Blend 18

The day was the complete opposite of the previous one. Even though Hachi had not slept in again and arrived at the café before Clara, the day turned into a chaotic hellhole. Hachi lost track of the customers; there wasn’t a moment when he wasn’t rushing about filling orders. The café even ran out of seating several times.

Normally, this would be great—certainly, Hachi’s bank account would love this—but he could barely stand. He was on death's doorstep and likely wouldn’t make it beyond the day. If he had taken the day easier, he might have had another day left in him. But with a surge in customers like this, he was looking at hours instead. He would happily die if it meant serving one extra customer coffee.

The store gradually faded into its usual lull as the afternoon rolled around. Hachi took this opportunity to finally catch his breath. He was exhausted and knew that he had likely shortened his lifespan to mere hours instead of days.

“We may close up early.” He commented to Clara.

“Are you sure?” She asked, looking at the clock on the wall.

It was only five minutes before their usual closing time. Normally, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. It was only significant because Hachi had never closed the shop early before. He would stay open until the clock ticked over and the last customer was served. Closing early might mean someone would miss out. Clara was deeply concerned by this behaviour.

“Yeah, what’s a few minutes?” He shrugged. Honestly, he wanted to close the shop as quickly as possible. He would likely collapse and pass away the moment he got home. Any longer, and he wouldn’t even get that far.

“Ok.” Clara looked sad.

Hachi went to the back of the shop to take the bins out, and Clara went to close the door. The moment she reached for the door, it swung open, and a man walked in.

“Sorry, we were just closing,” Clara told him.

“Closing? I saw online you are open for another five minutes.”

Hachi hadn't yet seen the man, but his voice instantly triggered PTSD. Memories Hachi had tried to bury deep within him. It was the customer from hell. The non-coffee drinker. He had returned. Perhaps this was a sign that Hachi had already died and passed on to the afterlife. Maybe he was in hell, and this was his eternal punishment.

“Well, if you want a coffee, we can make a takeaway, but the store is closed for dining.” Clara tried to be diplomatic. It was good she was being so; otherwise, Hachi would have murdered the guy by now.

He could already see the headlines: ‘Hachi, aged 35, gave himself up to the authorities after the incident. He is now serving a life sentence.’ He pushed an obscure movie reference out of his head and refocused on the discussion between Clara and the man.

“I don’t drink coffee!” He yelled.

“Well then, we unfortunately can’t help. We will be open tomorrow.”

“Are you refusing to serve me?”

“Sir, we are closing. I can make you a drink, but we don’t have food or seating.”

“That’s false advertisement. I could sue you.”

“Please calm down. Like we said, we can get you a drink if that’s what you want.”

“I am a multi-millionaire on the blockchain. I can afford the best lawyers and send you broke.”

Hachi knew he was full of shit, like any serious lawyer would give a crap about a case involving a store closing a few minutes early. The man was just an annoying, entitled brat who was not used to hearing the word no.

Clara was beginning to look flustered. She hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, she was handling the situation perfectly. It was unfortunate that she had to deal with such an awful customer.

The customer was always right. Bullshit! Hachi thought. If you don’t like coffee, you are not right.

“Look, we can make you a drink if you want. Otherwise, we cannot help you and will have to ask you to leave.”

“You stupid girl, I already told you. How many times will it take before it gets through that thick skull of yours? I hate coffee; I just want to order some food.”

This was the final straw. Hachi had been awfully patient with this man, and Clara had been doing an excellent job. But that last comment was a step too far.

“Oi, let me tell you this once and once only. Get the fuck out of my store.”

“Pardon?!” The man looked shocked. He wasn’t the only one; Clara was also horrified.

“Hachi, it’s fine. You shouldn’t say that to a customer over his dislike of coffee.” Clara whispered to him, trying to calm Him down. But Hachi wouldn’t let the man off the hook that easily. What he said was utterly irredeemable.

“I said, get the fuck out of my store. No one can speak to my worker like that. So, I’ll say it one last time. Get the fuck out!” Hachi was firm; there was real anger in his eyes. Clara was caught off guard by him standing up for her. She was certain all he cared about was coffee. Why was he standing up for her instead of the coffee?

Hachi himself wasn’t aware of this. He hadn’t even noticed that the man slagged off coffee. He stopped listening to everything he said when he called Clara a stupid girl.

“How dare you?” The man commented before turning in a huff and storming off.

“Don’t come back!” He yelled after him.

“Hachi, why did you stand up for me?” Clara asked.

Hachi didn’t have an answer. He didn't have a clever retort, a rehearsed line, or anything else to explain himself. With nothing else to say, he sighed.

“You did nothing wrong. That guy was a jerk. The customer is usually right, but any time they are abusive towards you, they are the one in the wrong. Don’t be afraid to let them know that.”

Clara stopped to think for a moment before smiling and saying, “Thank you for standing up for me.”

Hachi was now embarrassed and feeling extremely light-headed. He could collapse at any moment.

“Clara, I’m going out the back to have a smoke. You can head home if you want,” Hachi stated, trying to end the conversation in any way possible and encouraging her to leave before he toppled over.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” She commented, catching him out on his lie.

“I don’t.” He admitted.

“Then why are you going out to have a smoke?”

“I was trying to say I’m going to have a breather without having to say it directly.” He snapped back.

“Well, why didn’t you say a more believable excuse?”

“Like what?”

“Like that you were going outside to empty your pockets.”

She said something stupid again, Hachi thought.

“Why would I go outside for that?”

“Why not?”

Hachi didn’t have an answer for this. How does one answer a ridiculous question? A ridiculous response? That would only validate it.

“Whatever,” he commented dismissively. “I need to step out for a moment and get some fresh air. You should go.”

Hachi began to walk toward the back door when Clara called out.

“Hachi, you said you didn’t smoke. You look like someone who would smoke. Is there any particular reason why you don’t?” She asked.

Hachi was worried she might have caught on to the fact that his end was near. This wasn’t good. He didn’t want her to know. Luckily, he already had an answer.

“I don’t want to taint the flavours of the coffee. Not only could it ruin the taste of the beans for customers, but it could also ruin my tastebuds.”

“That’s a typical answer I would expect from you.” She smiled sadly.

And with that, Hachi stepped out into the cool wind. He knew he wouldn’t make it home. He just had to hold on until Clara left.

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End of Chapter 18