I worked at this small cafe many years ago. It was one of my first jobs. I was probably 19 or 20 at the time. I have been there for a few months. It's tough work, as I regularly started early at 6.30am as the cafe location was in the city. This was a morning and lunch trade business that closed at 3pm each day. I worked here part time and studied law in my "spare time" I enjoyed the work and chats with regulars who often arrive at the bustop directly outside.
A new staff member is to start today and I am responsible for "breaking them in." We require 4 staff to run this small business. I am responsible for making the espressos. There are 2 front shop staff including myself and 2 staff at back running the food side of the cafe. The owners works part time and only Jess who is one half of the partnership is in today for baking and food preparation.
The new person will help myself at the front shop. I will train this person on barista work and counter duties. It is 6.15am when I arrive for my Monday shift. Jess is already here and she briefs me on the new staff in today to help. I was sad to see Justine leave last week. But we all wished her the best even if she had only worked here for a few months. She was easy going and great with the customers.
So the new person will be put in the "deep end" on the first day, traditionally the busier day of the working week. I assume it maybe just another person, male or female. It didn't bother me, as long as they were fast and had retail experience or better still some cafe experiences. Jess already assured me she had some experience. So it's another female staff member.
By 6.25am a mature looking woman enters the cafe. I didn't blink an eye thinking it's another customer. I tried to serve her like any other, but she promptly asked for Jess. In my mind I began asking myself, "are you serious, is this the new employee?" Then Jess introduces me to Yulia. Apparently she's Russian. Suddenly I am nervous, my once cockiness drops away like a lead brick. So I have to train this sexy looking lady. Already I am thinking how is this going to work. She looked too "hot" to be working here. But there is little time for idle thoughts as the cafe suddenly fulls with the first lot of customers for the day. Jess quickly shows Yulia the tills and helps to serve. I make the first lot of espressos.
She looked like she definitely had experience on the tills and she is very polite with the customers. Straight away I noticed the regular male customers were rather chatty with her as you do with a new face. Yulia wasn't very talkative and her English not perfect but she oozed a nice strong foreign accent.
I made a few takeaways coffees and a few sit downs. Yulia cleared the tablets and served the odd customers. I wanted to know what experience she had on the espresso machine. In between serving, I managed a quiet moment with her getting her to make a coffee for me to try. She knew how to clean the nozzle first and obtain a shot of coffee to tampering with the right pressure in the holders. It is a good start. I stood behind her as she made me a flat white. I think I made her nervous as I probably stood too close. The milk she is heating is probably overheated as the hot milk in the steel container screamed out loud, warning her that she hasn't got the nozzle in correctly and she wasn't manoeuvring the steel bowl properly. I placed my hand on hers. She appears a little surprised, having me touch her as I tried gently to manoeuvre her right hand holding the steel bowl. Her hand was warm. Her fingers long and slender. I began getting a semi as I tried uncomfortably to move her hand to create the right motion for the nozzle and bowl. I suddenly get a whiff of her perfume. She is a lot shorter then myself and I get a sense of excitement. Then suddenly behind us we hear, a male customer clearing his throat as he tries to get our attention.
I apologise, hoping he hadn't been waiting too long. He orders a coffee for takeaways and Yulia finishes the one she is making and gives it to the male customer. She smiles at me and just a small moment, I melt, clearly liking her. She is petite and very attractive and I hate guessing a woman's age but I think she is around 35.
So I get her to continue making the next coffees with little input from myself while I served a few more customers. She seem to be a quick learner and definitely showed some experience there with the espresso machine. She didn't say much, so I am intrigued by her. So I boldly ask her a personal question.
"How long have you lived here?"
She replied quickly. "Maybe 3 weeks."
"Oh, really? This place is great isn't?" I nervously replied.
"I get you to keep serving now. I will make the coffees. And maybe tomorrow you can practice more here." I pointed to the espresso machine.
Yulia nods her head and carries on cleaning and serving. It progressively gets more busier as the morning moved on. She coped really well. I think we were doing OK together. By late morning I offered to make her a coffee. But she declined and makes her own. But she does ask me a question when there is a quiet moment.
"How long have you been working here?"
"A few months now. I really like it here. It's the customers. They are all friendly, nice people." I replied.
Then that loud mouth sexist male customer enters. So I completely take back just what I said. And my first thought is "here we go." Lloyd is a cowboy as far as I am concerned. He always wears this cowboy hat and is both rude and intentionally intimidating. I don't think many people like him. I hope he goes easy on little Yulia. And of course he zeros right towards her.
"What do we have here!" He speaks out loud, looking at Yulia.
I try to interrupt him, by standing close to Yulia.
"This is Yulia." I announced to him.
"You are too beautiful to work here!." He says in his usual booming voice.
"Lloyd what are you after, your usual?" I again interjected.
"Why doesn't Yulia make it for me." He requested loudly.
Yulia smiles and goes to the machine and does just that.
