It was a Saturday and I was feeling pretty good about things. The sun was out, not too hot, just right. I was walkin’ to my favorite little cafe, the one with the big windows and the smell of fresh bread always coming out. I had a good morning already. I found a real pretty thimble at a yard sale, a real old one with little flowers on it. It made me happy just thinking about it, adding it to my collection.
I got to the cafe and there was a bit of a line, but not too bad. It gave me time to just look around and enjoy the air conditioning. I was looking at the fancy pastries in the glass case, trying to decide if I wanted a muffin or one of them swirly cinnamon rolls, when I noticed the couple in front of me. She was a young lady, probably in her early twenties, and she had a real confident way of standing, like she owned the whole place. Her hair was all done up and she had a lot of makeup on, and she kept looking around like everyone should be noticing her. Her fella was standing next to her, kinda slouched, looking at his shoes. He seemed a little tired, like he’d been up for a while.
When it was their turn, the young lady stepped right up to the counter. She had a real loud voice, even though the cafe wasn’t that big. She started talking to the worker, a sweet girl with a nametag that said ‘Sarah’. The young lady was telling Sarah that she was here yesterday, and that her coffee was all wrong. She said it tasted like dishwater, and it made her whole day just awful. Sarah looked a little confused. She said something about not remembering her, but the young lady just waved her hand like that didn’t matter.
The young lady then said that because her day was ruined yesterday, she deserved a free coffee and one of the big chocolate chip muffins. She pointed right at the biggest muffin in the case. Sarah, bless her heart, tried to be polite. She explained that she couldn’t just give out free stuff, especially without a receipt or knowing what happened. The young lady got real huffy. She put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest a little. She said, like everyone in the cafe needed to know, that she was a loyal customer and that she spent a lot of money there. She said she was being treated like she was trying to steal something, which was just rude.
Her fella mumbled something, maybe trying to calm her down, but she just shot him a look that made him shut right up. He just sighed and went back to looking at the floor. I felt a little bad for him. It looked like he’d been through this kinda thing before. I just wanted my coffee and my swirly roll and to go home and put my new thimble with the others. This was making my happy morning feel a little sour.
The young lady wasn’t stopping. She said that she was so pretty and nice that she shouldn’t have to argue for something she deserved. She kept making these big arm movements, like she was trying to prove a point with her hands. Sarah was still trying to be nice, but I could see her face was getting a little red. She was saying that maybe she could offer a small discount if the young lady had a receipt from yesterday, but the young lady just scoffed. She said she didn’t keep receipts for little things like coffee. She said that was silly.
Just then, a real loud, annoying sound started up. It was coming from a table near the wall, some fella’s cell phone alarm was going off, and it was one of those really high-pitched, warbly ones. It didn’t stop for a long time. It just kept blaring, adding to all the noise the young lady was making. It made everyone in the cafe jump, and then kinda tense up. It felt like the air was just full of noisy bad feelings.
The young lady ignored the phone. She just got louder. She started saying that Sarah was just being mean because she probably didn’t like how attractive she was. She said that people always got jealous when she walked into a room. My stomach started to knot up. It wasn’t fair for Sarah to be treated like that. Sarah was just trying to do her job. It made me feel all hot inside, like a little fire was starting behind my ribs. I don’t usually say much, but this was too much. The injustice of it all was really getting to me.
I took a deep breath, trying to be calm, but my voice still came out a little shaky. I said something like, “Ma’am, she’s just doing what her boss wants. She ain’t being mean.”
The young lady whipped her head around and glared at me. Her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?” she said, her voice dripping with something cold. “This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it.”
But the little fire inside me was bigger now. “It has to do with everyone when you’re making a big scene and being mean to someone for no reason,” I said. My voice wasn’t shaky anymore. It was loud, almost as loud as hers, which surprised me a little. I didn’t think I could be that loud. My heart was thumping in my chest.
She just stared at me, her mouth hanging open a little. Her fella looked up from his shoes for a second, then quickly looked back down. The loud phone alarm finally stopped, leaving a ringing quiet in the cafe that made everything feel even more intense.
The young lady finally found her voice. “I am not being mean!” she practically yelled. “I am demanding what I deserve! This cafe owes me!” She pointed a finger at Sarah again. “And she knows it! She just doesn’t want to admit it because she’s bad at her job!”
Sarah, who had been quiet, finally spoke up again, her voice a little shaky too. She said, “Ma’am, if you don’t have a receipt, I can’t do anything. And if you keep yelling, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Or I’ll have to get my manager.”
The young lady just laughed, a loud, harsh sound. “Oh, a manager! Please! Like they’re going to do anything! They’ll probably give me everything for free and fire you!” She crossed her arms, looking smug. She probably thought she had won. She reached her hand towards the display case, like she was just going to grab the muffin. She thought she was just going to walk out of here with free stuff and no one could stop her.
Her fella, though, finally moved. He put a hand on her arm. He looked real embarrassed, and a little angry himself. “Karen,” he said, and his voice was low but real firm. “That’s enough. You’re making a spectacle. Just order your coffee and let’s go. We’re not getting anything for free.”
She pulled her arm away from him. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do!” she hissed at him. “And don’t you dare call me Karen in front of people! I hate that!”
But the fella didn’t back down this time. He just sighed real deep. “You always do this,” he said, just loud enough for me and Sarah to hear. “Everywhere we go. It’s embarrassing. Just pay for what you want or we’re leaving right now.”
Sarah, seeing her chance, spoke up again, this time her voice was stronger. “He’s right, ma’am. You need to either pay for your order, or you need to leave. And if you cause another scene here, we’re going to have to ask you not to come back.”
The young lady’s face got real red, but this time it wasn’t from anger. It was from shame. Her fella was just standing there, looking at her, and Sarah was looking at her, and I was looking at her. All of us were just waiting. She looked around the cafe, and I could see her shoulders slump a little. She mumbled something about a coffee and one of the small muffins, not the big chocolate chip one she had wanted. Her fella pulled out his wallet and paid without saying a word, then grabbed her arm and practically dragged her out of the cafe, still mumbling under her breath. She didn’t even look back.
I got my swirly roll and my coffee, and Sarah even gave me a free cookie for being nice. She said thank you, and I told her she did a good job. But even with the cookie, the happy feeling from my morning was gone. The whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth. I wondered if I’d see that young lady again. It made me feel a little scared to think about it. I hope she don’t come to this cafe again, or to my grocery store. I just hope I never gotta see her again.
