Narrator: A Thriller by Landon Beach

Author:Landon Beach [Beach, Landon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-01T16:00:00+00:00

21

Well, Corie pulled through that night. And the next.

And the next.

It’s nine in the morning, and I will be able to visit him in a few minutes. Matt stayed late last night and is at home resting; he needs a few years of sleep after the past few days. Me? I didn’t sleep that much the first night at Killy’s, but as Corie’s condition has improved, so has my sleep. The last few nights in the hotel have been fine—clean, quiet room, and I’ve walked a few miles on one of the fitness room’s treadmills. There’s an elliptical machine, which is supposed to be easier on my joints, but I’m not coordinated enough at six a.m. to stay on the thing.

I sit in the waiting room and drink from my cup of coffee. Whatever executive is responsible for selecting Barney’s Boastful Roast as the coffee vendor for the hospital deserves a healthy bonus. I hate hospitals, but since Corie will be here for a while, I have come to look forward to my daily trips to Barney’s. The tiny café, just off the main hallway on the ground floor, has become a refuge for me. Friendly baristas, muffins, newspapers—yes, some of us still like to read a paper version of the Los Angeles Times—and savory coffee. I don’t mind sitting in the waiting room, but the café has a few tables and chairs, and I’ve made good use of them—especially in the long afternoons. The morning barista’s name is Sara—a lovely mom of two college-aged boys who lost her husband three years ago. Barney’s opens at 5 a.m., but Sara starts work at 4. The first shift change occurs at 11 a.m., and a barista named Kemen, a senior at UCLA who is finishing his psychology degree, comes on until 5 p.m. They’re both wonderful—cheery, chatty, empathetic, and competent as hell. My kind of people in a hospital coffee shop. Then, my favorite barista, Alicia, arrives and works until 11 p.m., when Barney’s closes.

These are the things you notice when you’re stuck in a hospital.

But wait, my friends, there’s more.

A “wild card” barista (my name for the position) or “roving barista” (Barney’s name for the position) named Leo shows up at 9:30 p.m. every night to assist Alicia with the mad, end-of-the-day-Barney’s-is-closing-and-nurses, doctors, and-staff-members-are-freaking-out rush that continues until closing time. For that hour and a half, Barney’s is a revolving door of hospital workers coming by to pick up their 4, 6, and sometimes 8-cup orders to get them through the night. However, they have all come to respect the hard rule that an 11 p.m. closing time means an 11 p.m. closing time. Alicia and Leo have their routine so down—I’ve watched it for two nights now—that when the digital clock on the wall behind the main coffee stand hits 11:00, Alicia turns the lights off and then pulls the metal gate across the entrance while Leo makes sure that no one tries to enter. Then, Leo locks the gate, and they head out.

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