Safe and Sane

Another week, another Wednesday, another buy-one-get-one-free offer on all hot drinks from the cafe. Coming up to the full moon, the weather was uniformly dull, cloudy, and warm, long days with no rain, long nights too warm to really sleep, tempers were beginning to fray among the staff.

Gale had gotten to the club early to choose a room and reserve it, make a few subtle preparations. After changing into a thin pair of leather pants that left little, if anything, to the imagination, he'd tugged on a white shirt but left it unbuttoned, wandering back into the main lounge to wait for Rafe to arrive.

That's where he was when Rafe found him, turned sideways in a chair, a leg thrown over the arm as he ate a crisp green apple. Tart and juicy, each bite was better than the one before. The serpent mythology told offered Eve the forbidden fruit in the Garden would have envied the smile Gale gave Rafe as he offered him the apple.

"Want a bite?"

Juneteenth was still a couple days away, but the cafe had embraced the notion wholeheartedly. A barbecue was running among the tables out front, the closest thing they had to a garden, and pitchers of non-alcoholic fruit cocktails available at the counter as an alternative to coffee. Bowls of fruit salad sat alongside the sandwiches in the chiller cabinet.

Wednesday again, and another munch night. The cafe was increasingly quiet as layoffs took effect on household finances, and the board behind the counter was scattered with offers.

Quite why anyone would want to buy two coffees and get a third free, or whether it was a good idea for the majority of munch attendees, was anyone's guess.

Memorial Day weekend meant that most people had three days off and intended to spend it either in sloth or trying to cross off as many things as they could from their "to do" list. The club was prepared for both cases.

They'd cleaned and restocked all the rooms, put up some new decorations and made sure everything was bright and shiny.

They'd also stocked up on burgers, dogs, and other picnic essentials and put grills and tables in the back parking lot. There was a threat of rain but if that happened, everything could be hauled indoors to one of the fire-safe play rooms. (Of course, that hadn't stopped some wit from putting an "in case of fire" sign on the inflatable kiddie pool.)

The main lounge had tables stocked with drinks and finger foods for those who didn't do meat or simply weren't the picnic type. Friday afternoon rolled around and everything was set.

Active advertising of the store's opening was the ordre du jour, now that it was almost ready. Danielle walked into the club with a healthy stock of flyers inside her bag. She'd cleared it with the club's board first, of course.

No one in sight in the lounge, and she went over to the pin board on the wall to put a small poster up. The flyers she would leave on a table for all to pick up if they so wished. ...except all the pins were already holding posters up, and she was at a loss.

She looked around, hoping somebody would walk in that she could ask about where to find more pins. When nobody did, she ventured further into the club to try and find someone.

"I'm gonna say something that just might get me struck by lightning." He paused, bracing himself more or less. "I want a salad."

Someone at the cafe had gotten creative with Google and discovered that March 11th was Johnny Appleseed Day. They hadn't gone all out and insisted on planting, but the counter was offering a selection of apple-based delicacies, cakes, juices and hot cider along with their usual selection.

There was also a rather suggestive print of Eve (looking very like one of the serving staff) proffering an apple, tacked to the wall behind the till.

The day had been relatively mild - as long as you classed above freezing as mild. Christmas decorations in the cafe had all been taken down, and the Christmas snacks and drinks had all disappeared from the menu, along with the plastic holly and mistletoe. It all looked rather bleak, reflected in the faces of the staff. Still, the cafe was warm, and the coffee machine was working, and a large slow cooker on the counter offered spiced winter vegetable soup to help with staying warm while keeping an eye out for more snow.

Jason wandered into the common room after a few hours spent bent over and reached up to grab the top of the door frame, hanging free with a little jerk to crack his back. Not that it did him much good when he realized he was blocking the door and turned too fast and popped his neck, the flare of pain twisting his features as he stepped aside.

"Ow." Reaching back, he rubbed his neck and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Where's a masseuse when you need one, huh?"

Rafe hummed to himself as he wandered into the club, half bouncing along. He grabbed himself a drink before he headed for the sofas, dropping down next to someone with a smile. "Hi." He grinned brightly. "How's it going?"