A Cafe in Sackville
The cumbersome non-adventures of a sugar glider and his vaguely more sensible boyfriend.
"Wake up."
Oliver became aware of a weight above him, pressed gently against his shoulders and hips. A familiar muzzle was pressed against his neck, a tongue lulling out of it to lick over his short fur. The drowsy sugar glider raised his paws to rub down the sides of the fluffy body atop his own. Although he had woken up in worse ways in his lifetime, he murmured an earnest desire that would have been anathema to his very being but a year ago.
"Five more minutes, Erwin. It's like seven in the morning."
Erwin, the fox on top of him, chuckled and pulled away. Oliver hadn't opened his eyes, but he could feel a weight on his hips that allowed him to discern that the orange puffball had decided to sit there a while. This had become something of a morning ritual during the weekdays. Oliver suspected that it may well have been Erwin's favorite means of tormenting him. It would have been all fine and dandy, of course, if both of them were the unemployed students that they once were. Instead, Oliver had his own class to teach and Erwin had a store to see to.
"Seriously, five more minutes." Oliver scooped up the pillows beneath his head, placing them firmly over his face. He felt the fox climb off of him and out of the bed. There was a moment of silence and stillness. Oliver felt the welcome wave of oncoming sleep. Every bit of his body was warm and had a vague, tingling numbness to it. Everything in his world was beautiful and right. And then Erwin smacked a pillow down against the one covering the sugar glider's face.
Oliver slid away the pillow that served as his protection from the grim reality that was thursday morning. He directed his almost disproportionately large brown eyes up at Erwin, witnessing the fox's jovial smirk. The playful swish of that tail behind him. He found only one word appropriate for the sight and situation. In a mixture of honest amusement and what would be contempt, were this anybody else, Oliver muttered, "why?"
"I need you to set up shop with me. The regulars will be in soon enough." With that, Erwin leaned down and kissed the halfway bemused glider. Although Oliver wanted to respond halfheartedly, he honestly didn't know how to, following along with the kiss with as much sincerity as he always did. When the fox pulled away, he went to find his clothes. Oliver dragged himself out of bed to do the same.
They teased each other throughout the process, of course. Oliver had all the fashion sense of, well, something without very much of any sort of sense. The very incarnation of which was a pair of broad-framed, excessively large glasses. Everything that Erwin wore had to be coordinated by colour and material, whilst still being practical enough to protect against the cold of a Canadian winter. The only plausible conclusion from the two dressing at the same time could be jibes along the lines of, "I thought gay guys knew how to dress" and "nice jacket, does it come with a purse?"
Ah, true love.
Oliver ventured downstairs sometime after Erwin. While the upstairs portion of their home contained a bed, a television and a diminutive fridge that stored all the necessary liquours, they ran their business below. Erwin explained when they met that it was to avoid paying two lots of rent. To the glider, it only reinforced what he had become convinced of; his fox was indeed among the cleverest of cookies.
Although upstairs could become a hectec mess very easily, Erwin maintained his little coffee shop with a need for the impeccable. Everything was washed down nightly. Save for a particular impossible stain hidden away in a corner, the floor was ever spotless. It was fortunate that the scent of fresh coffee and baking overwhelmed any lingering detergent smell, otherwise the place would perpetually reek of pine soap and cleanliness.
The place had its own aesthetic to it. Everything was a muted colour, emphasized all the more as Erwin had yet to open the drapes. The heater was old and just a little too noisy to be forgotten when the cafe wasn't full of chatter. And it often was. They were fortunate enough to run a relatively successful business, due mostly to Erwin's dilligence and reputation among the community. A Sackville boy born and raised, standing against the soulless chain stores with good ol' fashioned home-made coffee.
He was already running through the various filters and machines, carefully ensuring that everything was in working order. It was rare that anything wasn't, but that was Erwin's persistance in his work. When Oliver roamed near enough to be noticed by the fox, Erwin only pointed at a couple mugs that had evidently failed their inspections and now sat soaking in a sink of bubbly water. Oliver wasted no time, pulling up his sleeves and getting to work.
"I was thinking," the glider began. He looked aside to see Erwin's mouth open and the flicker of mirth in his eyes, clearly preperating the witty retort. Almost certainly something similar to 'that's a worry' or 'did it hurt?' Oliver continued before his fox had seized the opportunity. "We ought to do something like theme days. A silly tie day, maybe! It'd be fun. Maybe even get some kids to come in and buy doughnuts or something."
"No," the fox's tone was dejected and flat.
"Aw, come on! There was a cafe that did that sort of thing all the time back in Sydney. You'd have boys all sittin' around, eating brunch n' stuff in dumb hats."
"No." Erwin's tone was the same. Then he added in his favorite faux-romantic voice, "after all, I don't need brunch-boys hanging about when I have you." Oliver evidently thought that this was sweet, as he lilted his head to the side and let out another 'aw.' But swooning or not, the glider was not to be deterred. "We've gotta do something for Christmas. Maybe set up a tree. A plastic one, so it doesn't leave a mess, right? It's our first Christmas together and I wonna, I dunno, commemorate it."
"You mean christen, I... think. What? Uh, anyway, we can set up a tree if you like. We're not wearing those pom-pom ball hats through."
A few familiar faces had wandered into the cafe. Oliver knew one of them as the father of a boy he taught. The child was an absolute horror. If misbehavior were a well, this child would tunnel down to the very center of the earth to finally have his fill of it. Others were the construction workers that came in just about every morning, a couple elderly folks who showed up when they felt that they could weather the journey and a few others who he only knew from their usual orders.
At times he enjoyed working in the cafe during the mornings more than he enjoyed his real job. But with all of his complaining aside, he loved what he did, even if he often forgot when he needed to leave in order to do it. When Erwin reminded him with a cordial comment made over a boiling kettle, Oliver had a moment of panic. He said a hasty goodbye to his partner and made his way across the cafe, waving to one of the customers he knew well enough to expect that they would wave back.
When Oliver opened the front door, he was sure that he felt his heart stop. What was usually chilly, sometimes damp street had been covered with a white blanket of overnight snow. As his brain processed the sight, the little Sydney-born sugar glider felt an excited, joyful squeal welling up in his chest. It rampaged up to his throat, though thankfully he was mindful enough of the coffee shop to keep the sound restrained. For a time he stood in a daze, absorbing the moment and almost oblivious to the stares of the cafe-goers who were surely far too accustomed to the weather by now.
Slowly, hesitantly, as though afraid that the snow might melt away if he left it, Oliver made his way back through the coffee shop. Somebody else had to shut the door behind him. Every motion he made was deliberate. One foot in front of the other. Inhale, exhale. Blink. He clenched and unclenched fists with his paws and did everything he could to prevent himself from bursting with the juvenile excitement that Erwin had warned him about while in the store. In his very best, though surely ineffectual guise of calmness, he approached that particularly fluffy fox.
"Erwin?" He began, drawing himself near enough to stare right up into the fox's eyes. The fox smiled cheerfully down at him, playing coy.
"Yes, Oliver?"
"There is snow outside, Erwin." Oliver noted disbelief in his own voice and knew at once that he surely looked like an idiot to the cafe patrons. Snow was a common occurrance for them and yet he sounded dubious of it? Well, that didn't matter. He was caught between suddenly, irrationally mad and overjoyed with the new experience. "You know I've been really waiting to see snow n' all, Erwin."
"Yes, Oliver." The fox's smile drew back to a smirk.
"Do you know what this means?" There was a pause as Erwin didn't reply. The wonderstruck sugar glider pressed on, "this means snow men, Erwin. This means snowball fights. This means sledding. This means hot chocolate by the fire."
"We don't have a fireplace," Erwin interjected, determined to tease his excited boyfriend.
"This means hot chocolate by the heater," Oliver amended. "How come you didn't tell me it snowed? Snought? Sneeded?"
"Wasn't it more special to discover it yourself?"
Oliver leaped at him, reaching up to seize the fox in his jacket-clad arms. He placed a sudden and insistent kiss on the fox's lips, drawing chuckles and applause from the various customers who had been observing the curious exchange. It was quite probable that the frequent patrons of the little coffee store were as accustomed to Oliver's antics as they were the snow by now. This event just made for another chapter in a strange chronicle. For his part, Erwin returned the kiss and hug briefly, before drawing himself away.
"This also means, Oliver, that Sackville Heights has a snow day. It was announced on the radio while you were making yourself handsome upstairs. And because you're not teaching today, you have all day to stare wistfully at the snow while making cappucinos and lattes." The fox was drawn in by the series of expressions he invoked in his little Australian boyfriend. First euphoria, then a sullen look in which the glider somehow made his eyes even wider behind their already oversized glasses.
The sorrowful pout was short-lived. Oliver perked up again as he realized, "naw, it's just about time for working hours. We'll be able to take a break outside soon!"
After what felt like hours of being chipper and ferrying mugs to tables, Oliver finally saw the cafe empty out. For probably the first time, he was thankful to see the place empty. This happened every morning at roughly a quarter past eight, as everybody left to go about their jobs. The retirees and pensioners that gathered in the coffee shop all mozied off to wander through the neighboring boutiques and two dollar stores. Oliver and Erwin were left completely alone.
Which meant, of course, that Oliver had seized Erwin's paw and started to drag him toward the door. He lectured as they went, "for seven months I have waited for this day. I came to this land, this Great White North, to see snow and be paid an okay rate. Today I will fulfill the first of my objectives." Erwin just dawdled along behind him, rolling his eyes and wearing a smile as he offered no resistance to the glider tugging him along.
Oliver found it strange that the snow crunched beneath his shoes. Strange and delightful. Immediately, he released Erwin and took to stomping about, cackling like a madman at the sound. Erwin buried his paws into his coat pockets and observed, putting genuine effort into appearing reluctant to watch the display. He mumbled, "aren't you twenty three?"
"Yeah, yeah. Going on twelve. This is great! Nothing like that fake stuff." Oliver stooped down and collected up a small mound of snow. He patted it into a disfigured, oval-like patty. He turned to Erwin with a broad, almost malicious grin, before flinging the wouldbe snowball at the fox's face. It burst into little snow fragments as it left his paw, only some of which collided with Erwin. None of it actually hit his face, leaving Oliver to look a conflicted mix of oddly disappointed and yet somehow happy just to be where he was.
Erwin bent down and collected up his own pawful of snow, offering, "here. I'll show you how to make it stick together." As he stood, Oliver shuffled in close, watching on almost more attentively than Erwin had ever seen. The sugar glider even appeared more focused than he did when going over his lesson plans. Erwin showed how he rolled the palm holding the snow, how he tucked in the sides. When the snowball was complete, he backed a pace away and demonstrated its effectiveness by sending it flying at Oliver.
"Hey!" The glider raised his arms to protect his now cold and damp face, before hurrying to make a snowball of his own. In his mind, a fierce battle had begun. A courageous hero of little experience and expertise facing off against a veteran giant. He flung snowball after snowball at Erwin, who gradually started to make some more of his own and throw them back. Their war raged on in the street, in full view of a number of people who just passed on by while deliberately avoiding eye contact.
When Oliver realized that Erwin was both faster with making snowballs and a better shot, he understood that playing fair wasn't going to grant him victory. He decided he had only one course of action. Keeping low, he ran at the fox, raising his arms to catch Erwin. The fox only backed away, surprised by the sugar glider's choice of tactics. He shuffled along hastily until he noted that continuing backwards would only force him into a hefty snow pile. The collision caused such regardless, sending him tumbling onto his back with Oliver perched atop him.
Oliver didn't hesitate to give his fox another kiss. He had just as much concern for the public visibility of the gesture as he had within their cafe. Erwin was likewise unconcerned, evidently, as the fox rasied a paw to stroke down the back of the the glider's head. Without breaking the contact of their lips, Oliver shifted his position so that he was stradling the fox's thighs. He felt the fox's arms coil around him, squeezing them both tight together.
The kiss broke with panting from all the running about. Oliver buried his head against Erwin's neck and murmured, "I'm so in love with you. I can't believe it. My first snowball fight, with some jerk fox who wears stylish clothes and is the best guy in the world."
"It's not the only 'first time' thing you've done with me," Erwin mused, rubbing a paw along the back of Oliver's damp jacket. They kissed again, this time much more briefly. This was due in part to an interruption. The deep, coarse sound of a throat being cleared. Both boys looked up to see their business neighbour, a darkly-furred feline woman named Sue, peering down at them with hazel eyes and flat-laid ears. Her tail flicked irritably behind her. Oliver and Erwin beamed up as innocently as they could.
"Look, guys. As cute as I think y'are, that's the sort of thing y'need a room for, aright? Geez. Go on. Scram. Tsst, tsst, tsst." She shooed the two of them to their feet with repeated waves of her paws, encroaching nearer as she did. Erwin and Oliver scrambled up and hurried off, both murmuring awkward apologies and fidgeting as they went.
"I'll be by at lunchtime, aright? Have fun," she called after them. The three exchanged friendly waves, the gestures more awkward on Erwin and Oliver's part as they retreated back inside of their little coffee shop.