Chapter 14
Mel managed to drag their gaze off the retreating baseball players when the door shut behind them. It didn’t matter. They were just a couple of customers.
The way that other guy looked at Rhys… Not any of their business.
They looked at their sibling then down at the money Rhys left on the counter. More than the price of the two coffees. Almost twice. They couldn’t think it had been a mistake.
That man kept confusing them.
They stuck the extra in the tip jar on the counter as Frank came out. “Take your damn break, Mel.”
“Such a charmer,” Mel said with a grin. They took off their apron, grabbed three muffins from the case, and headed around the counter. Denny didn’t even let Mel sit before they went on the attack.
“Why were you so rude to them? They were both nice to me and didn’t treat me like an annoying kid. They aren’t going to want to come back. It’s not like Mom and Dad will ever let me go to an actual game. They barely let me watch them on my phone as it is. I’ll never get to see them again.”
“He’s not a good role model for you.”
Denny scoffed. “Who said anything about him being a role model? I have you for that, Mel.”
Warmth ran through Mel’s chest, then Denny asked, “How did you come to believe he isn’t a good role model? What they say about him on the blogs? I thought you’d know better than to believe all of that. They say nasty shit about Caleb, too, but you still like him.”
“Language, Denny,” Mel chastised, out of habit.
Their parents hated when any of them swore, claiming that was a sign of low intelligence.
The absolute worst sin in their books. They could probably kill someone, but as long as they used their intelligence to do it, their parents would be fine with it.
Denny rolled their eyes. “I’m not twelve anymore. If you think I don’t hear worse in school, then you are out of touch.”
Mel hadn’t completely forgotten their own high school years, as much as they may have wanted to, so they didn’t doubt that.
At least if their parents complained, they could say they’d tried.
“This is different, Denny. It’s not about who he is.
It’s about the actions he takes, and how they affect other people.
I certainly don’t want you to take any cues from that. ”
“I never thought you would be the one to judge someone like that.”
Mel rubbed their hand over their face. They had another hour on shift here then they could go over to the center. There hadn’t been any volunteers available to open this morning, and they hated leaving it closed with no where for the kids to go. They had to finish here first.
Mel put two of the muffins in front of their siblings. “I’m not judging anyone. Eat these. We’ll grab lunch once I’m done here.”
Denny grumbled about not needing a babysitter or bribes to behave. They peeled the wrapper away from one of the muffins as they slumped in their chair. Mel smiled to themself, but with a glance toward the counter, saw Frank was now drowning in customers.
Well, damn. They couldn’t let that happen. Mel finished their own muffin in two quick bites and got back up from the table. Time to get back to work. Definitely not think about a full-of-himself catcher. And whether or not they may have misjudged him.