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"Stop! Sit down and shut up!" Erin barked in her best Michael imitation, pointing at both of them.
It worked. Sort of. The girl on the far side of the counter plopped into a chair and cried. Tiffany turned to Erin with big puppy dog eyes and pouting, trembling lips.
"Tiffany, start cleaning up this mess. I want every bit of milk mopped up and the whole place sanitized." Erin snapped the commands but didn't wait to see if it worked. She grabbed a wet cloth and a dry one, handing them to the other girl. "Here, get yourself cleaned up."
Erin's boots were already sticking to the floor. Good thing she'd sealed the concrete. She called to the loggers, "One of you gentlemen want to tell me what happened?" It wasn't really a request. The show over, they were retreating. They looked at each other and one shrugged.
The bearded giant came over, stopping before he stepped into the milk splatter, and took off his beat-up ball cap, staring down at her. "We're not sure how it got started, but there was a lot of yelling and screaming and using the 'B' word, ma'am, if you get my drift."
Erin nodded at him to continue.
"Then this girl here—" he pointed at the girl crying in the chair "—she grabbed the milk container on the counter and threw it in Tiff's face, so Tiff grabbed the other one and threw it back, and ma'am, that's when you walked in." He backed away. "Gotta get to work. Sorry, ma'am."
"Thanks. Appreciate you telling me. Have a good day, guys." She waved as they turned tail and ran. If only she could do the same. Erin glared at the two girls. "I will not tolerate reckless and destructive people in my place of business. You." Erin pointed at the girl sitting and crying. "What's your name?"
The girl sniffled. "Kaylee Adams."
"Kaylee Adams, I am officially notifying you that I am refusing you service. If you come back to my place of business, I will have you charged with trespassing. Is that understood?"
"What?! That's not fair! She started it!" Kaylee pointed an accusing finger at Tiffany and then swung it to Erin. "You'll be sorry!" Kaylee jumped up, wobbling on her ridiculously high heels, threw the dishcloths on the floor, and stormed out the door.
"Good riddance." Erin turned to Tiffany. "And what do you have to say for yourself?"
Tiffany was scowling. "She called me a loser because I was wearing the same T-shirt she was. She's the loser! He's mine!"
"This is about a T-shirt?"
"This was my favorite T-shirt! Brad gave it to me!" Wailing, she dropped into the chair Kaylee left.
Erin rolled her eyes. She'd been right. "And precious Brad gave her the same T-shirt?"
"Yes!!!"
Erin couldn't help it. She laughed. Tiffany's face crumpled into hurt disbelief. "Why are you laughing?! Brad is the love of my life!" Tiffany rose, stamping her foot on the floor like a three-year-old.
"He gives all his girlfriends the same T-shirt? What an idiot.” Erin shook her head.
“He’s not an idiot! I didn’t know Kaylee had one too. I’m going to kill Brad when I see him!” Tiffany looked murderous. If a brand-new baby calf could be murderous.
“He’s an idiot.” Erin laughed harder.
“I can’t believe you’re laughing at me! This isn’t funny! My life is over! I quit!” Tiffany threw down her towels and stomped out the door, leaving it open. Then she stamped back in, ducked behind the counter, grabbed her purse and coat, and slammed the door. The rest of Erin's customers followed, with commiserating looks and unconcealed laughter.
Erin kept laughing, but her chuckles turned to despair and finally died entirely as she surveyed the mess. Rats. White splotches of milk tracked across the dining area floor, all the way to the door. She wrote two signs: "Temporarily closed due to equipment malfunction. See you tomorrow," and taped them to the drive-through window and the front door, which she locked. At least the morning rush was over.
Erin pulled out buckets, soap, and bleach, cleaning the bottom of her boots first. She had a long day of scrubbing and sanitizing ahead. Erin laughed gloomily. Next, she'd have to find a replacement for Tiffany.
Yup, a very long day.
By the middle of the next week, the long day had turned into a series of never-ending days. Yet another potential employee hadn’t bothered to show up for their interview. Not even a phone call. A week of spreading the word and she’d had little luck. Guess she'd have to post the position with the Job Service, which meant sorting through a hundred applications, most of them totally unsuitable. She yawned.
Between getting up early to run the coffee shop, staying up late to work on the ‘Cuda, and making phone calls in the afternoons to set up interviews, Erin wasn't getting much sleep. She rarely slept well these days, but now that she was tired enough to sleep like a log, she was too short of hours to sleep in. And she couldn't even visit her friends; not enough hours in the day. Deb's delivery person brought her pastries, and the bank courier picked up her deposit.
As the door opened, she yawned again. William from Kelly's Auto Parts entered with a blast of highway noise. Erin forced herself to her feet. "Hi, William. Get you some coffee?"
He waved a big silver and green travel mug. "Brought my own mug. I'll get it, thanks." He loaded his mug at the drip coffee station and crossed to her. "I'm out doing my regular sales calls. I heard a rumor about you having some sort of girl-fight here, so I thought I'd stop in and get the actual story." He huffed a laugh but looked sympathetic.
Erin sat at a table, waving her hand in invitation. "It was a fight over a guy. A stupid guy. This idiot gives all his girlfriends a custom air-brushed T-shirt." She rolled her eyes. "The same T-shirt, of all the dumb things to do in a small town."
