S2/04. Old habits die hard

4.7 Linda West
Summer 1998, Lunchbox Gallery, San Myshuno

It was still a good hour until Linda had to take the subway for her interview, so Mae dragged her to 'the best coffee shop in town' to pass the time. It was the 'Lunchbox Gallery', the café that Naiah had mentioned the previous day.

"No shopping trip is complete without a coffee break," Mae said, and Linda wouldn't object today. A hot beverage and a breather might do her nerves good before she stepped into the university's HR office.

Linda was a little bit tense, although not because of the interview itself.

When she'd gone through her pantsuits in order to find a suitable one for the interview, she'd found that they'd all become too tight, without exception. She wasn't really surprised, though. After her long workdays, she couldn't be bothered to prepare healthy food, and since Mae'd moved away, Linda had let herself go even more. It'd been freezer food and a few pizzas too many with Frank, who'd left their traces on her body. She had never been stick thin, so the weight gain had skipped her immediate attention. But slowly and steadily, she'd gained a good clothing size, if not more, in the last three months.

In any case, her wardrobe could use a more contemporary update, and since she had to go to San Myshuno anyway, she could start right here by buying a new suit for professional and formal occasions.

To her surprise she found a beautiful, well-fitting outfit quite fast, and convinced by Mae's and the shop clerk's excited appraisals, bought it on the spot.

Only after she'd started wearing it, she found that it also made her a little self-conscious.

"Shh, stop fiddling on your skirt," Mae gently chided Linda for the umpteenth time, as they walked towards the counter. "You look great!"

"Are you sure it is not too short?" Linda asked her sister, also for the umpteenth time, and kept on fiddling. She just couldn't warm up to the skirt's hem length being more than a good handbreadth above her knee.

This time it wasn't her sister replying. They'd almost bumped into two familiar faces.

"No. No definitely not, it should be shorter, actually," Ben pointed at her suit, moving his finger up and down in a line. "Can you roll it up?"

"Yeah, and the cleavage could be deeper," added Jack, "but you can open a button to make up for it. No biggie."

Ben tried to nod while he took a sip from his oversized paper cup.

"Excuse me?" Linda murmured, caught off guard. Her mind was suddenly invaded by the absurd concern that she might've missed a bizarre shift in job interview dress codes. 

"Hello?! Was your pot rotten this morning?" Mae snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hey! We're trying to help!" Jack raised his hands in defense, a wide grin spreading over his face.

"Exactly," Ben confirmed with a faint impish gleam in his eyes, then turned dead-serious towards Linda. "You're on your way to your job interview, right?" 

She nodded, still confused and doubtfully inspecting the two men.

"Okay, then," he continued. "Now, to draw the attention on your looks, you need to get your dress really short –"

"And add more cleavage. Way more cleavage," Jack stated. "That's always eye-catching."

"And you must absolutely not talk about molecules and biochemical structures and alien DNA again, like yesterday. The way you do, it's too captivating, then no one's gonna look at your clothes for long." Ben shrugged.

"And that'd be such a shame, because you look really nice," Jack bemoaned.

"Even if your skirt is too long," Ben concluded.

As Linda furrowed her brows, unsure of what to make of all this nonsense, Jack flashed another one of his wide grins, and Ben softened into a bashful chuckle behind his coffee cup. He lightly brushed against Linda's arm, almost as if he wanted to conciliate her.

Mae snorted. "You guys are such dorks!" she exclaimed.

Admittedly, it was hard to take offense. Linda felt more as if Ben and Jack had complimented and encouraged her, albeit in a very odd way. Unwittingly the corners of her mouth tugged slightly upwards, and her shoulders dropped with ease at Ben's touch.

He'd then already turned towards Mae, as if rushing to change the subject. "Uh, did you try Carys' new creation yet?" He pointed at his cup. "It's not on the menu yet, but she made me one to test it. It's got lots of caramel, and she said something about blending in roasted hazelnuts – I think."

Of course, Mae was instantly captivated.
"Huh? Gimme." She took the cup right out of his hand without waiting for an answer, and a big sip out of it.

She could never resist trying a new recipe, particularly if it was something out of the ordinary. Squinting her eyes in deep focus, she shifted the liquid in her mouth, like the parody of a sommelier tasting a fine wine. Linda had to chuckle as she watched her.

"She's creative, I give her that," Mae concluded her examination and returned the cup.

Jack pulled a face. "It's just liquid sugar, man. You can't call that coffee anymore." Demonstratively he took a sip of his tiny espresso cup, which, Linda guessed, was unsweetened and black.

"But it's really good!" Ben insisted. "Here, try it too and say what you think. It really tastes like hazelnuts, doesn't it?" He held his cup towards Linda.

And froze right in the next moment, as if something just had hit him.
"Uhm... I'll get you a new lid, just wait a second," he said slowly, briefly looking as if he didn't know what to do with himself.

She'd almost declined since she didn't care much for coffee, but then curiosity got the better of her. Why not give it a try? Mae always gushed over the selection of food and drinks in San Myshuno. And Linda'd already missed out trying sushi without raw fish. At least she wanted to give coffee without coffee-taste a chance.
"Yes please," she said, to her surprise, slightly excited.

Ben eased into a faint chortle, then trotted to the counter and changed the lids.

"Here." He handed her the cup and watched her with open curiosity.

When she took a sip she was hit by a full bouquet of flavours – except the one she didn't like. 

"It's true, it doesn't taste much like coffee!" she exclaimed with surprise.

"And that is a good thing?!" Jack asked, appalled.

"Hmm... it reminds me of a dessert that Mae made once after she came back from Europe," Linda contemplated with fondness, of both her sister making it for her and said dessert, as she returned the cup to Ben.

"Franzbrötchen," Mae said. "But it's missing the cinnamon."

"So you like it? Then you should try the one with vanilla, too" Ben said, and took a sip from his cup. "That one's the best by far. But I'd say it tastes more like coffee," he shrugged.

Everyone stared at him.

Then Jack cracked up, and Mae followed right after.

Ben's confused, questioning face just poured oil into the fire.

Linda could only shake her head.

Of course, he hadn't thought of changing the lid back to his. 

Not even wiped it off!

She sighed and handed him a tissue.
"Lipstick," she answered his silent question.

Flummoxed, his hand shot towards his mouth, before he lit up into a broad, wide grin.

"You look almost as if you made out, except you did not!" Jack jeered and clapped his hands at the two last words. "Betcha this is the closest you'll ever get to it?" He snorted.

"Shut up," Ben muttered under the tissue, but his eyes sparked with hilarity and he shook in silent laughter. "Let's go, we gotta pick up Diana."

"See you around!" He hinted a wave, almost rushing towards the exit while still vigorously trying to clean his mouth.

"Hey, wait! Ya, and Linda, don't forget to roll up your skirt!" Jack added while following quickly.
Ben snorted in response.

Dorks, indeed, Linda thought.

"Dorks and idiots!" Mae yelled after them, then turned to Linda. "Now, do you want to try the vanilla latte, or have this hazelnut concoction? I'll have to ask Carys if she wants to try adding some cinnamon, though."