Blend 11

“Lalala~” Hachi sang to himself as he danced about the café. His cheeriness was strange to Clara, who had never seen him in such a good mood before. Although she was glad he seemed to be happy, she also felt it so off-putting that she hoped he would return to his pessimistic, apathetic self.

“You’re in a cheery mood today, Hachi,” she commented.

“Of course. It’s a big day today.”

“It’s your birthday?”

“No!”

“It’s my birthday?”

“How would I know that?”

“It’s Intentional Pocket Day?!”

“You know what, forget about it,” Hachi sighed. What he thought would be a good day may, in fact, be a very long and tiring day.

“What day is it?” Clara asked.

“Today’s the day I’m allowing you to handle the coffee duties.”

“Wait… What? Really?”

“Yes, really”

“You actually trust me enough.”

“I think you are ready.”

Hachi expected her to continue to joke, but instead, she sobbed.

“Thank… You…” she sniffled out her gratitude.

“Gee, cut it out,” he began to feel embarrassed.

Clara realised the significance of his approval. Hachi entrusted Clara with making coffee for the entire day. Though the two of them had been practising while there were no customers, Hachi still hadn’t let her serve a single customer her coffee. By allowing her to serve the customers today, Hachi was basically saying, 'I trust you with the most important thing.' It was truly touching to Clara.

Meanwhile, Hachi was feeling anxious. He’d been watching Clara make coffee, testing her attempts. She was getting much better. She treated the coffee with love, which was the most important thing for bringing out the flavour. He would never have let her serve a customer if she hadn't.

“Alright, I won’t let you down.”

The day started off slow, as it often did, but as time passed, a few customers entered and ordered coffee. Clara was busy, but she was managing surprisingly well. There wasn’t much for Hachi to do.

“I’ve been meaning to draw over the open sign on the chalkboard out front. I’ll leave you to handle things in here,” he commented, trying to keep himself busy by any means possible. If he couldn’t do much in the store, the least he could do was the odd jobs he had put off for way too long.

The sign out front had faded over time; he just wanted to go over it with some chalk. It was nice to be able to leave the shop in capable… well, Clara’s hands.

He stepped outside and immediately saw a woman acting suspiciously, trying and failing to hide behind the chalkboard sign. She wore a big hat and sunglasses as if she were trying to hide her identity, which only made her more suspicious. Her long, wavy, golden hair also made her stand out further. For someone trying to hide, she was doing an awful job at it.

Hachi made eye contact with her.

She made eye contact with him.

Hachi realised it would be too much of a hassle to deal with, so he chose not to say anything and turned to walk back inside.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t see me,” she replied, gripping his arm and preventing him from leaving. There went his hassle-free day.

Hachi sighed. “Why don’t you come in?”

The woman nodded and slowly followed behind him. Hachi opened the door, and Clara looked confused at him before noticing the woman.

“Mum!”

Mum? Hachi thought.

“Oh, Clara, I just had to see how your work was going,” the woman commented.

“I’m busy. Could you take a seat, please?” 

She turned her attention to Hachi. “Hachi, could you find a seat for Mum and keep her from getting in my way?”

Hachi recognised the look of a person trying to manage a coffee shop independently. He agreed and took a seat with Clara’s mother. Though he was glad he could slack off and sit down.

“So I hear good things about you from my daughter.”

“I assure you, she must be lying.”

“What can I get for you, Mum? And also, do you want anything, Hachi?”

Clara’s mother turned to Hachi

“Oh my, what do you recom-”

“Coffee,” Hachi cut her off before she could finish.

“Well then, I will get myself a flat white. And do you have skim milk?”

“We do,” Clara smiled.

Like mother, like daughter. Hachi thought to himself.

“And Hachi?”

“I’ll have some of the Kopi Luwak. You can surprise me with how you prepare it.”

“Not making it easy for me,” she sighed. “No worries, I will fetch that for you both.”

When Clara’s mother began oversharing every little bit about Clara’s childhood, Hachi tried disassociating himself from reality. This was supposed to be his day off, his easy day. Why did it feel like he drew the short end of the stick?

Hachi found the easiest way to deal with it was to just give in and nod along. It worked for Clara, and surely it also seemed to work for her mother. She had even forced them to exchange phone numbers. A short time later, Clara returned with both drinks.

“This is your skim milk flat white and this is your poop… sorry your Kopi Luwak latte.”

Hachi was about to smack her with a newspaper before she corrected herself.

“Oh my, isn’t this coffee beautiful. I love the atmosphere of this cafe as well. It meets my test. Dear, what do I always say?”

“Always have matching salt and pepper shakers.”

“Exactly. You need to find a man with matching salt and pepper shakers,” she nodded in approval.

“Mum!” Clara exclaimed, blushing.

“You’re right; it doesn’t have to be a man. As long as they have matching salt and pepper shakers, it’s okay with your mum.” 

She gave an approving thumbs-up.

“Anyway, aren’t these just the most gorgeous designs? Everything about this store is gorgeous. I can see why you enjoy coming here every day.”

Stop it. Hachi thought to himself.

She picked up the coffee mug; this was the real test. She took a sip of the coffee.

“This coffee is one of the best I have ever had. You can tell the coffee beans are all of exquisite quality.”

Hachi was used to receiving flattery for his store, but this was on a totally different level. He didn’t care about compliments to him, but compliments about his coffee was a different story.

“Will you marry me?” he proposed, getting down on one knee.

“Hachi!”

“Oh my, I haven’t been with another man since Clara’s father left,” Clara’s mother blushed.

“You didn’t tell me your parents were divorced,” Hachi commented, turning to Clara.

“They aren’t.”

Swing and a miss.

“Walked out?”

“Nope.”

Strike two.

“Then I’m sorry about your loss.”

“He isn’t dead?” Clara sighed.

“Huh?”

Strike three. Hachi out.

“Oh my, since he left for work this morning, I haven’t been with another man. I don’t think I’m ready,” Clara’s mother commented before squealing excitedly.

Hachi wasn’t sure if she was already fitting into the comfortable banter he had established between Clara and himself. Or if she was just an airhead. Given Clara’s earnest reactions, he guessed it was the latter.

Although he greatly appreciated the flattery, he was also beginning to see her resemblance to Clara. Most notable was the headache he was developing.

“Forget it. I’m filing for divorce,” Hachi sighed, exhausted by the duo.

“If that’s the case, I get custody of your salt and pepper shakers,” she commented, playing along.

“No,” Hachi responded, careful to use as few words as possible. The effort to maintain the conversation was beginning to eat into his supposed relaxing day.

“Fine, I have them Monday to Friday; you can have custody on the weekends.”

Hachi didn’t dignify this with a response. He was spent. He needed energy, and there was only one way. Hachi drank the last of the coffee, savouring every last drop. He had to admit, Clara did a good job.

∘•········ʚ ♡ ɞ ········•∘

End of Chapter 11