MARCH 30, 2024
7.00 A.M
If you asked Evan who looked more dead between him and Remus, he would not know what to answer
They both had the morning shift today since the coffee shop was going to be closed all afternoon and neither of them was mentally prepared for the excessive number of people who had shown up
"You know I didn't think that opening earlier meant having more customers, shouldn't it usually be the other way around?"
Remus said while preparing a plate with all kind of brioches for a family of four who , apparently, was really hungry
Evan passed right beside him , heading towards the coffee machine to make a coffee for a man in his seventies who came to the shop daily
"That's just our luck Rem. In every other coffee shop your way of thinking would be reality, but not here, and you know why? Because we work here and the universe has something against us !"
A loud laugh, which clearly didn't belong to Remus,stopped Evan's self-depicrating speech
"A bit dramatic Evan , don't you think?"
Barty had just walked into the shop , next to him a very elegant man with long black hair, who Evan had never seen before
"I would love to see you in my place , I don't think you'd last long "
Evan's answer was fast to come before he directed his eyes to the man standing next to Barty
"Hi I'm Evan and the guy who just walked away with croissants is Remus, we'll be the ones serving you today.
I think I have enough time to take your order but you will have to wait a bit before we can serve it to you as the coffee shop is quite full today "
The man smiled before taking one of the menus, which both he and Remus always leave on the counter to make it easier for customers who are in a hurry, and ordering
"It's not a big deal, we don't mind waiting a bit! As for my order ,I would like two croissants to take away , one filled with chocolate and the other with pistachio"
Barty snickered , face full of childish joy, as he nudged his friend's arm with his elbow
"Pistachio huh, what a coincidence !! It's James' favorite flavour, he orders it every time we get croissants or ice cream.
Obviously, however, you didn't know this and the choice was completely random, right Reg?"
The man, whom Barty called Reg , frowned but before he could try to respond to the provocation, he was interrupted by Remus who, after serving the plate of pastries to that family of five, had came back just in time to hear the end of Barty's joke
"James? Are you perhaps talking about James Potter? You know a not too tall guy with brown eyes and glasses?"
Both Evan and the other two men at the counter were surprised by this statement and there was a long period of silence before Barty's friend decided to take matters into his own hands
"Yes, he is the one we're talking about... I'm sorry, but how do you know my boyfriend?"
Remus answer was fast to come, as if he wanted nothing more than to explain in what strange way he knew this James
"So you're Regulus, it's very nice to meet you!! I met James through your brother who is a ,hm, close friend of mine "
The hesitation on the word friend made Evan roll his eyes still amazed at how much of an idiot his friend could be, but in doing so he noticed how Regulus and Barty had also noticed that same hesitation in Remus' voice and so he quickly changed the subject
"So this has been very nice and all, but I actually have other people to serve and Remus does too, so please keep ordering or we'll just waste time"
He didn't want to sound so mean and unsympathetic but having the shop so full of people at 7 a.m was already tiring him out and fortunately Barty seemed to get this immediately
"Of course, we'll be out of your hair in a minute!! I'll have my usual coffee, by now you already know which one"
Evan smiled a bit while preparing the receipt trying not to ruin the new machinery purchased by his boss
"Okay, your total is £4.50 since the pistachio filled croissant costs 50 cents more than the chocolate one ! If that's all, I'll let Remus serve you."
Barty's brows furrowed as if he was trying to solve one of the most difficult problems on the earth
"Evan, are you honestly that tired? You have forgot to count my coffee on the receipt , I think that you need to sleep a bit more "
Evan fully laughed at that,ignoring Remus pointed stare, before replying
"You dare to pay me after I clearly stated that your breakfast was offered by the house as a thanks for your help in cleaning the place after the disaster with the coffee machine? You dont pay when you come back , that's the rule sweetheart."
The pet name slipped out of his mouth without any thought, surprising Barty who looked at Evan with so much amazement that it made him feel embarrassed
It was Regulus pointed cough that interrupted the moment
"Well ,sorry to interrupt whatever this is, but here I have your £4,50 and since Barty cant seem to function anymore, I'll thank you for him, although I think you should hurry up and bring that coffee you were preparing before we got there, to the customer who ordered it, otherwise it will get cold "
Evan stopped, having completely forgotten about the coffe before looking in the direction of the old man who was staring at him in a very irritated manner
He immediately took the coffe,which luckily was still quite warm, and threw out a quick goodbye before running over to the old man's table
"And I think you're right! Well, I hope that you'll like everything you ordered and come back whenever you want, we will be very happy!!"
As he ran he could hear Remus laughter behind him and it took all his willpower not to go back and strangle him
Evan got a little scolding from the old man, who apparently always complains to his wife saying how young people nowadays never want to work but they still want to get paid ,before he could return to the counter and couldn't help but feel sad when he no longer saw Barty with his friend standing there
Remus appeared in sight in a second with a huge smile on his face which intimidated him a little, what had his best friend done now?
Before he could master the courage to ask him that ,Remus started to speak
"Well, Evan , I'm a bit hurt, you know? You didn't tell me about this guy who helped you clean up the shop , Since when do you hide things from me?”
Evan sighed, he'd like to say that Sirius' dramatic attitudes were affecting his best friend, but if anyone ever had the misfortune of being close with Remus they would discover that he is actually the most dramatic person anyone could ever meet, so blaming Sirius for this would be really unfair
"Would you stop with the dramatics? I didn't hide anything for you, he is a costumer who came like three times in the shop and helped me a bit the last time he was there ! I know that our lives are pretty monotone but I don't think that reporting every costumer who enters the shop to you, is going to make them more fun."
Remus grinned a bit , shaking his head as if Evan has just said the most stupid thing in the world
"Say what you want Ev, but you can't deny that the two of you clicked very well.
And even if he is just a costumer who came here three times,he left you his number,maybe you could text him"
Remus handed him a napkin with a telephone number on it, before starting to serve a customer who had just entered
Evan stared at it for a long time, before putting it in his pocket not wanting to get distracted : he will text him after the end of his shift