THE AFTERHOUR

XIII. The Good Life:

Jamien Dormer woke up to the sound of his alarm ringing, feeling refreshed. He had just had the strangest dream, but upon his attempt to recall some of its details, it slipped away.

"Oh well, dreams are dreams" - He said to himself and jumped out of bed with a loud groan. He had always hated early mornings. Usually, he would try and get another hour in, but today was special.

He turned the radio on and put on the attires he had picked out yesterday: A formal black business suit and a tie. The music started playing faintly in the background, filling his quiet bedroom with some classy liveliness:

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

Birds singing in the sycamore trees

Dream a little dream of me...

Huh... - The half-awake man smiled to himself. He had always liked that song.

He hastily put on his watch and rushed to the living room. He could hear the tempting sound of bacon sizzling even before he walked in. The smell of a warm and hearty breakfast caught his attention.

"Morning, sleepy head. Big day today, ready for it?"

Jamien turned around, and she was there. Her curly hair was already tied up neatly in a bun, she was wearing her favorite Loony Tunes apron over her flowery pajamas. And she had already made breakfast! How she could stand waking up that early in the morning, he would never understand. But at that moment, he couldn't help it but feel how lucky he was.

"You bet!" - He replied - " I'm gonna make them an offer they can't...oh shit!!"

He looked at the clock: ten minutes to seven, which meant he was almost late for the job interview.

"Sorry hon, almost late, gotta go, I will grab a coffee at the shop. But leave me some breakfast, okay? I will have them later for dinner." - He said with a wicked smile.

"Okay then" - She replied, her hands wrapped around his neck - "You will get this one, I know it. Knock it out of the park for me, Chief."

Marleen gave him a goodbye kiss and he was finally on his way. Jamien ran down the staircase, he'd got about seven minutes to get coffee. That was all he needed. - He thought to himself as he walked through the door of the Lucky Beans, his favorite coffee shop, mainly because it was in the same building as his apartment.

"Cappuccino, double shots and cinnamon?"

Dan the barista spoke loudly at him as soon as he saw him. Jamien came here once a day, so naturally, he befriended the barista.

"Cappuccino, double shots and cinnamon." - He replied with a smile - "You know it, Dan."

"You have got that interview today, right? - Dan asked as he was preparing his drink.

"That's right, it's a pretty big one, and luckily, I know how to negotiate those salary numbers."

"Are you worried at all?"

"Me? Nahh! No point in doing that. Today is my day, I can feel it."

"That's good, boss, you will get it. Here's your coffee. Don't worry about paying now, you will pay me double when you get that job." - The barista said cheekily as he handed Jamien the drink.

"Thanks, you bet I will, I'll see you later, Dan."

He grabbed his drink and hurriedly walked to the door.

"Hey, boss?" - Dan called out to him.

"Yeah?"

"It's a pretty good life right?" - Dan the Barrista asked, Jamien could have sworn that his eyes sparkled, just for a split of a second.

"Yeah, Dan" - He replied with a smile at the somewhat strange question- "It's a pretty sweet life."

With that, he rushed outside and disappeared into the busy morning crowd.