turns making the drinks and working the register.
I'm in a great mood all morning. Austin has a checklist, as usual, of things that need to be inventoried, stocked, or cleaned. I get through most of it before my break and plan to do the rest once I get back. That is, until the nephew shows up. He won’t become the official new owner for another two months, but he sure acts like it. We haven’t seen Kenny since that meeting.
I watch from one of the cafe tables as he starts rearranging my station. He changes where we keep the chocolate pumps and to-go coffee cups, switching them around which makes no sense. Then he moves the drip coffees and all the sugar packets and creamer cups we provide for customers to make their own coffee if they want. Nothing he does makes sense. I can't hear them talking, but Austin walks up at one point and it looks tense.
When Cade walks away, Austin looks over at me and rolls his eyes, his shoulders dropping. I finish my lunch and clock back in a few minutes early. I don't like the way the new set up looks, but Austin says we have to just let him do whatever and hopefully he'll see that it isn't going to work.
"He's changing prices on things as well, going up on every single item," Austin says. "I'm sorry, Orion. I'm trying to get him to stop changing so much so fast."
"I know it's not you," I say. I turn back to look at the espresso machine and the set up now. I can't stop the laugh bubbling up my throat. "It just looks bad. It makes no sense to have the cups on that side."
"I know," Austin says, chuckling with me. "Let him have his power trip and he'll realize soon enough we know what we're doing."
"Whatever you say, boss."
Tyler walks over then and I can see that the day has hit him. He looks tired again, walking slower and he immediately leans against the counter. "You okay?" Austin asks.
"I'll survive." Tyler dismisses the question. "Cade just told me I needed to start upselling people for their coffees in the morning. I'm not making him enough money apparently."
Austin audibly grumbles at that and his brows furrow. "That's it. I know it's only been what, two weeks? I love this shop too much to see all this go down. You two, we are having dinner Friday night and we're going to discuss what to do. If you're planning on sticking around, that is."
"I don't plan on leaving," I say. "And dinner on Friday sounds great."
"If I have the energy by then," Tyler says. "I'll be there."
"Seriously, Tyler." Austin holds a hand out toward Tyler's elbow. "I'm not asking you to discuss your medical information, but are you okay? I know you were supposed to go to college with Amir but you stayed. Is everything okay? Is there anything we can do for you?"
"If you can find me someone that will take over making all the decisions and choices in my life, that would be great." Tyler laughs but Austin and I look at each other. We definitely have that in our lives. Well, I'm working on giving my Daddy the trust to take over everything for me. After this weekend and everything that Garrett did for me, I know that I can trust him with anything. We're supposed to be going over my finances tonight. "Why are you two looking at each other like that?"
"Um, so…" I look at Austin, at a loss for words.
"We kind of have partners that do that for us? We could definitely find someone for you that would be happy making all the decisions."
"What?" Tyler seems more intrigued than confused or anything. "How does that work?"
"Have you ever heard of Daddies? Or Mommies, depending on your preference of partners." Tyler's eyes nearly bug out at the question.
A customer comes up and I turn around to help them, leaving the two of them to talk quietly. The customer gets a drip coffee and has a pastry so I ring them up quickly, reaching in the wrong place for a cup. I grumble to myself as I take a step to the left and grab a cup and lid.
"Here you go." I hand the cup over and smile. "Have a great day."
I tune back into the conversation with Austin and Tyler.
"… I go at least once a month. It's a fun time to just let go and not worry about anything for a night."
"What are we talking about?" I ask.
"The club," Austin says. "Trying to convince Tyler to come with us one time."
"Did you confirm that he's even interested in… our lifestyle?" I remember the way Austin asked me about it, just jumping into it. Of course, I was in denial then.
"I did," Austin says. "And I told you I was sorry about how I asked you."
