Eduardo

"Sorry, you want a what, sir?" Eduardo asks the man standing behind the counter across from him.

"It's uh... a large cup, but with half of a caramel latte," the man responds, "and half of a hot chocolate."

"Oh, okay," Eduardo says. "Sorry, I just hadn't really…"

"Oh no, no," the man responds. "I know it's an odd drink but it's my wife's favorite," he adds with a chuckle.

"We used to come here all the time, actually, and she'd always order that, but uh… it's been a while," he says as his gaze escapes him.

"Well, welcome back, sir, and I'll have your wife's drink out in a few minutes," Eduardo says with a grin.

"What is your wife's name?" he asks.

"Amy," the man responds.

Eduardo scribbles the name on the cup.

He then goes into the kitchen and starts preparing the drink. He does it without thinking. It's almost like he's a robot, and as soon as he hears the drink order he sets himself in automatic mode to prepare it.

But today, especially, his mind is somewhere else.

He finishes preparing the drink and hands it to the man. Eduardo watches as he hurriedly leaves the shop.

He then checks his cellphone for the seventeenth time in the last hour.

Still no message.

His patience melts even more.

He looks at the clock. Six: thirty-two. Just twenty-eight minutes left of his shift. I really hope it's there when I get home, he thinks.

His coworker, Lila, walks back into the kitchen. She had been putting away newly arrived product in the back of the shop.

"Is it seven, yet?" she asks.

"Just a little longer," Eduardo responds.

"I don't think I can survive much longer," she says. "I have to go home and watch a movie with some ice cream or I'll literally die."

Eduardo laughs.

"I'm gonna go wipe the tables," he says.

He grabs a damp rag and walks towards the center of the shop.

He picks up a half-full cup of black coffee from a table and throws it away. He starts wiping the table.

For four months he has been working at this coffee shop for five days a week. He comes in every day after school ends at 2 PM and works until 7 PM. He's managed to save most of his money, and he will finally see his hard work pay off today.

He checks his phone once more. Still no message.

He sighs and moves to another table.

Starting tomorrow I will have a different life, he thinks. I will be able to go anywhere I want to go to.

The thought makes him grin.

They'll see me as older and more mature, he keeps thinking. I'll finally be able to ask Marianna out on a date. Not that I'll actually do it, he thinks, but at least I'll be able to.

He moves to another table. This one has a half-empty mug of tea. He remembers it belonging to the tall lady who ordered it earlier. The one that had a worried look on her face. Eduardo wonders if she's okay.

He grabs the mug and takes it to the kitchen sink.

He starts cleaning another table, even though it already seemed clean.

He thinks of the color of it. Red. Just like his bicycle.

And it's not even that red is his favorite color. Things just have a funny way of happening sometimes.

He thinks of his bicycle, which he received as a gift from his parents four years ago. He'd never been more excited. They'd sacrificed a lot to buy him the bicycle he wanted and he knew that. The bicycle had been his inseparable and faithful partner.

But he was seventeen now, and he really needed a change.

He continues cleaning the rest of the tables.

He walks back to the register and looks at the clock. Six: Forty-four. Only sixteen minutes left.

He picks up his phone one more time. And finally, there it is! The message from his father he'd been waiting for all afternoon.

Hey mijo, I have your car! Felicidades! I closed the deal and I'm on my way home. See you soon, driver!

The excitement starts bubbling up in Eduardo like a boiling pot water. He smiles and feels a rush of energy.

He needs to get home.

"Hey, Lila," he calls out. "Something just came up. Do you think it'd be okay if I went home?"

"Uh… yeah, sure. Is everything okay?" she asks with a concerned tone.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything is fine," he responds.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I'm sure it's okay. Deanna and Jack will be here soon anyway. I can cover for you until then."

"Thank you!" Eduardo calls as he takes off his apron. "I really appreciate it. I owe you one."

"Yup," Lila calls as she waves him off.

Quickly, Eduardo leaves through the shop's back door and hops on his old red bike.

He starts pedaling as fast as he can. He feels the cold wind kiss his face.

He thinks about how different this life will be from this day on.

And the smile that comes from these thoughts illuminates his way home.