“No, I mean, I wouldn’t be here with everyone else. I’d be there. All alone. And what if I never saw you again? What if you all forgot about me, and then I’d be like Fil, and you’d all sit around being like, ‘Who was that super-hot guy that used to be our barista?’ And someone else would be like, ‘I dunno, maybe his name was Jam?’
“But that’s not even my name,” Gem wailed, trying not to hyperventilate. “I don’t think you understand what bad FOMO I have. I won’t knowany of the inside jokes anymore, and we’d pass each other on the street, and we wouldn’t even say hello.”
Glyma patted Gem’s shoulder soothingly. “Gem, that won’t happen. Your best friend works here, and you would see Quin and I all the time for management meetings and stuff. And your—Rusty would be here.”
“Why are you naming all the people that are here when I won’t be?” Gem demanded tearfully.
“That’s not what I meant. You having so many people here ensures that you’ll still be super involved. And do you really think we could ever forget you?” Glyma said as Gem wiped furiously at the tears streaming down his face. “And you won’t be alone in Greed. We’re planning to ask Ollie to go with you, so he could take some of Quin’s back office responsibilities.”
“Aw, I get to keep Ollie?” Gem burst into full blown sobs, and Glyma wrapped her arms around his shoulders with a laugh.
“Yes, Oliver would go with you and handle the office stuff and provide back-up for you if it ever got too busy. But the location is very small, takeaway only. No meals. Just coffee and pastries,” Glyma said.
“And if we have success there, we’d search out a new, bigger location to set up permanent shop,” Quin said.
“And you want me to run it?” Gem asked, needing to be sure.
“Yes,” Glyma and Quin said, and Gem burst into a fresh round of tears.
“I’m sorry,” he croaked. “I’m just feeling a lot of big emotions right now.”
A tissue box appeared in front of him, and he grabbed one for each hand, dabbing at his eyes as he blew his nose. “I’m gonna do such a good job, you don’t even know. I’m gonna be the best godsdamned manager in the history of managers. I won’t let you down. Unless I do, but it would be on accident, and I promise, I’ll be super sorry about it.”
“We know you’re going to do splendidly,” Glyma said, giving Gem another tight hug.
After he cried himself empty, he listened to their plan, taking in the details as best he could as his brain sprinted a mile a minute. Glyma showed him pictures of the Greed location, and they were not kidding. It was tiny. Standing room only. A shoebox office room. Barely any space behind the counter to breathe.
And Gem adored it. He was going to put pictures of everyone on the walls, so he could look at them while he worked. And he and Oliver would be the best team, he just knew it.
“When are you announcing it?” Gem asked when Quin pointed out that open mic night would be starting soon and that they should wrap this up.
“Once it’s set in stone,” Glyma said. “Once the lease is signed, and—yeah, we’ll make an announcement then. So hopefully within a few weeks.”
“Okay, I promise I won’t say anything.” Gem met both Glyma’s and Quin’s gazes. “I promise.”
“We know,” Quin said as Glyma yanked Gem into another hug.
“Now, dry those eyes,” Glyma said, patting Gem’s cheeks. “We have an open mic night to run.”
“Can I help behind the counter?” Gem asked as he used yet another tissue to clean his face. “Apparently, my days there are numbered, and I want to make the most of them.”
“Of course,” Glyma said.
“Be sure to clock in,” Quin said, glancing down at Gem’s “shirt”. “Maybe put on an apron?”
Gem stopped in the bathroom to wash his face thoroughly, pressing cold, wet paper towels to his eyes to reduce the puffiness. His stomach wasa mass of nerves and excitement and, yes, sadness too. Because the cafe in Purgatory, which had defined the last decade of his life, would go on without him.
No more spending the last hour of his shift shooting the shit with Toni. No moreI’m the Mantank tops or obnoxious flirting with Rusty. No more lunch breaks with Zef or gossip sessions with Willow. Everything was going to change.
But then he thought of that tiny hole-in-the-wall spot in Greed that he could make his own. He and Oliver would forge a new path in the Passing Through story, and then on weekends, they’d all hang out together, like they always did.
Yes, things were changing, but it was a good change. Gem had to believe it would be good.
When he was in control, he exhaled slowly and primped his curls until they lay just right. Then he strode purposefully into the dining area of the cafe. Like Rusty had been waiting for him, those pale eyes found him immediately, and he arched a questioning eyebrow. Gem sent him a few thumbs-up and a reassuring smile, and Rusty nodded, turning his attention back to the deck of cards he was shuffling.
Slipping behind the counter, Gem clocked in, donned an apron, and took his place behind the espresso machine. The young Sypent worker—Cya, Gem thought their name was—gave him an annoyed eye-roll, but didn’t fight him. They stood behind the register as a Cervyn Gem had never seen before boxed up pastries from the case.
Open mic night was, in a word, amazing. Toni and Jude played a song, and Gem had never been prouder of his best friend as he sang into the microphone, smiling at Jude like the human hung the moons. And afterthey finished, Jude pressed a kiss to Toni’s mouth, and Gem whooped, chest full to bursting.
