Chapter 3: The Grind

The Grind

“The Grind” is probably the dumbest name for a coffee shop that could have ever been invented, in my personal opinion. But the name didn’t provide an indicator of what was held inside of those screened doors. The Grind was our home away from home; during the warmer months, because it became pointless to freeze while warming the vehicle up, freeze while picking friends up, freeze on the way from the truck to the shop, freeze while leaving, warm the truck up again, freeze while dropping friends off, freeze on the way from the truck back into the house. So during the winter months, we didn’t frequent as much. It was cold.

Kaley, Steve, Christy and myself is, in general, not a good mix. Kaley was Kaley. Steve was crazy by all accounts – there was nothing he wouldn’t do. Christy was like a small child in a candy shop – easily excited, easily amused, and very blunt in describing things. She could be like the poster child for the group of kids that tell their parents’ best friends that said parents were screwing the night before. And she did it with such blunt innocence, that she could pretty much get away with anything.

I picked up Kaley, and Steve and Christy got rides from Christy’s parents. We met at seven, just as business was beginning to pick up in the Grind.


“KALEY!!!!!” Was our announcement from Christy as she stood up, squealed, and ran over from the corner to tackle Kaley. I was not without a greeting as well.

“STORM!!!!!” Christy squealed, not two inches from my ear, before jumping on me as well. I hugged her back, then looked over her shoulder, past the staring patrons, at Steve, snickering in the background.

“Please don’t tell me you gave her caffeine. You know what that shit does to her!” I yelled to him. He shrugged and pointed to a steaming mug of cappuccino where Christy had been sitting. I shook my head dramatically.

I reached gently around Christy and pushed her away a little bit. She stood back, looking sheepishly at me.

“What? You don’t love me anymore?” She gave me the puppy eyed look, going so far as to bat her eyelashes at me.

“I love you, darling, but I’m thirsty.” I explained, before walking by her to place an order for a bagel and a hot chocolate.

“Who’s playing tonight?” I asked the clerk after telling him my order. He looked back at me. I have to admit, in the scrawny-guy category, the man was hot. Old enough to be my father, but he wore the hippie look well, with the long straight hair slung over his eyes limply, posture slumped. As stoned as he might look, he was always quick to respond and an intelligent conversationalist.

“We have an acoustic band playing tonight, it’s a three part band, female lead singer, male guitarist and drums.”

“The woman play anything?”

“No, but she has an amazing voice.” He slid the bagel and the steaming cup of hot chocolate over the counter. “Three seventy eight.” He said, pressing a few numbers on the ancient cash register. I dug four dollars out of my pocket and handed it to him. He gave me change and I grabbed my plate and cup and went to sit with the others. As I approached, their conversation seemed to reach its peak, and Steve was watching with mild amusement as Kaley and Christy were telling the story most with their waving arms and exaggerated facial expressions.

The dark atmosphere of the Grind provided a homey feel. It made you feel like you were different, yes, but that was okay. The sweet, comforting smell of coffee made even the most depressed people lighten up a little bit. And the way my friends told their stories, well, that was classic. I sat down across from Steve just as Christy finished her epic.

“Hey, Storm. How’s it goin’?” Steve asked me. Steve was a newer friend, he moved from Texas the year before, and had the most adorable drawl.

“Better than some, worse than others. Yourself?” I asked him. I spun the straw in my hot chocolate idly. I still saw steam, and as tempting as it was to sip, I’d burn my tongue, and if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to taste my bagel. My tongue was more important than my stomach, so I forced myself to ignore the sweet smell of the drink.

“Well, I was in a bad mood because of the horrible job I did on one of my projects, but watching these two…” He grinned. I nodded.

“Its enough to make anyone happier. Or, if they react the other way, enough to make them want to kill themselves.” I agreed, placing my mouth over the straw. Thirty seconds…it had to be cooler by then, right?

I sipped carefully, meeting Kaley’s glare as the steaming liquid made its way up the straw. Seconds before impact, I realized that it was going to hurt.

“Shouldn’t drink that.” Kaley warned as the liquid burned a searing hole into my tongue. I let go of the straw and grimaced.

“Should have warned me sooner! Fuck, that hurt!” I commented after a moment. My tongue felt like it was on fire. The familiar feeling of numbness settled in after a moment. I shook my head.

“Okay, everyone, we need to get our minds off of school!” Christy announced. I looked up at her. Her blonde hair was tied back, mostly, with a piece or two falling in her eyes.

“What are you? A cheerleader?” I asked her. My mouth felt funny. Sadly, I tore off a piece of my bagel, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to taste it.

“For these purposes, yes. After here, we need to go somewhere and do something. Like the little kids’ playground, or a movie, or something.”

“There’s a chick flick we could all go see tonight, if Steve doesn’t mind.” Kaley chimed in, looking around.

“Oh sure, like you’d actually take my voice into consideration!” Steve exclaimed, laughing.

“That all sounds great, but lets watch this band first.” I suggested. I looked up at the small stage in the front of the café, where a young, scrawny woman was setting up the stage with equipment littered all over the place.

“I wonder if they’re any good. Remember the band from last time?” Kaley said. “I swear they were drunk.”

“Eh, we’ll wait and see. Then we’ll see a movie a little bit later, if they suck or we can’t talk over them. We have all night.” Steve said with finality, ending the discussion. A moment of silence ensued.

“Quibble!!!” Christy chirped. It was going to be a long night.