“Robbie, I need two flat whites, both oat,” I call out as I walk across the café, doing my best to dodge in and out of the customers as the early morning rush begins to take full effect.
“And I need your butt behind the counter helping me!” Robbie hollers back, rolling his eyes in mock anger as he zooms from one coffee machine to the next, his nimble movements a blur as he gets on with his tasks like the pro he is. “We’ve got four juices. Two OJ, one pear, and one pineapple. All to go. Got it?”
“Got it!” I reply, high-fiving Robbie as I walk past him and get myself set up at the juice bar. “I think this morning is going to be another busy one.”
“You don’t say,” Robbie chuckles, his blonde hair looking as shiny as ever.
Robbie is my co-worker, and the reason that I passed my trial shift at the café. If it wasn’t for him, I think I might have been shown the door after only an hour on my first day when I got an order so spectacularly wrong that I might as well have poured all six coffees directly into the wash basin.
Robbie is fast-talking, ambitious, and doesn’t do bullshit. But he’s kind too and has the kind of sassy sense of humor that I really love.
Oh, and he’s a Little too.
Just like me.
I’m not saying that he covered my butt on that trial shift just because he could see I was a Little, but I’m pretty sure that it definitely had something to do with it. And the truth is that at the time I wasn’t even entirely sure I was a Little either. But hanging out with Robbie, going to Little play centers and parties with him has really helped my work out who I am.
So, yeah, Robbie is great.
But even though we’re friends, that doesn’t mean I’m immune to receiving the full force of his sassy callouts from time to time. Quite the opposite in fact…
“Sorry guys, Eddie is new,” Robbie says, throwing the customers a wink as I prep the final juice. “You have probably never been served a slower juice in your lives, but honestly it’s gonna taste great!”
“Hey, you just stick to the coffee,” I retort, proudly presenting the juices to the customers who gladly take them away. “Oh, and if you guys like art... check this out.”
I place a promo flier for my gallery opening on the counter and smile my best smile as the customers gladly take that away too. They might throw it in the trash without even looking. But… they also might be art lovers who will come to the show and maybe even buy a piece.
“Ever the optimist,” Robbie says, his hands moving in a flurry of highly precise activity as he pours some beans into the machine with unerring accuracy. “But seriously, I think you’re going to smash it. Well, hopefully not literally. But you know what I mean.”
“Ha! Yeah, I hope my sculptures don’t get smashed too,” I laugh. “And thanks. I know you’ve got my back, Robbie.”
And with that, we get back into the flow of work.
It’s going to be non-stop juices and coffees for the next couple of hours before it slows down. And once that’s all done, I might be able to relax a little and have a think about how I’m going to make some last minute adjustments at the gallery when I head over there later.
But for now at least, it’s time to get juicing…
I wave goodbye to Robbie and fist-bump Martique as he comes to take over as my shift ends. I’m all done for another day as far as the café goes.
But in terms of work? No, I’ve got a long stretch ahead of me.
I need to do everything I can to make sure that my debut solo show goes better than anyone expects. I’ve been trying to not over think things or put too much pressure on myself but the reality is very different.
I know that first impressions count.
I know too that there are a dozen other sculptors of my age in the city who have solo shows coming up. I need to stand out.I need to show the world that Eddie Luck is an artist with a difference, someone who has that extra edge.
“Hmmmm,” I say, exhaling and inhaling the crisp winter air as I walk down the block toward the crossing.
I’ve got eleven blocks to go until I get to the gallery and I’m going to do my best to use this time wisely. No daydreaming about crazy future shows or super-ambitious sculptures I could dream up. I need to stay living in the here and now.
A little adjustment to the presentation of the art.Yup.
Maybe some cool and quirky reels for Instagram.That could work.
Freshly baked cakes for the opening night…too cutesy.
As much as I’d love to bring my Little side to the fore, I think it’s probably best that for this show I keep things strictly about my art. Which is a shame in some ways, because I know of a certain stuffy who would love nothing more than to be front and center of things on the big night…
