The owner looked at the young girl, she liked it when people enjoyed their time at her store. Erin felt that the drinks were just a mechanism to help happiness enter lives. The younger girl was frigidity, and restless, as she tried to make her mind up what to order. Erin smiled, she liked it when people tried new things instead of just sticking with what they knew.

As the girl stood there, Erin hoped her mom didn’t send her to school like that. Therese had her hair brushed, but a single plain barrette clipped it, and she wore a plain gray shirt with some black pants. Erin thought a little color would be better. The girl had pretty brown hair, and dirt under her fingernails. And unlike Erin who, who looked glamorous, bold and confident, Therese was slightly disheveled, and wore no makeup.

Therese’s hip pulled back, she wanted to bolt to the door. Her foot twisted further, telling the hip to remain. “I don’t know what to get.” said Therese, almost crying, but excited by the new world that sat in front of her.

“Well then,” Erin told her, “maybe you could try my favorite. If you don’t like it, it’s free.” said Erin whose voice was warm, her tone pleasant and genuine. Erin’s voice had a happy familiarity to Therese as she found herself recovering from her anxiety some. Therese looked up softly at Erin whose smile calmed her like finding the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle under a table when you’ve been up all night. Erin’s dark eyes looked as kind as her smile.

Erin yelled at one of the guys at the table to come take the baby from her. Both men instinctively hurried over, grabbed the little girl, and ran back to their game. “Never get them near hot liquids.” added Erin. “Can I make you my favorite drink?” asked Erin, whose voice had gone sharp to alert the men, but instantly returned to calm and pleasant with Therese. Therese liked the Spanish accent that randomly slid into her voice when Erin spoke.

“Yes, please.” said Therese, pulling money from her pocket and setting it on the counter. Therese stood in nervous anticipation. Therese didn’t know how much the drink would cost, but she put out a ten-dollar bill hoping it would be enough.

Erin began brewing, then she began stirring, then she began adding, and finally the loud sound of steaming milk caused Therese to almost bolt the other way, free of her stubborn foot. The smell of the coffee grounds and the steaming liquid pulled Therese back, as her hips tried to run out the door. Therese grimaced at the sound, she struggled to keep her hands from covering her ears.

Erin left her money on the counter, handing her the drink. “Be careful, it’s hot.” said Erin as she carefully handed the drink to Therese.

Therese took the drink, her eyes bulging, her hand feeling the warmth of the cup, the texture of the paper, and the dryness of the cardboard heat shield. Therese smelled the aroma of the coffee, the cream, the smell of chocolate and a hint of orange. She put the cup to her mouth and took a careful taste. Therese let out a giggle into the cup, and some coffee splashed forward. “I’m sorry.” said Therese looking down at the coffee on the floor.

“Did you giggle into your coffee?” said Erin, as she walked around the counter, and wiped the floor. Erin smiled genuinely but Therese still did not understand if she was upset.

“Yes.” said Therese, afraid she had offended her. Therese was always unsure how to read the expressions on people, and felt she may have committed a grave offense by spilling her coffee. She trembled, and felt like a failure, having blown her first solo excursion into the world. Her knees shook in fear.

“It’s free then,” said Erin, “you just made my day worth it.” Erin gave back Therese her money. “Just come talk to me,” Erin said leading them to where some small couches were. “I’m tired of those guys tonight, Ben won’t stop hitting on me, and Vivo is ignoring me too much.” said Erin loud enough for the guys at the table to hear. They were distracted by the game and the infant girl in their care and did their best to avoid her, ignorant of either accusation.

“Are you still in high school?” asked Erin to Therese, while relaxing into her own couch and nearly spilling her own coffee. Erin looked at the young girl, she knew their ages were about a decade apart, but the girl clearly looked like her mother dressed her. Therese was very beautiful but seemed to show no interest in it.

“Yes.” said Therese, and she relaxed a little. The coffee shop was becoming less overwhelming than it had been. The machines were just fabricated metal again.

“Is it as much fun as I remembered?” asked Erin. There was a sadness in Erin’s dark eyes when she asked that question, but Therese missed it.

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“It is okay.” said Therese. Therese liked learning, but she hated high school.

“Just OK?” asked Erin. “I miss it, but I am glad it is over. One day you are young, and the world is in front of you, and the next, your back is sore. I can’t complain, I love this shop, but it is a lot of work. What are you up to in school?” asked Erin, trying to not monopolize the conversation.

“I like math, and I have a garden.” said Therese, those being her two favorite things in life. She barely felt comfortable disclosing that, but Therese felt not saying something might seem rude.

“You don’t like to talk much do you?” asked Erin. She appreciated the girl’s honest and short answers but still wanted conversation.

“I like to talk. I’m not used to it.” said Therese, analyzing her coffee. Therese was used to guarding her answers. The less she said, the less she worried about saying the wrong things, she did not want to embarrass herself. There was obvious sadness in her reply even if her voice was flat and monotone.

“You don’t talk, and do math, want a job?” asked Erin. Erin had been trying to find help, but wanting a job and proving reliable had been two separate things for everyone she hired.

Therese thought about it. The cow on the door and the sound of the milk steamer scared her. She couldn’t neglect her garden. She was not sure if the lady was serious, she seemed genuine, but Therese always had difficulty reading emotions in others.

Erin picked up on Therese’s feelings. “I am serious. Just a little help Friday and Saturday nights, maybe all-day Saturday if you’re up to it. I’ll pay you a buck over minimum wage and we’ll split the tips.” said Erin.

“That would let me still keep my garden.” said Therese thinking of the garden. Some money of her own would be nice, and her dad had tried getting her a job before, but it did not end well when she ran screaming out of the office when the paper shredder caught her sweater.

“I don’t know how to make coffee, this is the first time I ever drank it.” said Therese, giggling into her cup, as she took another sip. Therese looked blankly forward and answered in a monotone voice, but Erin could hear the hidden excitement.

“And I don’t know your name, but I know I want you to work here.” said Erin as her own heart grew excited at the possibility of Therese helping her. Erin’s dark eyes lit up and she smiled. Therese looked forward at Erin and decided she was serious.

“My name is Therese”. She replied, looking up, almost as if she was embarrassed at admitting who she was. Therese looked down sadly as she finished saying her name.

“You’ll be ok,” reassured Erin. “you’ll learn, and if it is a little overwhelming at first, you can wash tables. And every time I wink like this (Erin winked and stuck her tongue out), tell me you need some help with something. It is to get me away from those guys” said Erin, nodding at the men playing games and watching over the little girl at the far table.

“Do you not like them?” asked Therese, genuinely puzzled. The two men did not seem as scary as they had seemed when she entered the store.

“No,” Erin laughed, “I love them. They are my best friends.” said Erin, she seemed to smile and frown both at the word friends.

Therese stayed, she had helped Erin clean the tables and clean the floors. She learned how to operate the espresso machine, and the couple times she bolted from the milk steamer, Erin was there to catch the drink. Erin was patient, and let Therese adjust. Therese enjoyed her work, it was louder than the garden, but her father had always told her it is a loud world. Therese found herself smiling and feeling satisfied about her new job. Near the end of the evening, the shop was absent of customers, and Erin called her over to sit with herself, Vivo and Ben.

“I’m Vivo,” said a tall man in a Space-Girl Michelle shirt as he stood to greet her. “I’m sorry you have to work for Erin” said Vivo teasing, but Therese stared forward as if he warned her. A towel snapped and hit Vivo, Erin had flicked him with it. “I’m kidding of course,” said Vivo as Therese smiled in relief. Her flat mouth turned up at one corner. Therese liked Vivo, he seemed like an old friend even if she just met him.

“And, I’m Ben.” said a slightly shorter and more muscular man, whom introduced himself to Therese. I wish Erin would hire me.” said Ben who had a spark of familiarity to Therese, she felt like she had known him before, she could tell he would be kind to her.

“Ben, we’ve been through this before. It’s alright to hit on your friends, but not your boss, and besides, you talk too much, forget to pay your tab and would just sit here with Vivo. What kind of example would that set for the other employees?” asked Erin.

“She’s right, I’d be a bad influence.” said Ben, smiling.

Therese came home late that night. The rabbits waited in the front yard, finally rushing to their rabbit holes once they saw her home safe. Therese’s parents were not angry, they were just concerned.

“Is everything okay?” asked Therese’s mother.

“I got a job.” said Therese, rushing forward and hugging her parents. She pulled out a stack of one-dollar bills, her half of the tips, and waved them. Therese grinned, having completed her first shift at her new job. Erin had insisted on giving her half of the day's tips even if she had only been in their four hours and worked less.

“Crap, she’s a stripper.” said her father, horrified. Therese’s mother punched him in the shoulder.

“No Dad, I work at a coffee shop.” corrected Therese.

“Do you drink coffee?” asked her mother, startled.

“I do now, and it is wonderful.” said Therese, as she began telling them about the cafe and all the neat things she would be doing. The parents listened proudly and intently, they had not heard Therese go into detail about anything except gardening and Space-Girl Michelle in a long time. Her father loved discussing the Space-Girl show with her, it was their thing since she was little, but her mother always found something to do when the subject came up.