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It hasn't been easy.

To pretend it has would be to erase all the work I've done – all the times I pulled myself from the gutter.

All the times I wanted to give up but came through swinging instead.

The journey of a thousand steps may have begun with me but sometimes I forget it doesn't have to end with me too.

I see Sam, I see Alice, I see my friends and I know the universe led them to me and me to them.

You're not born to one family, when you grow, when your innocence turns to experience when your heartbreaks and the world shatters, a family is given to you.

-

"We have a situation."

"One second..." I rotate my wrist as I pour steamed milk over a demitasse of espresso held at an odd angle.

A day has not passed where I haven't heard about the beauty and elegance of selecting the right coffee beans and brewing it to actual perfection before pulling and transferring it to an eight-ounce cup - where it waits to be christened by steamed milk with just a pinch of froth.

Get wrecked - I hate latte art and I hate practising it even more.

"You suck at coffee designs, why would today be any different?"

I look up for a second to glare at Tony but I know that's just a nanosecond too long when I look back at the cup. What should be a fern looks very much like a sad broken turtle – squinting an eye and tilting my head, it has potential, I don't think it's that bad. Maybe I can pass it off as a swan?

Placing the cup on the counter so Tony can see, I point at the design. "What does it look like?"

"A mistake." He smirks before throwing his head back in thundering laughter.

"Can I help you Anthony?"

"Yeah, we have a situation." He fights back a smile while he nods towards the swinging doors to the kitchen. When I nod back at him, he picks up a tray of fresh cinnamon rolls and strolls to a table occupied by the few customers in the café.

"You could have been a swan." I mutter to my espresso before laughing and tossing the drink in the sink. Throwing caution to the wind, I rest my palms against the swinging doors and give them a hard push but I wince when I hear them bang against a solid surface.

My muscles go taut with regret, I know I definitely hit someone – waiting with my hands still on the door, I count to ten to give my victim time to move before I gently push one side of the door and step through.

I'm met with the sight of Macey furiously rubbing at the back of her head as she paces a couple of steps from the door while Leo opens and closes the oven before plopping down onto a chair.

Speaking strictly from experience, I know pacing is never a good sign.

"Mace, I'm sorry, you know you shouldn't stand behind the doors." Marching towards Macey, I reach forward and grip her arm to pull her in for a hug but she shakes me off and continues to pace. "Woah, alright, what's going on?"

"We're screwed." Leo mutters while leaning against the back of his chair, tipping it back as he closes his eyes and folds his arms across his chest.

"Care to elaborate?" I look from Leo to Macey but I'm only met with silence and more pacing; knowing this is going nowhere fast, I hastily grab two frying pans off the top rack and bang them together in a disastrous symphony.

The two quickly cover their ears and bark their share of curses before Leo jumps up and snatches the pans and Macey angrily turns to face me.

"Well?" I prompt when neither offers an explanation.

"Tiffany is missing. Twenty minutes before lunch rush." Macey shrieks, stopping to point an accusatory finger at me. "You were out sick all of last week so I know from firsthand experience, customers are very very mean when we're short staff."

"She's not missing, she's just late. She's on her way." I try to stifle my lingering dry cough but it chokes itself out as I avoid Macey's glare and look to my watch.

With the medication Alice kept forcing me to take, I thought I'd heard the last of my cough - To have it pop up right now most certainly feels like a bad omen.

"Tiffany is never late, the only person earlier than her is you." Leo grumbles as he hangs the frying pans back in place and moves over to the oven, pulling out a fresh batch of blueberry muffins.

I step back as Macey strides over to me, tipping on her toes to shove her phone mere inches from my face; despite the glare of the white screen I see the call log filled with outgoing calls to 'Tiffie'. "It went to voicemail, every time."

Swallowing, I do my best to ignore the sudden sinking feeling weighing down my chest but it's a lost cause when I notice the panic in Macey's eyes and the jumpy twitch in Leo's movement.

I should have known lunch rush isn't the only thing causing a panic.

While people like Leo and I tend to occasionally go off the grid, people like Tiffany and Macey needed to be connected to everything and everyone.

They didn't miss calls, texts or moments – And Tiffany Vasquez did not miss work.

If accountability went by another name it's Tiffany.

The only thing that could pull her from her commitments is -

No, I won't go there.

Tiffany is human, just like everybody else, she can have an off day.

"We'll keep calling Tiff but for now, we're a man down. Don't worry, you know Sam will fill in where we need him, no biggie." I throw my shoulders back, begging for the allusion of certainty as I turn away and prepare to go back to the coffee station.

"Have you seen Sam, today, Johnny? It's the last Monday of the month." Macey shouts to my retreating back, sending instant chills down my spine and through my legs, holding me frozen in place.

Crap.

The hits start coming and they don't stop coming.

Despite only being an accountant for two years before realizing his passion revolved around coffee, some thirty years ago, Sam continues to organize and analyze all the financial records of the shop.

It's a daunting task, filled with audits and tax returns, a task he considers important enough to ask not to be disturbed.

Now, we might have been able to scrape through with one missing person but there's no way we'll make it through lunch rush with two people down.

Spinning around, I don't miss the way Macey's brows pull together in frustration and the way Leo spreads his arms apart in a manner that says 'I told you so.'

"Right so, we're screwed." Leo begins counting on his fingers as he lists all the odds against us. "Tiffany isn't here, Sam's doing the books, today's Ricky's day off and he's probably left Brooklyn to go see his dad – "Leo pauses to look at Tony who slinks through the door. "And Tony can't make a decent cup of Joe to save his life."

"I resent that, I'm getting better." Tony states with a roll of the eyes as he points a thumb behind him. "Guys, it's getting pretty full out there."

"So with two baristas and two servers on the floor, who's gonna make more pastries, make sure the soup stays warm, make fresh sandwiches? Oh God, we can just forget about the smoothie board." Macey sniffles as she throws her hands in the air.

"Alright!" I snap before flipping my notepad from my pocket and pulling a pencil from behind my ear. "We're in for the Hail Mary of all Hail Mary's." I shift my pencil around, quickly drawing a makeshift floor plan of the shop. "We'll divide the crowd. Section A, Section B and Section C."

"What the hell does that mean?" Leo comes to a stand next to me, peeking over my shoulder to scrutinize my drawing.

"Mace, Tony, you'll take Section A and B, strictly taking and delivering orders but Mace, you're gonna have to double time and handle the smoothie board too. Leo you and I will man section C, I'll make all the to-go orders and you handle all in house orders, then we'll switch in and out to monitor the pastries."

Macey and Tony exchange looks of concern before shrugging and confirming their agreement, while Leo stares blankly at my drawing before turning to me with irritation clear in his eyes. "We're still short two hands, what about the -"

"Hey! Have I ever let you down before?" I hold up a hand before spreading my fingers apart and making a fist. "I know a few good men."

It takes a second but with a smirk, Leo nods at me and knocks his fist against my own. "Alright Detroit." Walking away, he throws a glance over his shoulder at Macey and Tony. "Come on, let's let Mr. Calm, cool and collected, work some magic."

As the team bundles through the door, I slip my phone from my pocket and hope my reinforcements are the ones that can actually work magic.

-

Sam has always said he fell in love with Shannon under the florescent lights of the coffee shop but she never fails to remind him that he first loved her when he spotted her trudging along the sidewalk in the midst of a snowstorm.

The story goes he saw her through the frost of the glass window, flagged her down and charmed her to a seat where he proceeded to nervously and continually spill coffee on her.

I'm not sure how but sometime after that, she fell in love with him too – his world became hers and her's his.

Sam says the shop would have never been what it is today without Shannon at the helm.

I believe him.

And though she left a couple of years ago to pursue her own passions in the form of her interior decorating company 'Lux Designs,' she never shies from giving us a helping hand when we're in a tight spot and today is no different.

Before I could hang up, Shannon was already out her front door and on her way to the shop.

Striding through the door a couple minutes ago, she brought the sunshine with her.

Shannon took the time to hug each member of the team before tying an apron to her waist and organizing the chaos of a line that had formed at the cashier.

From there, quicker than a shotgun she moves to the kitchen whisking up a second batch of pastries and prepping sandwiches for to-go orders.

With the food crisis under some control, we're still a hand too short to serve all the tables and my reserve player seems to have gotten lost along the way. Restarting the coffee grinder, maybe I –

Speaking of the little devil.

Alice bursts through the door with more energy than a fireball, practically bouncing on the heels of her feet, she makes her way to the coffee station and slips under the wood barrier separating staff from customers. "I'm so excited, I feel like I'm going to explode."

Grinning I transfer the grinds to the coffee maker before leaning down and pecking Alice on the lips. When I asked if she could possibly come by and help out, I truly didn't expend her to be so...happy? It's like she's been preparing for this since the moment we started dating.

"I'm not sure why, we're only thirty minutes into a very hectic lunchtime and everybody is already frazzled." I look over at Macey, Leo and Tony who manage a quick hello at Alice before zooming off to their prospective duties.

"I told you baby, it's like character study. Now when I write about a character that works in a cafe, I'll have firsthand experience." She squeals as she clasps her hand, spinning around as I tie an apron around her waist.

"Firsthand experience is right and you picked a hell of a day to start out missy." Shannon's sugary sweet voice echoes from behind me, leading Alice to peek around my waist before facing me with questions dancing in her eyes.

Reaching down and gripping her shoulders, I flip us around so Alice is facing Shannon. "Shannon, this is my girlfriend Alice, Alice, this is Sam's wife, Shannon."

"Oh my gosh, I've heard so much about you. I'm so happy to meet you." Alice ignores Shannon's outstretch hand in favour of wrapping her arms around her waist and hugging her tight.

Shannon's brows raise and her hands hover over Alice's frame for a moment before she laughs soft and sweet and returns the embrace with just as much veracity. "Likewise dear, you make my Johnny so happy and now you're helping us while were in a bind." Shannon pulls away to rest her hand on Alice's cheek. "You're a sweet girl."

Alice actually giggles before shaking her head, looking shy and reserved and definitely not like Alice, I rumble a laugh but when she pins me a scathing glare I quickly straighten up.

"Alright m'ladies, let get to work."

-

I wouldn't wish a bad day in the service industry on my worst enemy.

Looking around the remains of the battlefield, there are two tables of customers still sipping at their drinks, way too many dishes in the sink and the team slouched over the counter of the coffee station.

"We did it, guys. We actually did it." Macey announces in a state of utter and complete bewilderment, whisks of her brown hair sticking wildly from her ponytail.

"It has to be a punishable offence to be so rude to people just trying to give you coffee and doughnuts, right?" Alice croaks, her eyes far and distant even as she turns to look at me and then to Macey.

The laugh that sounds from Leo, Tony, Macey and I is raw, real and striking. It's a clear line between those who serve and those who are served.

"Take it easy princess, at least the tips weren't awful today." Leo smirks as he grabs the tip jar and rattles around the few coins and dollars.

Chuckling, I throw an arm around Alice's shoulders, feeling every bit of content as she leans back and her body melts into my chest. "You did good babe and now you have firsthand experience."

The entrance bell dings and we all instinctively turn, meeting the eyes of Sam who struts through the door with a manila folder thick with paper.

He grins, wide, bright and self-satisfied as he comes to a stand before our group. "Very good news ladies and gentlemen. We're not in the red, you all still have jobs."

"Was that a not sure deal?" Shannon asks, her lips pulling to a teasing smile as she appears from the back. "If not, I might just have to come back full time."

In a rare moment of surprise, Sam's eyes light up and his brows quirk in awe. "Shannon, what are you doing here honey?" He presses a quick kiss to the side of her cheek.

"Tiffany didn't show up and we couldn't reach her on the phone. Alice and Shannon filled in." Tony supplies, his slim fingers pressing against the palm of his hands, reminding us of why this day has been so chaotic.

Sam stares at Tony, his brows knitting together and his lips parting slightly. "Well, I – thank you to Alice and Shannon. Alice come see me, we'll discuss compensation." He turns to Alice who quickly shakes her head.

"Oh no, Sammy. We're all good, I'd just spend the money back into coffee anyway." She shrugs, pulling away from my hold to give Sam a dismissive wave of the hand.

Turning a quick eye to Alice, I don't think I'll ever understand that she doesn't have to hold and protect every dollar that comes her way.

"It's only fair I pay you for your time. We'll talk about it." He assures, nodding firmly before running his fingers along the day-old scruff that grows from his cheek. "Tiffany would have called if something came up – I, I don't like how this sounds. I'm going to call Mila and Luis." Sam murmurs before stepping away and disappearing to the kitchen.

Mila and Luis, her mom and dad, I wish we thought of that.

Time stretches and no one says a word, whether we're tired from the day or two worried about our friend, the somber mood doesn't seem to going anywhere soon.

"I'm sure Tiffany got her schedule mixed up and is out somewhere with Danny, taking pictures and living life." Shannon proposes with no real conviction.

Pulling in a deep breath, I nod at Shannon and force a smile because the worry that bubbles in my chest is reflected in her eyes.

Then like a thunderbolt striking through the air, Sam ploughs from the back, his face aghast and his shoulders wound too tight.

Apart from Alice who looks around in alarm, we all stand, gearing up for what we expected all along.

"The hospital. The hospital now, Danny isn't doing well- Danny is – we're going to the hospital now." Sam shouts, his voice trembling even as he stumbles to the remaining customers and tells them were closing early.

It takes just that utterance for everything to rally to chaos, everyone's shouting and spinning and moving too fast before dashing through the door.

Throwing my apron over the counter, I too clamber towards the door but I'm pulled back by desperate hands clawing at my arm.

Finding the source, I look to Alice who looks to me, her face muddled from a lack of understanding but pinched from intent worry. "Who's Danny? Her boyfriend? Is Danny her boyfriend?"

"No." I shake my head, swallowing the bile that rises to meet my sinking anxiety. "Danny is her son."

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