So good. Laughed IRL.

“Hey, how’d it go with your date last night?”

I looked at the time. It’s 3:32am. “Well, kind of a long story. I’d tell you, but you know who will be here any minute now.”

“Ah. True. Well, he might wanna hear too? Is he a he by the way? Does he just identify as “demon” or …”

Suddenly Damien the Demon, most venerable assistant to “The Dark Lord,” appears.

I’ve worked this shift at Angel Café for six months now. Damien, a powerful demon, without fail, appears every night at exactly 3:33am to pick up a latte for “The Dark Lord.” I’ve never gotten used to this and probably never will. I get chills every time Damien appears, but I always try my best to hide my fear and stay professional.

“Damien! How are you?”

“You know why I’m here. Where is it?”

“Ah … uh … right. Coming right up. Just finishing it up now.”

“And why isn’t it already ready?”

“Well … sir … or … uh … yea …”

“What Chris means to say is that last time we made it to be ready for as soon as you arrive and you complained that it was not fresh enough despite us making it literally 30 seconds before you appeared.”

I go back and forth between looking at Damien and Lisa. I can’t believe she just said that to a freaking demon. Is she crazy? Ah, shit! I spill Damien’s order as I’m distracted.

“Fuck,” I whisper just a tad bit too loudly.

“What is it? Where is the latte?”

“Uh … sorry Damien. I …”

My eyesight rapidly deteriorates as tears pile up. I wipe my eyes to prevent a waterfall. Lisa comes over to help.

“It didn’t come out right. We’ll get you a fresh one started immediately.”

That was a lie. Lisa just lied to cover for me. God I hope Damien isn’t psychic.

“It has been 3 minutes. The Dark Lord will not be happy with this wait.”

I nod my head furiously while multitasking and scrambling to get another latte started. Lisa puts her hand over my hand in a signal for me to stop and calm down. I look her in the eyes and nod slowly.

“I am not Cupid. I am a powerful demon. Cut the romance, complete my order, or you will find out exactly what it means to be a powerful demon.”

“Yes. We’re on it Damien. Chris is going to take a break and I’ll get this done right away.”

Damien grunts. I walk to the other side of the café to do some stocking. Lisa pours Damien’s latte into a large coffee cup.

“Here you go. One large iced vanilla latte.”

“Have all the specifications been met?”

“Blonde roast cold brew, one pump vanilla, whole milk, and a dash of cinnamon.”

“Good.”

Damien grabs the coffee.

“By the way, my manager did mention that we’re getting ready to sell to a new owner so I’m not sure if the new owner will be okay with the whole free coffee in exchange for not killing us deal. Just letting you know.”

Damien glares at Lisa.

“I guess we will see.”

Damien suddenly disappears.

I let out a huge sigh of relief and put my hands on my knees while looking at the ground.

Lisa walks over and rubs my back.

I stand up straight.

“You know, Lisa, either you’re the bravest person on the planet, the craziest person on the planet, or both … You know if I didn’t know any better I’d think you’re a demon yourself.”

I grin and giggle.

Lisa grins as well.

“Chris … you have no idea.”

Lisa winks at me.

I tilt my head slightly to the side while looking slightly confused. I wonder what she means by that?

My thought is interrupted by another customer walking in. Ah, fuck. I guess it’s about that time for the after-party crowd. Beats a demon, but not by much.