adelina rivera

He raised an eyebrow as she mentioned that ten dollars was a week’s worth of tips at her job.  “Sounds like you need a new line of work where people can appreciate you a little better and tip accordingly,” he commented.  Was it necessary?  Not at all, there was a chance she didn’t actually need or depend on tips, but ten dollars just seemed a little on the low end of things.  He was hardly someone who could judge though, so he didn’t dwell on the thought longer than it took to comment on it. 

“I mean, maybe,” he answered as she suggested that she might get more fruit because he’d been the one to buy the new tart, “but Ryleigh’s real professional and good at her job, I don’t think she’d play favorites like that.”  It was the truth too, because honestly?  He didn’t really know the blonde behind the counter as well as he imagined the woman he spoke to was thinking he did.  He could see how she was looking at him, and the comment she made about chasing him told him what he needed to know about her first impression of him.  He shook his head.  “Nah, my mother raised me with manners, I know the proper protocol for replacing something I’ve fucked up,” he commented, his accent strong still despite having been in the US since he was in college.

For some reason, he mentioning Adelina’s work not being appreciated hit a nerve. He was definitely right. Her manager took her for granted, though she was almost positive that if she quit, the whole store would go to shit. She needed the job though, her mother’s life literally depended on it...even if it wasn’t nearly as much as she wished she was making.

“Refreshing seeing someone be so honest.” She pursed her lips together, referring to his comment on her job. Hearing the woman suddenly call out the order, she rushed over, taking the box and thanked the woman once again before returning to the man. Lifting the box to him, she smiled, “your mother taught you well.” She paused, “I’m Adelina,” a small hint of a Spanish accent coming through her pronunciation, “you from around here, tart man?”

Aiden watched the scene play out, his normally more hollow eyes looking fresher and more focused than they usually were when he came in. Mainly because it wasn’t the crack of dawn and sleep was actually becoming a regular thing. It was hard to believe, even for him, but he felt pretty fucking good these days. Enough to be present for Lina’s little spat and he can’t help but tilt his head as he steps up, a smirk lining his features as he looks from her to the door. “Sounds like someone’s havin a rough evenin already,” he replies, pretending to glance at the menu in order to avoid the wrath of anyone behind him. There was a person, maybe two, so he didn’t feel too guilty about holding things up a bit. “For what it’s worth, I can’t blame ya. I’d be pissed too.”

He hummed to himself before pulling his eyes back to hers. “Can I get my usual?” he asked, already fishing for his wallet. “Black coffee and a surprise slice of pie” He’d been coming to Sunset Cafe since he moved to town two years ago and while he’d made time to try the other coffee shops and diners in the area, he always came back here. It generally had good ambience, quiet enough to get some writing done, and if things like this had been going on the last few weeks, he’d been oblivious to it. Maybe due to his usual morning visits or you know– he’d been too tired to notice. Still, he always tried to be somewhat friendly with staff, Adelina being one despite the only coming sporadically during her shifts. 

“How’re you doin today, other than the obvious?”

Seeing it was Aiden, she offered him a playful smirk. She didn’t know him outside of being a usual at the cafe but her regular customers always made her feel better, especially when they had juicy stories to share about everything from an affair to conspiracy theories. One thing she had learned working at Sunset was that people were fucked up and so goddamn weird. Adelina was practically a therapist. Would’ve been nice to be paid as one too. Her pay wasn’t that bad, but compared to her previous job as an exotic dancer, 13$ was shit...especially when you had medical bills to pay.

“Gotcha,” she rung him up and fetched his coffee plus his slice of pie; apple pecan this time, it was the freshest they had that day. She handed him his order with a sigh, “oh you know, I’m okay. It’s nice out, I’d rather be at the beach getting some sun and increasing my melanin but I’m stuck here, as usual, on nice afternoons. I haven’t seen you come in for a while, maybe just when I’m not here?”

Alright was always a code word for horrible, and Alfie’s pitiful smile was a billboard to his knowledge of that. He liked Adelina, she was cool, and nice, and frankly one of the best supervisors he’d ever had. She was right in the fact that she was one of the only members of management around here that was worth a damn, so of course he was always willing to work twice as hard for her in comparison to others. “I don’t blame ya.” He admitted in a low enough voice that no one would hear him. It wasn’t an opinion that was unwelcomed to anyone currently working, but he still wasn’t one to gossip, and if what he said got back to anyone, he’d feel terrible. Just because people suck sometimes, that didn’t mean he wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings. “Yeah, we’ve both been busy - but I’m good actually! Kinda seein’ this guy I like a lot, which is freaking scary. I’ve only dated one person in my entire life, and I feel like this is going too good to be true.” He admitted bashfully while leaning on the counter, deciding to organize the displays there while he was at it, so that he at least looked like he was being productive.

Seeing him lean while simultaneously organizing the shelves reminded her of their manager’s favorite phase; if you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean! Apparently, Alfie took it literally, no surprise to Adelina. He was the poster boy for perfect barista and definitely her favorite one by far.

“A guy you like a lot, huh?” She grinned, taking a few swigs of the coffee she had prepared for herself. “And who’s this guy? What’s his name? I haven’t seen anyone in forever.” She sighed. “Straight men honestly just suck. Can’t trust ‘em.”

Bear dipped down into a squat to help the girl, lifting at the same time as she did and they easily got the log to clear the animal. He watched as it skittered away, wiping his brow before he looked back at the girl who’d asked for his help. He wouldn’t normally just go wandering into the woods, but he was an animal lover and she was right—if there was something wrong with the little guy, he’d definitely need to go to the vet…with all the bears in California, he’d be someone’s breakfast or lunch before too long. 

“No problem,” Bear said, not really wanting her to wander around on her own anyway, even if he didn’t know her from Adam. He walked through some brush to catch up with her, hands tucked in the pockets of his jacket as he made his way toward her. “D’you go around rescuing animals often?” He said, tone slightly teasing. 

She liked this guy. He was easy, not complicated and didn’t seem like a prick. She smiled at him as he caught up with her. “Ha! I definitely don’t. I mean, I would. Actually, I think I’d probably love it...but no. I’m too busy making lattes for ungrateful suit and tie assholes.”

She turned right, behind a boulder, seeing a fox hole just beside it. Adelina stopped, crouching next to the hole. “Must’ve gone in there, but how the hell do we get it out?” She chewed on her lower lip in thought, then looked at the man again. “I know this is super random and you don’t know me, but would you wanna get some raw meat with me?”

While Bear normally took Moose out with him for walks the few times he’d wandered in the woods, today he was out on his own. The pup was exhausted from his first trip to the dog park and Bear had left him passed out in bed when he decided to take to a trail and get out of his head for a while—he’d had a lot on his mind and leaving his phone at home was a good way to totally disconnect, not that he had many people hitting him up. 

He looked startled when he was a girl a couple feet off trail off ahead—he could tell from her posture that something was wrong and he jogged a few feet to reach her, brow furrowed as he heard what she was calling him over for. “What?” He said, looking surprised as he stepped off trail toward her. “How do you—where—” he said, looking through the undergrowth before he saw a bit of auburn fluff poking out from under a log. “Shit,” he mumbled, nodding as he went to the other side of it where the fox’s head was. “Do you want to lift on three?” 

Relief washed over her as he made his way over. “Yeah, on three, ready??” She lowered herself to a squat (the gym really paid off, it seemed) and lifted the trunk with the stranger, hoping the fox would move...or even be able to. Worry strewed her features and the fox slowly, carefully made it’s way out. It didn’t look too hurt. She watched as it fled away, walking after it. She wanted to make sure it was alright.

Turning back to the man, she smiled. “Thanks. Would you mind coming with me to see if it’s okay? I may need help bringing it to a vet.” How? She had no idea. She didn’t have a car, she’d have to take the bus. But at least she had her jacket. She’d throw it over it and cross her fingers it didn’t bite.

Blaise looked at the tart the woman was pointing out, frowning as he realized it had broken.  “Blower… hold on, bet I can get that replaced for you,” he said simply, looking up and behind the counter to smile at Ryleigh.  “Hey Ry… I ruined this lady’s dessert, can you fix a new one for her on me?” he asked, smiling at the blonde behind the counter and thanking her as she agreed and went in the back to whip it up.  Blaise grinned as he turned his attention back to the woman who hadn’t seen the door opening in time to move out of the way.

“Sorry about that, but hey, look, now you get a fresh one, and I bet it’s going to taste a hell of a lot better than that one right there,” he said as he gestured to the broken tart in her hand.  He was checking her out too, though not being completely blatant about it because he wasn’t trying to objectify her.  She was kind of gorgeous though, and he was pretty sure he’d double down on that opinion if she smiled at him or gave any indication that she wasn’t inwardly swearing vendetta against him.

This dude looked...gruff. Probably a serial killer...or at least he could be, based off his appearance alone. Maybe he was a hunter. Yeah, that made more sense. Lumberjack type, hiding in the woods, planning his next kill. Get out of your head Lina! “Yeah, you should. It was ten whole dollars. That’s like a week worth of tips at my job.” She gave him a simple smile; one that read you better. Watching as he spoke, apparently knowing the woman here, her suspicions were obviously wrong. So, he wasn’t a serial killer, but he was charming, nice, checked every box and probably just like all the other men in this town. Adelina didn’t want to judge too soon but, this guy just reeked player. Still, she’d play nice.

“I hope so, since my money wasn’t spent on it this time. Maybe it’ll have more fruit.” She let out a small, muffled chuckle, her dark eyes trying not to stare and scan his vibe. “Thanks...for buying me a new one. Thought I had to chase after you and make you pay.”

Alfie was used to Adelina coming into her shifts, and immediately having to take over a mess. He looked like a deer in headlights amidst the other staff, already nodded when she advised them to go ahead and start cleaning and stocking. He really didn’t want a long night, he’d planned on maybe even being able to skip out a little bit early, and catch the new episode of Guy’s Grocery Games on TV tonight. God, he’d never admit that to anyone though, because even saying it in his head made him pity himself. What kind of party life was he living in Dayton that he wanted to leave early to watch the food network? Still, he did as he was told, and proceeded to wipe down all of the open tables while his supervisor took the orders, glancing over from time to time for a window of opportunity to go and talk to her. “Heyyy Ade…” He muttered after the last of their current customers had filtered out, for now at least. “You okay? You seemed a little flustered when you came in.” It was none of his business technically, but despite Adelina being his superior, he still considered her a friend.

A heavy sigh escaped her as she watched the last of the rush leave. Tony finished the remainder of the lattes and she just stood quietly at the register with her hands on her hips, hearing Alfie come up to her. Turning, she gave him a tired smile and shrugged a shoulder. “I’m alright.” She wasn’t, really. She was late because her mother was in pain and Adelina had to wait for the pain meds to kick in or she’d have to take her mother to the hospital and then there was the part where she almost forgot her shift keys...again. She didn’t like putting this on people though. She hated the false apologies and tones of so-called concern.

“Just annoyed with Amira never doing her job. I’m glad I have you here though, at least I know someone will help keep the store in check. What’s going on for you Alfie? We haven’t talked in a while!”

It was like culture shock, being in Dayton. It felt like an entirely different world, at least compared to where she came from. This is the second time in 3 days she’d awkwardly experienced staff getting loud about something. Klara was inherently nosey, so it took her a moment to pry her eyes from the ongoings close to the back of the serving area. 

It took her a minute to snap back when the attention was turned to her. “Uh- yeah can I just have a coffee and a cheese danish?” she pressed her lips together in a tight smile. “Sorry- new to town. Getting used to the… Ambiance is taking longer than I thought it would”

“Oh yeah?” Adelina smirked, remembering all too clearly how Dayton seemed to her when she first moved. Nice town, for sure, but holy shit the chaos of it all. And when she had her mother move into town with her...that was a story in itself. If Adelina ever relayed to her mother that the stripper she saw almost entirely nude on a street corner taking selfies was an ex co-worker, she wouldn’t hear the end of it. Puerto Rican mothers, they’re no joke.

She prepared the brewed coffee for the woman and grabbed her the cheese danish. “Getting used to it will take some time.” She smiled, handing the woman her orders as she rung her up. “Are you here temporarily or to stay?”

Normally, Adelina liked being alone when she went for a walk in the woods. It was the only place (save the beach, in the ocean, with her head tucked under the water) that she felt she could truly get away. Maybe not mentally, but being with her sick mother at home took its toll on her. It was rough, being presented with a problem that had no solution. She could do nothing about it besides take care of her, but it often felt like that wasn’t enough.

Now, however, she had been wishing there was someone else with her…at least just then, as she tried lifting a fallen trunk that had landed on the very end of the tail of a fox. She heard his whimpers a few feet away and it looked like he had been there the whole morning. “Just hold on little guy, I can’t lift this thing by myself, let me make a crane.”

She rolled a stone that weighed too much for her to lift it, then glanced around almost frantically for a sturdy looking branch. Suddenly hearing footsteps, she noticed someone making their way past her. “Hey! Hey, could you help me? There’s a fox stuck under here, I think he’s hurt. I’m trying to lift this damn trunk but it’s too heavy for me to lift alone, could you give me a hand??”

It was six that evening. She almost caved in and stole a lemon loaf from the pastry shelf at work but Take the Cake was way too tempting. She had passed by earlier before her shift, seeing all the beautifully crafted pastries in the window. For some reason, Adelina had never been. Technically, she never leaves the house unless she’s going for a hike or visiting the beach. This was on her way home though, and it was far less busy than it had been earlier that day.

She waited, arms crossed, at the end of the counter before being handed a small box with a fruit tart that could serve two, potentially three, however—this was entirely her own. She may be a hundred and twenty pounds but she ate like the food was going somewhere. An almost goofy smile painted her dark features as she made her way towards the door. The smile didn’t last long though because before she knew it, it swung open towards her and knocked the ten dollar tart right out of her hands. She paused, then looked down at the measly looking, broken pastry.

“Great.” She looked up. “Sooo, that was ten dollars…”

When Tee entered the coffee shop for his usual fix of coffee after a long day at work, he wasn’t expecting to walk straight into an argument between the workers. From what he could understand, it had to do with slacking off and not doing the duties during the shift but he wasn’t really interested in listening so he took out his phone and played around with it while he waited in line. He knew what working in a cafe was like from his college days and he knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere. Better to just let the other employee go and get started on whatever needed to be done. “Hey. I’ll have a double-shot espresso to go please”, he said, little polite smile on his face. “Sorry about what happened there. It sucks when not everyone is on the same wavelength.” Tee wasn’t sure if the girl would appreciate him bringing up what happened but it was his way to make conversation while he waited for his order. After all, he was told he needed to be a bit more approachable so he was trying it out.

She wrote his order on the paper cup straight away without looking at it once. Instead, her dark eyes scanned Tony on the bar and at whatever it was the others were doing. “Double shot espresso, got it.” She placed the cup on the bar, watching Tony get to it straight away. She wouldn’t say she was strict, exactly. She just knew what needed to get done and had no problem making sure tasks were delegated and especially, carried out.

Hearing the rest of his words, she turned back to him with her generic, cereal-brand smile and entered two dollars into the POS. She was going to nod and agree and let him walk off, typically-- it’s what she’d do, but, she had a long morning.

“Yeah, seriously. Have you ever worked at a cafe?” She grabbed a paper cup and started preparing herself a brewed coffee with steamed milk, probably one of many. “You’ve literally got millions of things to do...at once and when you’re the shift,” she glanced back him for a moment, “me,” then continued making her coffee, “you’ve got to make sure all the people you’re working with are actually doing their job. We’re all adults, why am I babysitting? You know?” 

Historically, there have been some sleazy people to come through one of the Labrynth’s many bars. Today was no exception. Claudia felt her eyes burning as she tried to keep her cool, customer service face on while the bar patron in front of her was really asking to be socked in the face. She wanted to tell the man that bartenders didn’t flirt with customers for their numbers, they flirted for the tips. She could tolerate a lot, but what Claudia didn’t tolerate was blatant racism and sexism and the man sitting in front of the bar was exuding those -isms. “I’m actually Cuban, not Mexican and I suggest you misogyny to a different bar, no?” she said, throwing her change at him. “Now or I’ll call security.” she said, encouraging him to get his ass moving. Walking across the bar, she took a few deep breathes and attempted to re-gain her cool. She knew she was going to hear about that from her boss in a couple days, but her boss should’ve just been glad she didn’t throw a drink at his face or worse. “Sorry you have to witness that,” she said to the person across from her. “I promise i’m not evil, he just deserved it.” she laughed. “Sí or no? You agree?” 

“I get it, mija, dudes can be fucking nasty.” She took a swig of her Cabernet, offering a lazy shrug. She wasn’t drunk per se, not really even tipsy...more of that feeling you get when you’ve had a lot to drink and you’re sort of just over everyone’s shit? That’s what she felt.

Honestly, she wouldn’t have been here if it weren’t for the fact that some canto de mierda stood her up, once again. What was it with men? Did she intimidate them? She met him a week ago, they spoke, exchanged numbers, texted for a few days and she thought things were going well, then they set up this date and for what? For her to be sat here, alone, sipping on four dollar Cabernet, watching yet another dude be a canto de mierda.

“Men suck. They fucking suck.” She took another sip. “How can you even work in a place like this with all these thirsty ass dudes prowling?” Obviously, she wouldn’t tell her that she had been a stripper. 

lennon sat on a bench outside of coffee shop she could not afford to buy from. she had a notebook with a list of places to go and ask for a job application. her daddy had always told her going in person to ask for an application, even if they have one online, left a bigger impression. it let the manager see your face, and all that good stuff. so far, she had filled out two or three applications in person, but a lot of places just … weren’t hiring. claudia had been kind enough to let her take a week to settle in, but she made it pretty clear that unless lennon started helping with rent, they might not have a place pretty soon. with a defeated sigh, lennon went through and marked out the jobs that said they weren’t hiring. she tilted her head back, looking down the long street of businesses that she had yet to apply to. “i can let myself rest a lil’ longer,” she hummed to herself. lennon practically jumped a foot in the air when she heard someone chuckle at her comment. “sorry, i was talking to myself! you’re not hiring, are you?”

Adelina didn’t mean to startle her, but the concept of letting oneself rest was all too real and relatable. She reminded Lina of herself at a much younger age when all seemed possible and her mother wasn’t sick and the prospect of attending an art school was still a possibility.

What am I even doing? She suddenly thought to herself, sat at one of the outdoor tables of Sunset cafe. She brought her handmade cbd-herbal cigarette to her lips to take a drag. She was a thirty year old woman with many talents, working as a barista at a fucking cafe. Like, for real? Mind you, she was a shift supervisor but take the title away and she was still serving fucking coffee. She couldn’t let herself grow old here, she refused. Not like Lisa, her co-worker, a sixty year old, grumpy ass lady that hated everyone. No. She couldn’t become Lisa.

“That’s okay...I was just thinking of how much I could relate. Seems all I do is work.” She took another puff of her cigarette and turned to the girl, sunlight hitting her face. “No idea if we’re hiring but if you wait for me to finish here, I can go in and check?”

It was already ten minutes past her shift and she could almost feel her manager’s mouth teeming with his usual shit about ‘setting an example’ and ‘the rest of your co-workers are counting on you’. He should try having a sick and potentially dying mother at home that needed to be cared for on a constant basis (as much as she hated thinking of her mother dying, she had been mentally preparing herself for the worst for three months now). Luckily, she was the first person on the evening shift it seemed.

Throwing on a milk-stained apron she found abandoned in the back of house, she took over supervisor position from the afternoon shift and started filling out delegated tasks to that night’s employees in the handbook and once again, she noticed all of the afternoon tasks weren’t completed…leaving it all on her and her team that night. “No, que jodienda,” she muttered, placing the book by one of the registers. “Hold on…Amira!” She called out to the previous shift who was making her way out the door suspiciously quick.

Amira turned and sighed heavily. “Yes, Adelina?” “How are you gonna leave me with this mess again?? Didn’t we talk about this at the meeting? I can’t keep picking up after your shit.” Adelina could sense customers watching the two but she didn’t care. “It was busy! You know how it is, kids get out of school and raid the store with a bunch of orders!” “And what about us? We’re busy at night too. We also get lines out the door but I still manage to get shit done!” “Look, I’m late for my dance rehearsal, we can talk about this over text.” And with that, she walked out, leaving Adelina with her mouth slightly agape, turning to look at her team, who all stood, watching. She shook her head. “I can’t with her. Sorry y’all but it’s gonna be a long night, apparently. Tony, you’re on bar, everyone just...clean, get things stocked. I’ll take the orders.” She tied the owner-less apron behind her back and removed a sharpie from its left pocket. Her eyes met the next customer in line, she smiled and gave her usual, automatic greeting.

“Hi, how are you? What can I get for you today?”