When I woke up, Aeryn was still nuzzled into me. I yawned, trying to clear the drowsiness from my eyes, and got up without disturbing her. She fell immediately back into sleep, and I got up and showered. After I cooked breakfast, I woke Aer and called Puppet.
After giving the usual shpeel, he said, "Hello?"
"Puppy!~ You forgot to tell me what time I was supposed to come in today."
"Oh hun, I thought you had forgotten. I was expecting you earlier this morning."
"Whoa, sorry. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Hurry."
"You got it, boss." I said quickly, rushing into the back room to put on my shoes.
"Mmm. Nukey nukey nukey."
"Afraid I have work this morning. Eggs are on the stove. Share 'em with Caime. I'm late, so I've gotta go. Take it easy."
She began pouting, getting as far as "Nukey! Wait!" before I was out of the apartment and most of the way down the fire escape. I didn't even hear the "I did something bad last night..." before I was gone. I vaulted the railing, coming to a shocking crunch on the gravel in the alley, and took a running start toward the coffee shop.
The first day back wasn't nearly as glamorous as I was hoping. Comically, the workers the previous day signed in as "Paul Ringenback." I looked over their checklist, and noted that out of the 24 separate weekly cleaning measures to be taken on Mondays, none of them had been filled out. Official protocol states that any work not done the day before was to be done first thing the day after. I noted that of the three possible shifts that day, all were signed by the same name. All three of them had different handwritings. I couldn't make out the latter two, but the first was still clearly Puppet's. No one else slanted their B's the same way. I scowled, knowing it was his idea.
Ringenback had written a book titled, "Procrastination through the ages: a definitive history." The book was published in the year 1971, and cited in nearly every relevant subject on the topic. It took about a month's legwork, and thanks to a few professional librarians and a telephone operator, I managed to piece together a rough locale for the book. Which ended up being a wild goose chase, having wasted a month on irrelevant research. It ultimately brought me to a PhD text that chronicled by Margaret Aitken. After pouring through an overabundant amount of unnecessary information, I found a correspondence letter from Ringenback stating that the book itself was a big joke.
Perpetual procrastination, in book form. Har har...
I glared at the checklist, and started doing the night cleaning first thing in the morning. A lot of the cleaning at the cafe avoided redundancy, which meant the amount of cleaning I'd get done in the day would have to be re-ordered by importance. I started with the coffee and espresso machines. It wasn't a particularly complicated process, just tedious. I did the same for every item on my re-ordered checklist, prioritizing the daily-use items to get done before opening, and just handling the rest as I also worked the counter. It was a lot tougher than I remembered, my old brainspace had more cobwebs in it than the shop did. By the time I got to the cash register, I realized one or two of the things that needed cleaning had been manufactured.
The point was made clear when the cash register got jammed. I went through all the steps I could remember, ending up with one I remembered on the fly. There was a piece of wire holding the cash drawer closed. I ripped it out and frowned. It took me about twenty minutes, total, to work out how to fix the obscure problems that showed up throughout. After a bit of quiet thinking, it came back to me. Had it been during the day, though, I would've lost customers or created a backlog. Good thing I ran into them during my morning checks or else-
Holy crap. Puppet was a lot more savvy than I gave him credit for. He hand-made these curveballs to throw at me, challenging my mind before any of the customers got in. It was an impromptu training session that retaught me everything I would need throughout the day. It meant a hell of a lot of work, but it was still actively teaching. The checklist was less than a quarter done when I unlocked the doors for the morning, but I had cleaned everything I needed to. I was even fresh, alert, and savvy enough to answer the toughest questions. Doing bad things for good reasons. Freakin' Puppet...
I got back into the swing of things. Customers came in, chatting amicably about this or that. The usual morning buzz had kept me busy, but entertained. I spent the morning catching up, trying to remember everyone's usual order, and just staying alert and on-task. I fumbled a lot, like everyone genuinely expected of me. I was surprised by how much I had forgotten.
The day drawled along after the novelty wore off, and I settled into a good routine that kept the time from going too slowly. Not to mention all the cleaning that still needed doing. I got most of it done by the time lunch rolled around. Fairy was the first to take my shift. "Heya Paul," I said, signing the clipboard for the duties I'd finished. "Glad to see you're actually doing work."
"Whatever Nuke," he said, scratching his head. "You working any more today?"
I scowled, "I have no clue, what did Puppet tell you?"
"He didn't."
"Great." I handed my apron over. "You can do some cleaning. I'm going to call Puppet."
"Hello?"
"Hey 'hun-buns,' you forgot to tell me how many shifts I'm working today."
I could hear a quiet curse, and rolling over. I think Puppet was still in bed. "Ugh." Papers rustled. "Nope, no more shifts today." The line disconnected.
"Did Puppet just hang up on me?"
"Yeah," Fairy said, "I think he did."
"Well, it's all yours, I guess."
"Nope, I've got relief coming. Later Nuke."
I needed lunch, seeing as I rushed out on breakfast. "Bye sexy."
Halfway out of the cafe, I got jostled by someone. Aeryn stared down at me. "Oi, you, it's rude to walk out on a lady in bed like that."
"It's also rude to kiss and tell," I said, trying to settle into an easy smile, "and I think the entire shop just heard you."
"Oh," she said, looking inside. "Um..."
I guided her gently out by the arm, "Right, come with me to lunch."
Curious eyes turned to me. "Lunch?"
"Around noon, eat food. You know, the usual."
"Oh," Aeryn said. "Sure."
