Blend 6

Clara called in the morning to ask Hachi if she could take the morning off because she had a doctor's appointment. Given that she was unpaid, Hachi didn’t mind. Though when he opened the shop, he couldn't help but notice how much quieter and drearier it was without her.

What was this? Did he actually miss her? No, that was ridiculous. Hachi had no time for other humans. Just coffee, sure coffee. He didn’t need Clara; he had managed without her before. Why would now be any different?

The doorbell chimed, snapping him out of his thoughts and back to reality. A man strolled in, chatting loudly.

“Yeah, like I said, we can divert the funds from the industry fund to the future fund.”

“Good morning. What can I get for you today?” Hachi forced a smile.

“Just a minute, this is important,” the man waved Hachi off.

If you want to chat on your phone, chat outside, you bastard. Hachi thought, but he bit his tongue. If he was here, then it meant he liked coffee. Coffee was the most important thing. Haci tried to reassure himself.

“I’ll just get a roll to have here, thanks,” He responded.

“Just a roll?” holding back anger. “What kind of roll?

“Um… I guess that will do…” He said, pointing at a BLT.

That will do? Hachi thought bitterly. “Any drinks while you wait?

“No, I'm not much of a coffee drinker.”

Hachi almost jumped over the counter to strangle the man. Had Hachi died already? He thought he had longer, but clearly he must’ve died and wound up in hell. There is no other explanation for a customer this deranged.

“I see. Take a seat anywhere,” Hachi said this as pleasantly as he could muster, but in his mind, he couldn’t help but think how he wished the man would leave as quickly as possible.

The man walked over to the nearest table and sat himself down. Of all the seats, he had to choose the most passive-aggressive seat possible. It was as if he was deliberately trying to get under his skin.

That being said, Hachi had a successful opportunity to relax. He had to prepare the BLT, which consisted of Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato and was served on freshly baked Turkish bread. Although he could have opted to use a tomato chutney, Hachi wanted the fresh flavours of a slice of tomato instead.

He had a homemade garlic aioli as a sauce to tie it together. Although some people found garlic overpowering, the freshly cut tomatoes seemed to mitigate the flavours. Add on some cracked pepper, and you have a wonderful sandwich to go with any coffee. The only option that was safer and nicer than a BLT was a BLAT, which is similar to a BLT but with avocado.

As he was lightly toasting the BLT, the man began to talk on his phone once again.

“What do you mean? Insufficient funding? Well, call them back and let them know that the report that came in this morning indicates a downturn of fifteen per cent. This means we will redirect the funding from the industry fund to future funds. If that is not enough, then we can also use some of the funding from the long-term investment fund since we won’t need that much anyway.”

Just put up with it, Hachi thought to himself, trying not to listen in, although the man was making it extremely difficult not to.

Hachi brought over the BLT, but the table had a laptop and a newspaper on it, so there was no room for the plate.

“I have your BLT,” Hachi commented, not even bothering to smile this time. He was just hoping the man would hurry up and move his stuff over so he could place the plate and get out of here.

“Just a moment,” the man commented. Hachi waited, expecting him to move his things, but instead, he just kept yapping on the phone for another five minutes. Once he was done, he hung up the phone and took the plate from Hachi.

“Are you ok? You’ve been standing there for some time. It’s honestly kind of irritating having someone watch over you. It’s creepy,” he seemed irritated.

Hachi was close to snapping. This man had kept Hachi standing there because he just refused to move his stuff, and then he had the audacity to insult him.

Hachi took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry. I hope you enjoy your meal.” Hachi returned behind the counter and silently prayed the man would leave.

The man took one bite and then put the roll down.

Oh god, not one of these slow eaters, Hachi thought. He could deal with a lot. He was a patient man. But if this man turned out to be a slow eater, it would mean Hachi would have to put up with his obnoxious attitude longer. He could not bring himself to deal with this.

But instead, the man followed up with the most audacious act of café violence he had not already committed. Practically a war crime of coffee culture, he took off the bun and removed the sliced tomato before putting the bun back together and taking another bite.

Why would you order a BLT if you are just going to have a BL? Sure, BL would be great and all, but without the T, it's practically meaningless. If anything, it is a crime—a crime against humanity. An action, as a café owner, he could not stand. Hachi turned his back in disgust and bit his hand to prevent himself from doing anything more drastic.

Some time passed, and the man finished eating. Hachi collected the plate and brought it to the kitchen to clean for later. He was hoping that now the man had eaten, he would leave. Instead, the man sat for a while. Then, he picked up a newspaper and began reading. He didn’t say anything, nor did he order anything else. All he did was occasionally check his watch. Other than that, he just sat there reading. After some time, Hachi thought it was time to prompt him to leave.

“Would you like anything to drink, sir?” Given that he said he wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, he thought this might be enough of a hint for him to pack his stuff up and leave.

“Oh yes, I’m a bit thirsty now.”

“Huh?” This wasn’t going according to plan. Abort! Abort! The sirens screamed in his head. But it was too late.

“Could I get water?” He smiled. Although Hachi knew the man was not deliberately trying to be the customer from hell, he just kept digging a deeper and deeper hole for himself.

“Certainly,” Hachi said through gritted teeth. “I will bring that right over.”

Hachi fetched the water. It was free, of course, but worst of all, it was just plain. Like, who drinks just water at a café? That’s blasphemous to the coffee gods. How long could one get for murder? Perhaps he could get away with manslaughter. It was self-defence, after all.

“Anything else I can do for you?” He asked as he put it down.

The man looked up from the newspaper. For a split second, he thought perhaps he would order a sweet or something else.

“No, I’m alright.”

Hachi was seconds away from yelling at him to get out of his store when the door swung open, and the bell chimed loudly.

“I’m back, Hachi!”

Clara energetically entered the store. Hachi felt so relieved that he almost began to cry. He quickly paced up to her.

“I need you to take over while I have a break. Okay?” He instructed her.

Clara was clearly startled by Hachi’s uncharacteristic behaviour, but she knew him well enough to respond with a smile.

“Okay, take a break.”

Clara dealt with the customer for a solid half an hour before the man got up, paid, and left the store. Hachi didn’t return to the front of the house until he was confident the man had actually gone. He hoped never to see the man again.

“Oh, Hachi, the man said the BLT was delicious, and he would come back again.”

A part of Hachi died. Clara had no idea what kind of monster this man was. She hadn’t experienced the full extent of his horror.

“Clara!” Hachi said with more sincerity than he had ever mustered towards another person.

“Yes Hachi?” She asked, somewhat startled, somewhat confused.

“Never take a day off ever again?” he pleaded. He even got down on his knees.

“Did you miss me?”

“I didn’t realise how much I needed you.”

“Aw shucks,” Clara was actually quite embarrassed to hear Hachi say this.

“If you had to choose between me and coffee beans, which would you choo—”

“Coffee beans.” Hachi didn’t even spare a moment. He knew his answer. He loved coffee more than anything else in the world.

“I didn’t even get to finish,” she commented, pulling a moping face. “But somehow I already knew you would say that,” she added with a smile.

∘•········ʚ ♡ ɞ ········•∘

End of Chapter 6