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9: Birthday Blues (Lucky's POV)

The morning passed by smoothly. Adam was sure to not mention it was my birthday to Mike. He’d learned from the last two birthdays that they were not something I liked to celebrate, or have mentioned more than once. I wasn’t sure Sandy even knew my birthday, which made it easier. As much as I didn’t like the attention, it was nice that Adam had remembered every year and seemed to understand what I didn’t like about it.

Mike joked ferociously with me during my shift– especially after he saw my brand new phone, “What’s *that?”

I shot him an incredulous look and held it up, “A phone. Have ya never seen one?”

“No, I really meant where the hell did you get it from?” he leaned against the counter, shoving his long red hair away from his glasses, “I thought you’d sworn off most technology.”

“Oh, um,” why did I not want to admit Wyatt got it for me, “There was a screaming deal so I couldn’t keep resisting.”

“Hand it over!” Mike made a gimme motion and reached forward, “I can’t believe you haven’t gotten my number yet. I’m like your only friend.”

I gave him the phone but blew raspberries at him, “Oh, whatever. I’m also your only friend.”

“Exactly,” he stressed, “Which is why we should definitely be texting and hanging out more.”

A small chuckle was all I could manage as the bell rang over the door. As the customer– someone who looked like they may have recognized Mike– waltzed up to the counter, Adam came barging out of the kitchen. He hooked his apron on the wall as he pressed his phone to his ear and spoke in a rushed, hushed voice into the receiver.

I furrowed my eyebrows, “Adam?”

Adam looked at me, as if he had just remembered Mike and I were there. He pulled the phone away briefly, “Lucky, I’m sorry but I need you to stay until close with Mike. Vet emergency,” he whispered the last part while covering the phone receiver then put it back to his ear.

He didn’t even wait for my response before walking right out of the cafe. Mike nudged me with his elbow, “That was weird. I have an order waiting for ya.”

Mike wasn’t old enough to man a retail espresso machine per Kentucky state ordinance. It was the only downside to working with the guy. Technically, until today I hadn’t been old enough either… which Adam did know when he hired me. But I looked older and provided a fake ID, which had been enough for Adam and Sandy to pretend they didn’t know otherwise.

After a quick smile to Mike, I grabbed the receipt with the order and started making a frappuccino. As I worked, I asked out loud, “So, any more thoughts on why this place is called Cafe O’lait?”

This was one of Mike’s favorite topics to discuss. No matter how outrageous the answer he would come up with, Adam and Sandy would just shake their heads and smile. We could not get them to let us in on the little secret. Just like every other time I had brought it up, he leaned forward like a little puppy and started in:

“You know, I was thinking recently that maybe Sandy’s last name was Irish before she married Adam,” when I shot him a confused look, he clarified, “Like O’Brien or O’Brady or O’Callaghan.”

“I doubt that’s why,” I squeezed whipped cream onto the beverage I was working on and slid it across the counter, “Here you go ma’am. Have a great day.”

She didn’t even look up from her phone before grabbing the drink and walking out of the cafe. Mike shook his head, “Rude. I heard a rumor that this place used to be open 24 hours. Maybe it’s a play on ‘open late?’”

“You know,” I wiped off the counter where I had spilled a bit of espresso, “Wyatt was telling me the locals call this place Obsidian Falls. Do you think it could be that?”

Mike arched an eyebrow, “I’ve lived here all my life and there’s only a specific group of people that call it that,” there was a slightly sour tone to his voice, “Honestly I can’t imagine Adam and Sandy running with that gang.”

“Were they the girls in here the other morning?” when he nodded at me, I continued, “Yeah, then it’s definitely not that.”

It was slightly concerning to me that Wyatt knew something that Mike claimed those girls were a part of. Those girls had been snobby assholes that made fun of Mike– and clearly it had bothered him much more than he had let on. I could feel my old temper starting to rear its ugly head, and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

Mike was such a sweet kid and didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.

He patted my shoulder, “It’s all good, you know. I’ve never really fit in.”

“Why not?” I asked curiously.

“At first I thought it was how I looked,” he snorted, “Everytime I went into town growing up there was this… prejudice coming from most people here,” he lowered his voice, “But then my mom was telling me something when I started high school. She said a lot of the kids here go to some private school up on the side of the mountain,” Mike shook his head, “Apparently it’s super exclusive. No amount of money in the world will get any randos in there. Wyatt used to go there, but now I think he teaches there.”

“Why are you whispering?” I whispered back, “A private school doesn’t sound like much of a secret.”

He looked around the room, “I don’t know. My mom was always super suspicious of them.”

“Was?”

“She suffered a schizophrenic break a few years ago,” Mike admitted.

I scrunched up my nose, “Doesn’t make her a reliable source then, huh?”

Mike let out a loud laugh, “I guess that’s true.”

The bell rang and a group of people walked in. My phone buzzed again in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at it while Mike started taking orders.

Wyatt: Enjoying your shift?

As the butterflies erupted in my stomach when I read his name, I realized I was an idiot. If Reika were here, she would be ashamed of my human nature that was taking over. Two years of avoiding roots and ties for nothing. Attention from one guy was turning me into a gushing stupid teenage girl.

I shoved the phone back into my pocket without responding and went about finishing my shift.

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