Run by David Skuy

Author:David Skuy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cormorant Books Inc.
Published: 2017-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

Friday: 4:05 p.m.

Rajeev rushed forward, stopped, and scanned the room.

“I am very much impressed,” Rajeev said, head wagging side-to-side. “I most sincerely am. Truly. It is an utter transformation, nothing less. Something ugly, a mess, broken and battered, is now beautiful. These floors, the windows, this space — remarkable. I am even a bit overwhelmed … and not a little ashamed.” He hung his head. “My store is a disgrace: chipped shelving, dust, dirty carpets, and the stockroom is a disaster. Most of the time, Deepak and I can’t find the shoes for the customers.” He took a deep breath and put a hand to his cheek.

“We could help you,” Deepak said. “Maybe some new carpets and shelves? I don’t know. But we could do something — even paint.”

“Son, you are speaking wisely. We’ll make old Mister Adler proud, yet.” Rajeev turned to Lionel. “I understand you are the mastermind behind all this?”

“We all helped,” Lionel stuttered.

Deepak waved him off. “Lionel did most of the work.”

“Hardly,” Lionel said. He collected himself. “I’d be happy to help you fix up your store.”

“I would be delighted to work with you,” Rajeev said.

“Me too,” Afonso said.

“Don’t forget me,” Kiana piped in.

Binny took hold of Manuel’s elbow and pointed to the coffee roaster.

“That’s the craziest idea I ever had,” Binny said. “I was going to roast my own coffee and use it for the café, and maybe even sell it around town. Had the bags designed and everything, even the name — Binny’s Beans. Can’t believe how much trouble I went to take it apart and haul it up here. I even had to put some metal joists under the floor to support it. Big dust collector is what it is. But you get major props for making her pretty.”

“We did more than that,” Afonso said. “My dad and I …”

“It was all Afonso,” Manuel said. “I just gave him some pointers and found the spare parts he needed.”

Lionel had scrubbed it with special cream for twenty minutes yesterday to get it clean.

“She’s almost as good as new,” Afonso said. “Had to put in a new motor and fix the wiring, but otherwise it was in good shape. You can start roasting any time.”

“Seriously?” Binny said.

“Try it out,” Afonso said.

Binny hit the switch. The roaster began to hum, and the roasting chamber began to spin around.

“Let me pay you for the parts at least,” Binny said, in a serious tone.

“You won’t pay us anything,” Manuel said. “On the other hand, if I were to receive a free pound of beans, perhaps I wouldn’t object.”

“You’ve earned yourself a free lifetime supply,” Binny declared. He bounded over and shook Manuel and Afonso’s hands.

Manuel cast a sideways glance at the roaster. “I’m kinda thinking like Rajeev here. My garage is a mess, tools all over, and the grease is so thick I leave every day covered in it. I have old tires I’ll never use in a million years, and cans, and screws, and … I could start my own landfill site.

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