The Barista

One: Motor

"You can just drop me off around the corner." 

"Let me drop you at the door, Ivy, it's pouring."

All went silent except the hum of Eren's motor and the patter of car-roof rain. Ivy could smell the damp sidewalk through the vents. 

"Thanks." 

The air outside the shop always smelled like grease and cheap coffee, but today the rain overpowered it. The few unsheltered steps from Eren's car to the overhang of the shop was enough to dampen Ivy's hair, tiny droplets adorning her head like strings lights. Ivy couldn't remember the last time it had rained so hard. 

Rain deterred customers but encouraged lingerers; nearly every table was occupied. Some patrons had hefty stacks of café cups piled next to their notebooks and computers and calendars, mostly worker bees waiting for the rain to let up. The rain must have made them desperate; there was virtually no atmosphere in the cafe. It was small, undecorated, cramped, usually noisy. The espresso machine made mechanical croaks that Ivy joked doubled as a security system and the fryer was always hissing. 

"Ivy, hey, I know you just got on, I'm sorry, but can you cover my break?" Sasha Braus was already peeling off her gloves. She was a good coworker, but her judgement went out the window when she was hungry. Ivy was surprised she actually ate the food at the cafe, the greasy donuts and breakfast sandwiches that sat in the display case for hours. It was cheap, she could give it that much. 

"Yeah, I've got you. How's it been?"

"Decently busy this morning, but slow now. Who dropped you off, by the way?"

"Eren." 

Sasha paused a long time picking out a beignet. "You seeing him again or what?"

"No. He's just my ride while my car's in the shop."

"Well, hey, if you ever want to carpool, my dad's truck is a three-seater." 

"Thanks, Sash." Ivy wished she could take her up on it. Sasha was the sort of person always offering favors, little things here and there, the sorts of things that build up invisible debts and complicate relationships. If Ivy was going to take Sasha up on her offers, she should probably start being a better friend herself. If she couldn't do that, the next best thing was to decline and maintain mediocrity.

Eren, on the other hand, was easy to impose on. Eren owed her already. Eren was not someone who could make her feel guilty. In fact, sometimes, it felt sort of good to impose on him. Sometimes, in a sick sort of way, it interested Ivy to see how far his guilt could get her. 

Bzzz. Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzz. 

"Shit, Sash, can you cover me just for a minute? My phone. It's probably my car."

"Agh, shit. Okay."

The back room was not properly insulated. It was hot as hell, no matter the weather. It absorbed the heat of the ovens and fryers and everything in it was coffee stained and weathered. It was the lunch room, and where managers sat and ordered more cheap coffee beans and icing pipes. 

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Tomas with Omni-Motive Care."

"Oh, Tomas, hi." The moment was thick. This was the before and after. This was the moment that decided whether or not it was reasonable to keep feeling, well, hopeful.  

"Hi, alright, so we've gone ahead and done the diagnostic. It looks like an air flow sensor and an O2 sensor, so you're looking at about $500, plus the diagnostic, that's $165, and then the tire. So in total, you're looking at about $800." 

Ivy wasn't sure what number she had been hoping for. Zero, maybe. Fifty at most. Some sort of number she could realize in her head. 800 was not that sort of number. 

"I can get it done by tomorrow evening." Tomas continued. 

"I need to make some calls first. Can I call you tomorrow?" 

"Yup, sure."

"Thank you so much."

"Yup, bye."

Her wallet felt hot in her back pocket. Her EBT card, a few dollars cash, her ID, and some photo mementos. That was it.

"Ivy, hey, it's getting sort of busy up here!"

"Coming, sorry."

Shit.