Peanut

I worked with Peanut tonight at the coffee shop. She's one of those people that when I get around her, we just laugh. The more I laugh, the more she laughs. Today, we started laughing when the steam wand spewed steamed milk everywhere. It went all over the counter and the flavor syrup bottles. I said, "It's looks like a snowman got shot" and we lost it. We laughed for like 20 minutes about that. We talked about our lives in Salem and the coffee shop and how much it has affected our lives.

I told her she's where I was when I was 22. Night manager at the coffee shop. We talked about her future and the future of the coffee shop if both of us ever leave forever. We share that common love for the place and the fear of what it could become. I had forgotten how much I like her. She could always affect my mood when I went into work. We used to only work together for about an hour a day and if she was in a good mood, that set the tone for the rest of my day. I remember when she was mad at me and I was miserable at work. It didn't matter who else was working with me that day.

We started closing together on Sundays. I realized how much fun work could be. We didn't worry about finishing everything by 10 o'clock or following my usual closing schedule, we just talked and had fun. I told her that she's been able to get as far as she has in life because of who she is. Because she's such a good person, a hard work and so good to be around, she has been able to get and keep jobs at Mac and Bobs and the coffee shop.

I wish I could work with her everyday. She makes me smile while I'm at work and even thinking of working with he makes me smile. She's what I love about Salem and what I'll miss most when I move one. When I'll be able to walk into the coffee shop and not know a single person working there. They'll have no idea how many countless hours I've spent at that place. But everyone has memories about places. Eventually, attachments to places fade and there's nothing left but memories. For now, though I'm attached to that place and to Peanut.