Henry the Great

Kilian Kukelka

by Kilian Kukelka

Story

For fans of people-watching, Mulligan’s at St. Lauren’s Square was the place to visit. Sitting at the high tables by the towering glass front, one not only was bestowed with a fabulous view of the opera house, but also could indulge in observing the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest tourist areas the city had to offer. Sleazy promoters dressed in 18th-century attire selling overpriced tickets to unknowing pedestrians. A Russian couple vociferously trying to negotiate prices for the tour bus ride. Bystanders’ hearts melting to the lush sounds of a street performer playing his acoustic guitar. The scenery reminded the girl of those busy compositions by the likes of Hogarth and Rubens. The kind of paintings she would lose herself in for eternities — where every inch of the canvas had its own little story to tell.

Luckily for her, the seats were almost never occupied. Presumably because of their slightly awkward location right next to the coffee bar. The constant cacophony of whirring blenders, hissing steam and clanging utensils wasn’t the most suitable of environments to have a conversation in. What would be considered an annoyance to most, in the eyes of Juliet, was a chance to get a rare glimpse into the fabled realms of the food service industry. 

Much to her liking, the staff happened to be a melting pot of egos and personalities. Especially during the occasional downtime, their conversations were a true gold mine for anyone in search of raw and unfiltered debates about current world affairs. Just listening to the collective rambles about elitist customers or the semi-sophisticated monologues about their dreams and goals and ambitions in life was quite a revelation in and of itself.

There was this one fairly talkative barista by the name of Henry, who regularly liked to bluster about the many great things he was going to accomplish. How this job was “only temporary”. How he was about to “quit any day now”. And with most of his coworkers being students and part-time jobbers, there was always a fresh face to chat up about his aspirations of making it big in the movie industry. 

Ironically, after a whole year of being a regular at the café, Henry’s voice was pretty much the only constant she connected with the place. Thinking of it, he must have been there on her every visit. Him and his quirk of channeling his favorite movie roles at the most random of moments. Like that time he found himself on an understaffed morning shift, promptly making him transform into none other than Captain Jack Sparrow, directing his coworkers like he was commanding a bunch of deckhands on The Black Pearl. On the off-chance that his acting career wouldn’t pan out, he’d still make for a quite competent branch manager.


© Kilian Kukelka 2023-09-01

Genres
Novels & Stories, Humor & Satire
Moods
Unbeschwert, Lighthearted
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