Blend 12

Hachi regained his energy and composure after finishing the coffee Clara brewed. Unfortunately, while he was trying to slip away, Clara’s mother grabbed his arm again, preventing him from leaving.

“Oh? Where are you going off to, Mr Hachi? I still have a lot more to tell you about Clara.”

The coffee kept him going. But by the time Clara’s mother left, he desperately needed another and a long lie down. She ended up staying and chatting to Hachi until five minutes before they closed the store for the day. There went his day of relaxation. But before he could crash, he had something important to do.

“Good job today,” he complimented Clara.

“You really mean it?” Clara looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“Yeah, I mean it. You did a good job, Clara. I can’t fault you on anything.”

She began crying again.

“Thank… you…” She muttered through her sobs.

“I’m happy for you to make coffee from now on.” He added, handing her a napkin.

She blew her nose before commenting, “Mr Hachi, you are being uncharacteristically kind. It’s kind of creepy.”

Normally, he would consider smacking her with a newspaper, but today was different. He was genuinely proud of her effort. So, rather than a spicy retort, he responded earnestly.

“I care about coffee, and you did a good job. If you did a bad job, I would tell you that you were a disgrace to all baristas everywhere.”

“You would really do that?” Clara asked, despite already knowing Hachi was completely joking and had even just said he was proud of her. She couldn’t bear the thought of him calling her a disgrace to all baristas.

“Without hesitation,” Hachi replied. Though he said this dryly, he also was joking. Anyone who wanted to learn was already showing their love for the art of coffee making. Hachi could never criticise someone who was trying their hardest for coffee.

“Oh, that reminds me. I need to close the shop tomorrow.”

“What?!” Clara asked, shocked. Why would Hachi close the store? He would never close the store. She could think of only one reason why he would close the café.

“Are you dying, Hachi?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were dying tomorrow until right now?” Clara was horrified that he had kept this secret all along. Perhaps that was why he had permitted her to make the coffee today. He wanted to get his affairs in order before ADV took effect.

“I’m not dying tomorrow,” Hachi sighed. He didn’t know how Clara had jumped to that conclusion.

“But you said you were dying.”

“We are all dying.”

“Oh… yeah.”

There was an awkward silence. Sometimes, one would joke about ADV, which killed the mood. This was one of those times, one of those jokes. Trying to break the tension, and because she was curious, Clara asked.

“So, why are you closing tomorrow?”

“I have to pick up a few things for the shop.” Hachi tried to shut down the conversation. He didn’t want Clara to find out what he was up to.

“What sort of things?” She further probed.

“I put in an order for some new mugs, and they finally came in.” Hachi lied.

“Do you need a hand?”

“I’ll be alright.”

“You sure?”

“Yes!” Hachi was hoping she would drop it here.

“Really sure?”

“Yes!”

“Really, really sure?

Hachi stopped responding. It was tiresome dealing with her. Although young girls used to come into his shop often, he never had much interaction with them. Clara was truly exhausting. Were all teen girls this draining to be around?

Maybe this was a consequence of a lack of pockets. There was some sort of Lacanian explanation for why girls lacked pockets and coveted their father’s pockets or something like that. The symbolic desire of a pocket. Hachi didn’t really know. He studied to be a barista, not a philosopher or psychologist.

Hachi didn’t want to close the store the following day but knew he had to get Clara a gift for making good coffee. To celebrate her achievement. He wasn’t paying her, so it was the least he could do.

Hachi knew what he would buy her, but didn’t have time to pick it up. Not while the store was open. It was a big sacrifice: coffee or Clara, which should he choose? But in rewarding Clara, he also praised the coffee she made. It was a win for both.

The following day, he went to the shop and bought the gift. It took far longer than he initially thought it would, and by the end of the day, he was exhausted. He stopped by a café and had a coffee. If he was going to have such a stressful day, he might as well reward himself.

It was acceptable, decent coffee, but not as good as the coffee he made. Even Clara made better coffee. There was a lack of love for the coffee, and it saddened Hachi to see that lack of care for the art. Just before leaving the shops, he stopped by the key cutter to have a duplicate key made for the Café. A key he would also gift to her. She may not want it, but she had a right to have a copy.

After getting everything, he decided to stop by the café and drop the present off. Sometimes, there would be stray cats out the back of the store, so he thought he could also give them some leftover food.

As Hachi approached the café, he heard some noise coming from the back of the shop, and he found Clara playing with the cats there.

“Mr Hachi?!” She said, surprised.

“What are you doing here?” Hachi questioned. “I told you we would be closed today.”

“Oh, good.” She smiled. “I was worried that you were actually dying. I popped around to find the store was closed like you said, but I thought I would hang around to see if you turned up.”

“Well, as you see, I’m very much alive and kicking.”

“I’m glad. 8-Blends wouldn’t be the same without you.” She smiled genuinely before the usual mischievous spark returned to her eyes. “How were the mugs?”

“Mugs?”

“You said you were closed to pick up mugs. Were you lying?” She asked, somewhat frustrated.

Hachi realised he had been caught in his lie.

“Ok, you caught me. I was joking about the mugs.”

“Then why were you closed today?”

Hachi hated to imagine what wild thing she would say next.

“You didn’t buy poop coffee again, did you?”

“Firstly, as I mentioned, it is called Kopi luwak, not ‘poop coffee’, and second no, I didn’t,” Hachi responded. There was still time to take the gift back, he thought to himself.

“How can I trust anything you say now? You might have been at the docks meeting some shady mobster who smuggled in your Kopi Poopwak, who may come back to collect your debts.” She said this without much of a breath.

“I know I have said this many times before, but you have a really active imagination.”

“So you promise you didn’t do that?”

“Look, I was going to wait tomorrow, but I wanted to get you a gift to celebrate your successful day running the café.”

This seemed to surprise Clara.

“Wait, you got a gift for me?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, I just didn’t think you would do something like that.”

Hachi wasn’t sure if Clara meant he was a cold person and that it was uncharacteristic for him to do something nice. He didn’t dwell on it, though. Hachi reached into his bag and pulled out the key.

“While I was picking it up, I also got a key to the café cut for you.”

“Is that alright?”

“As long as you don’t lose the key.”

“I won’t thank you.” She smiled at him.

“Alright, well, here is the gift,” Hachi said as he reached into his bag and pulled out the store-wrapped present. “If you don’t want it, you can always give it away.”

Clara carefully unwrapped the present. Inside was a pair of black women’s pants.

“Pants, and wait…” She had to double-check because she didn’t quite believe it. “They have pockets?!

“Yes, I have been looking out for some time. I thought you were exaggerating about them not making pants with pockets.”

“How did you know this was my size?”

“Your mother was awfully willing to assist.” Hachi sighed. It turned out that exchanging phone numbers the day before was actually a bigger help than he had initially thought. However, it came with the caveat that he also received countless messages featuring ‘cute’ salt and pepper shakers.

“Mum told you?!” She exclaimed, looking embarrassed. “I’m going to kill her.”

“Anyway, I got those for you to use at work. Sorry, I’m not particularly good at the whole gift thing.”

Hachi waited for a snarky response, but Clara looked genuinely surprised instead. She had some tears in her eyes as she responded with a smile.

“Thank you, Hachi; I will treasure them.”

∘•········ʚ ♡ ɞ ········•∘

End of Chapter 12