“On the counter is fine,” andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) had answered as he set the dishes and glasses by the sink. He’d wash them later. “Speaking of,” he started as he looked in the fridge to find some ingredients to work with “—where do you live, Link?”
Link set the bag down gratefully but froze when andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) asked his question. She looked down at her feet and mumbled softly, “Nowhere…. I sometimes uh… sleep in the homeless shelters on really cold nights….” Her face was flushed with shame. “B-but I do still bathe regularly if that’s what you’re worried about! I’m clean!”
The man turned to look at her for a moment, mostly out of surprise rather than anything else.
“You… you don’t have a home…?” He shouldn’t have repeated that. He realized a bit too late though. He would bring this topic up later.
“Now, Link. You’re gonna have to understand something first,” he mentioned. “Because our café operates every other day, we would have one break day then one work day then a break day and so on. On ‘break’ days, we usually look for fresher ingredients, recipes, all the good stuff. But we don’t have to sometimes. You surely don’t have to, well— not yet. The thing I’m trying to say is that, because we work like this, the customers expect nothing less than excellence in our work during… well, ‘work days’,” he continued as he set down a coffee cup on a relatively cute coaster.
“Have you made straight black coffee before?”
Link looked humiliated when he repeated what she had just stated. As andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) continued, she nodded along, listening but feeling miserable. However, when she was asked if she’d ever made coffee before, she quickly nodded. “Yes, I have. In a few different ways. How does the cafe make the coffee?”
(Sorry for the short response)
(It’s fine! It’s good enough for what it is!)
“Usually with the coffee machine there,” he pointed to the machine which stood by the counter’s end. “Hm… the ratios for the coffees are by the machine. An americano, please,” he spoke, sitting on the counter with a small smile.
In the back of his mind, he had an idea he wanted to present to Link. About her home, that is. However, seeing how scared she was… and how he’d said something which hurt her more than it should’ve, she might decline his offer. He’ll try though.
Link trotted over the machine, inspected it for a moment, familiarizing herself quickly with the functions of the particular model and then swiftly made the espresso for the americano coffee and then poured it in one of the mugs available for the coffees, and measured out the hot water to pour into it with a glass measuring cup. She then turned and set the mug down in front of andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer), looking proud of herself.
He looked at her as she made the coffee before looking down at the drink she’s made. He picked up the cup, getting a whiff of its smell. He liked the scent of it. Closing his eyes, he took a sip of the drink and pursed his lips together.
“Nice consistency… good mixture… a bit too dark for my taste but overall, a great effort,” he commented as he set the cup down with a small smile.
At that, Link finally smiled for the first time since stepping into the shop. She breathed a sigh of relief. Darkness was an easy thing to fix. She grinned at andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer). “So how dark do you usually like it? I personally don’t really like americanos, so I just did the basic measurements.”
andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer), noticing her smile, had blushed clearly with a small expression of surprise. “U-uhm… well… a bit less than this and that’s all,” he answered, looking back at the cup and taking another sip. “Hm… how about something else? Uh… oh! Have you ever made a strawberry smoothie?”
“Yes, but people make strawberry smoothies in a lot of different ways. How does the cafe do it?” She tilted her head a bit at his blush but brushed it off as just the hot drink.
“Ah, well. The recipe for the strawberry smooth is behind you, on the wall there. But uh… really— I just want to see your keen eye when it comes to the freshness of the fruits since, you know, it’s pretty important to consider size and freshness when it comes to the fruits here,” he mentioned, trying his best to hide his blush which only made it clearer… somehow. “Don’t stress yourself too much though. It is your first time after all,” with that, he got the container of fresh strawberries and placed it into front of her, along with the other ingredients needed for the smoothie.
Link looked at the recipe and quickly memorized it before beginning to prepare the smoothie, being careful when it came to choosing the fruits. Soon it was done and poured into the glass. She stuck a straw in it and set it in front of Link, smiling a bit still, see,in much happier. She’d always loved to cook and make drinks and whenever she got to do it, it made her feel happier.
He took a moment to look at her making the drink and smiled softly when she’d finished it. He took the drink from in front of her and inspected it before nodding, satisfied. He turned back to her.
“Overall, a very great job. However…” he raised the drink up a bit, pushing to the side of the cup, with the straw, a hard pit from one of the strawberries which was still present. “That’s only to be expected though. With time, I’m sure you’ll perfect it,”
Link looked slightly frustrated when the flaw was produced but she just sighed before straightening up and nodding. “Ok. I’ll try and do better next time.” Her feet shuffled and she fidgeted, wondering what else he’d have her do.
He set the cup down beside the coffee she’d made earlier and looked other the fridge, as if looking for something else for her to make. When he saw some eggs, he had gotten an idea.
“Since our café also work with savory foods…” he got out two eggs, some cream, and butter “…make me a french omelet? The stove is this way,” he mentioned as he started to guide her to the back kitchen.