The Usual and The Unusual

Monday morning, I was on my way to Marilyn’s - like always - sun already out and bright, yet spring had barely started.

Some older women in fur coats and thick jewellery were sat at the metal tables outside, gossiping intensely, in an attempt to ignore the heat. In usual pleasantries, I exchanged the obligatory “Buongiorno” with them, whilst noticing the glimpse of a waitress uniform from beyond the shop’s window.

When I made the bell chime, however, I only found Viola working silently behind bar. She gave me an apathetic look, acknowledging my presence with a nod, as I went to take a seat, spoiled for choice in the nearly empty coffee shop.

Marilyn’s was always its quietest on Mondays, with the vast majority of Corbettesi staying home, aware that almost all other shops in town would be closed, which gave them little to do.

Ready to brainstorm though, I pulled out my notebook, realising I would need to buy a new one sometime soon… It only had a few pages left to-

“Hello, sir~” the voice and formality were both unfamiliar “How can I help you?”

When I looked up, I was met with golden locks and a longish face. I assumed this was the new girl, meaning that she wouldn’t know what my usual was.

I smiled politely.

“A cappuccino and an assorted mix of mini-cookies, please”

“Of course” she made a note and trotted back to Viola.

I’d get to know her in good time - considering what my family was like, she was bound to get permanently adopted by us.

In just a few minutes, she returned with my order, scrutinising me attentively through a concentrated frown, as she placed each item on my table. I tried smiling politely again, a tad confused, until she blurted-

“You must be Michael!” she chirped, tone bright at the realisation “Viola gave me a heads up on regulars- It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m Ìspirah”

She held out a hand for me to shake.

“Pleasure’s mine” I softly chuckled, endeared by the formal gesture.

“You’re a writer, right?”

“Precisely”

“Oh, that’s so interesting! How do you-”

“Newbie!” Viola called, interrupting her mid-question “I’ve got another task for you”

“Coming!” Ìspirah straightened up, then turned back to me, expression apologetic “Sorry, if you’ll excuse me”

“Mh-hmm” I subtly nodded towards Viola “And, good luck”

That got a relieved little giggle out of her “I think I’ll be fine, but thanks” and off she went to get more training.

I proceeded to set up my stationery in its usual order, enjoying my morning, my routine… But, I couldn’t ignore how watched I felt.

Salvatore’s fixed stare on me was palpable, even from across the room - we were the only two customers inside the coffee shop today, after all. Unless this was just the Italian habit of staring at others to pass the time, knowing him, he was likely considering whether or not to approach me for a conversation.

I focused on my notebook, leaving it up to him.

As expected, it wasn’t long before weighted footsteps gradually became louder - I’d only managed to scribble a few concepts, when I found myself face-to-face with the park keeper.

He faintly smelled of wine, despite the early hour, and could barely keep his sunken eyes open from the years of past stress - you could tell with some elders that their lives had been more challenging than those of others.

“Ehi”

He’d officially commenced our conversation - I put my pen down.

“Ciao, Salvatore”

“Listen, Michael” his hoarse voice was alarmed “I gotta tell ya, something really strange happened with the animals yesterday”

Something strange was always happening with the animals. I felt affectionate laughter bubbling up in my throat, but I kept it to myself.

“Go on” I encouraged him.

“You know how we have a rooster, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware”

“Well, I caught the rooster having some sort of staring contest with one of the squirrels! It was such a surreal sight!”

“A staring contest” I slowly pondered out loud, wanting to make sure I’d understood him correctly.

“Yeah! A staring contest! Or, something like that… I don’t know” he scratched his poorly shaven cheek “I just found ’em facing each other, completely still! And, after a few minutes, they were acting normal again”

“Define acting normal”

“You know, like animals” he gestured with emphasis “Clucking and running around - so odd, I swear”

“Got it, that is unusual” I went along with his story - he needed someone to believe him every once in a while “You should try filming your animals the next time they act up like that”

“It always happens when I least expect it, you know? Besides, I’m too old to work out these new digital cameras”

“I think it’s worth trying”

A spark of excitement ignited in his eyes.

“You really think so?”

“Sure, you know those animals better than anyone” I shrugged “It’s a pity no one else gets to see, or understand, what really goes on in that park the way you do”

He paused and contemplated the option with whatever focus he could muster.

“No” he was suddenly gravely worried “No, I don’t want anyone taking my animals away… What if the wrong people find out they’re ‘gifted’, you know? Digital cameras are too risky”

“That’s a good observation”

“You know what?” he’d started fidgeting “I’m gonna go and check on ’em”

He grabbed his things and sprinted towards the door “Bye, Michael! Ladies!” and took off for the park.

“Wow, good job at scaring him off, bookworm” Viola complimented, tone flat.

“That man’s another regular, right?” Ìspirah asked, in a mixture of concern and curiosity “The park keeper?”

“Yeah, Salvatore” the other waitress huffed, unimpressed “He’s always going on about his freakin’ animals, no idea why”

“I find him endearing” I supplied “He cares so much about them, it’s sweet”

“Urgh, you find everything endearing” Viola rolled her eyes at me.

“Everything has a good side,” I insisted “if you look deeply enough”

“You’re such a weirdo”

The insult made me chuckle, used to Viola’s antics, but Ìspirah was watching quietly, not too sure how to go on about this conversation.

“It’s okay, Ìspirah” I tried to reassure her “You’ll get the hang everyone’s banter soon enough”

“Yeah, just never expect anything negative to ever come out of Michael’s mouth” Viola pointed at me with disdain “The guy ain’t human”

“Er, ok” the new girl seemed startled, yet attempted a grin, lost in thought “I’ll keep that in mind”

She glanced down at the cup she’d been polishing.

“So, uh, what do I do after this?” she motioned towards Viola.

The stoic waitress gazed at the stack of ceramics, all sparkling as if freshly bought and, for a split second, her eyes widened.

“How did you get them done so quickly? When did I tell you to start?”

“A few minutes ago?”

“Yeah, exactly- That’s…” she took a short pause to find the most appropriate word “…impressive”

Viola inspected the cups, not finding a single stain on any of them.

“Are you sure you have no prior experience in the catering sector?”

“Oh, yeah, for sure” the ‘newbie’ seemed earnest “This is actually my first job ever”

Viola attempted to stare Ìspirah down, scanning for a loophole, or the sign of a lie. I couldn’t quite grasp what the big deal was, however, it was definitely out of character for the firmest of the waitresses to show so much emotion in one go.

…..

As noon rolled around and I got ready to head home, Lillian dashed in for her shift.

“Mikey!” she grabbed my shoulder for a shake “So? How’s the new girl? Is she as insane as Viola says?”

“I wouldn’t say that-” although I was diverted by my cousin’s excitement, ‘insane’ wouldn’t be my word of choice to describe Ìspirah “She’s definitely a fast learner, which is obviously a good thing and, overall, she seems fine”

“I can’t wait to have a shift with her!” Lils squealed “Mom and Dad mentioned that, during the interview, she came across as such a great potential asset to the team, they just had to hire her on the spot. She was suuuper vague about her background, though - something about being from Sweden, maybe? Even though her name is not Swedish at all-”

That was peculiar, but names didn’t always align with origins - our family would know. If it hadn’t been for assimilation a few generations ago, we would’ve all been Mouwaads.

“-But, the juiciest part? She claims to have no job experience whatsoever, yet she just knows how to do stuff, with barely any explaining! I am so hyped to see her in action~!”

Viola walked up to us, out of her uniform and back into her blend of punk and goth attire, ready to add to the ongoing gossip.

“First thing this morning, the ice machine breaks down, ok?” she snarled through her purple lipstick “Newbie asks me where a toolbox is and boom, fixed - in barely minutes! And, when I asked her where she’d learned to do that, her answer was ‘Nowhere in particular’ like, chi cazzo says that?”

I was beginning to get a bit curious myself - it usually took Uncle Bill hours to fix that old machine.

“Oh, my gooosh~! Seriously?” Lillian was in awe “On her first day?”

“More like in her first hour!”

“No way!” my cousin’s hands went up to her face “Have you found out anything else about her?”

“Nope” Viola clicked her tongue, frustrated “All she does is ask if she can have ‘another assignment’ whenever she finishes the millionth chore, she’s non-stop”

Lillian couldn’t hold back a prolonged “Daaamn~!” as she adjusted the ladle keeping up her hair “How much longer is she on shift?”

“Until two, she’s in the kitchen doing some deep cleaning now”

“Got it” she turned to me “What are your thoughts, Mikey? Did you talk to her?”

“Barely” I raised my shoulders “She seems nice, though”

“Oh, come on!” my cousin whined “You’re, like, the master of decoding people! What did you see in her? You must’ve picked up something-?”

My mind went back to the previous hours… Her behaviour had been impeccable - not a strain, not a twitch, nothing noticeable really. All she did was do chores and politely serve customers.

It was only her first day, but, Lils had a point - I usually would have picked up on more than this. Huh, how unusual… But, hey, if I was meant to ‘decode’ her - as Lillian put it - I was sure I would in good time.

Meanwhile, I would enjoy the small novelty, while it lasted.

Everything became old news here, eventually.