Teej
With Friends Like These
The cheery warmness of the atmosphere, or perhaps the general vibe being omitted from various occupants made the café so wonderful. An unpolished gem in a sea of ugliness, it served as a landmark to students along with other city dwellers. It was the social meeting place, and had been there for as long as anyone could remember. The original sign still hung out front; Baron Café.
Old wooden chairs gathered around tables, some more makeshift than others, in a scattered and unorganized manner. If that didn’t suit your fancy, a long, worn bar guarded double doors that led to the kitchen. Stools clustered on one side while silverware and various taps opposed. The ceiling was surprisingly high, casting directional lighting around slowly rotating fans. This blended into length white walls which remained bare apart from the far wall, which was strictly made of a chalkboard.
Silvia took off for lunch to make the trip over. The lunch rush, having just died, left a calm after the wake of business. Moving beyond the entrance, she’s spotted.
“There she is! Kev, I’m going on lunch.” Without a chance to remove her apron, she waved over to Silvia before clocking out; Kev stopped her.
“Stick around here and you can stay clocked in,” he murmured.
“Deal! Hey, Jackie, we’re eating here. Come sit at the bar. Sil, how are you?”
Giving Karen a hug, she took a seat next to Jackie and exchanged greetings. “I’m great, how have you two been? Jackie, it’s been almost two weeks.”
“Ugh, you’re telling me. I ended up staying the week at my parents helping my dad take care of mom.”
“Shit, I had no idea.”
“Skiing accident,” she looked embarrassed. “Busted her leg open while on holiday; the crazy woman. She’s doing fine now; going to make a full recovery.”
“That’s a relief.”
“I’m going to grab us something. Silvia, you’ve got to try this stuff we just brought in.”
“Can I get a turkey sandwich too?”
“And Jack— I know what you’re getting. Just be a mome.”
“Don’t forget the pickle!” she called after her. Turning back to Silvia, she sounded somewhat surprised. “Have you been working out?”
“Is it that noticeable?”
“Karen might have said something, but I can tell. I’ve needed someone to go jogging with me. Karen,” she laughed, “Karen isn’t interested in that sort of thing of course.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t think so.
The thought of her participation was nothing short of hysterical. She could dance all night, packed a punch, and was trim as could be; some people just aren’t cut out for running.
“Do you have a path you use?”
“Sort of…but if you have a place in mind…”
Silvia thought about this. Her typical route resembled more of an obstacle course more than any jogging path; favouring rooftops and uneven, rough surfaces that provided a challenge. It was one thing to tell Jackie her routine and another entirely to suggest she try it. “Not really,” she looked down.
Jackie was more realistic then Karen and not nearly the knack for causing trouble. She was a bit older, but loved and respected her rebel roommate. A reminder of herself a few years back. She’d graduated and worked as a writer in a music journal Silvia occasionally read when it arrived at the shop. Having just left a meeting, she hadn’t had time to change from her formalwear or let loose her brunette hair which remained in a tight bun.
“I bet I can show you a couple of cool places.”
“Excellent. Oh, hey, I read your article on ‘The New Payola’. Thought it was brilliant.”
“Thanks, I’m glad you liked it.”
“I had no idea—“
“Hot Tea!” Karen bellowed while passing through the double doors; startling a few customers in the process. Her friends could not withhold their laughter. Kev trailed behind with the food, but said nothing.
“Hi Kevin.”
“Hi Jackie.” He was incredibly shy, especially around women. Lacking any self-confidence, Kevin had short red hair and incredibly lanky legs. Awkward but sweet, he stuck to the shadows but was always willing to help.
“Sorry it took so long. Kev started swapping saliva with me behind the ice machine.”
“What?!” He laughed nervously. “No, we didn’t…er I mean; we weren’t kissing or nothing.”
“Don’t say that!” Karen interjected. “He’s a real animal I tell you.”
Kevin turned bright red. “No! Jackie, she’s totally lying. I didn’t—“
“It’s alright Kevin. I guess I’m not that jealous.”
“Wha—“ He disappeared back to the kitchen as the group began to laugh.
“Did you—“ Jackie began.
“You think I’d really leave us hanging?” She lifted her hand, “I brought a whole jar of pickles.”
“Awesome!”
“So, did Silvia tell you about our night out yet?”
“That’s right, you guys went out dancing. How’d that go?”
Karen nodded to Silvia, expecting her to say something.
“It was fun,” she sipped at the tea shyly. “This is great Karen—“
“Don’t go and change the subject,” she jeered.
“How fucked up did you guys get?” Jackie began to wonder.
“Silvia danced with a guy,” Karen beamed.
“What, are you in grade school?”
“Silvia went home with a guy, or we were escorted back to our place.”
“Really?!”
“Can we not talk about this?” Silvia pleaded.
“Yep. They went off to my room after a while.” She winked at Silvia. “And she came out wearing nothing but his trench coat in the morning.”
“See, now I know you’re lying. Silvia, tell her she’s full of it.”
Silvia kept her head down and refused to make eye contact.
“Silvia?!”
She slumped.
“I’m surprised, and more so, I’m sorry I missed it. Karen, did you take my room?”
“Sent him packing before anything started. He was weird.”
Jackie rolled her eyes then went back to Silvia. “So, has he called you?”
“We’re just friends,” she forced, hiding behind a sandwich.
“Surrre,” Karen egged.
“Hey,” Jackie scolded, “if she wants to tell us a boldface lie like that, let her.”
“I’m serious!” She insisted.
“So, you still see this guy now, on a regular basis, after that and you want us to believe he’s, ‘just a friend’?”
“It’s complicated. Can we just drop it?”
“Finnne,” Karen caved. Catching Kevin peeking through the window she waved enthusiastically. He vanished as their eyes met.
“What’s his name at least?”
“…Em-Aych?”
“M-H-?”
“Wait,” Karen exclaimed, immediately hooked back into the discussion. “Is that the guy with the top hat who’s always leaving the bookshop?”
“What?! How the hell did I miss so much?”
“He’s not always at Steve’s.” Silvia resorted to hiding her face again.
“IT IS! They are sooo fuckin’ on the side!” There was a look in her eye that reflected the type of excitement you’d expect to find on a child at his birthday party; she could hardly contain herself.
“We are not!”
“Karen, if she says she’s not—“
“If she isn’t then introduce him to me!”
Jackie chuckled, “Wait, hold on, maybe I should have a look at him first.”
“Ew.”
“Yeah, you can have Bradley.”
“I thought you had Kevin,” she retorted. “Bradley?”
Silvia and Karen exchanged smirks.
“You remember; Brad? Dark haired goofball? Often makes eyes at whoever’s in the room?”
“No, I remember.”
Silvia put down her sandwich. “He’s completely hung up on you. It was strange.”
“He knows I’ve been seeing Ryan for two years, right?”
Karen laughed. “We’ve been saving that one for a rainy day.”
“Why do I hang out with you guys?” Jackie sighed.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Silvia simpered.
“Right!” Karen spat, waving a pickle in the air. “Because you two don’t just use me for my pickles!” In a dramatic act, she bit down to raise a loud crunch.
Those which stayed in the café had grown accustom to Karen’s antics and expressiveness.
“We really need a better source,” she reasoned to Jackie.
“I’ll let you be in charge of the research. I gotta run. Apparently there’s a formatting issue that only I can fix.” She slammed her phone closed with resentment.
“Go save the world, Ms. Pantsuit!” Karen sang in heroic defiance.
Jackie dismissed her to fuck off with the wave of her hand. “I was thinking I bring back Chinese tonight, yeah?”
“Get me an eggroll.”
“I know where I’m heading to for dinner.”
“Sounds like a party then.” She buttoned her coat and reached for her bag. “I’ll see you two later; try not to cause too much trouble.”
“Bye Mom!” Karen yelled after her.
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