Impress Me Not: Insomniac Cafe

Chapter 93

The first week there went by quickly. He still had to work a little and make some phone calls, but he got to enjoy a lot away from the café. He still missed it, though. The coffee shop was his second home from the moment he was hired there. It had been a long time since he had been away from it this long, too. Anton was a very hands-on owner. That's what has really let the café thrive.

He was lucky this time he had some good workers. Anton took his best and offered some extra pay to act as a manager, assigning all of them different shifts. He was lucky that all of them jumped on the opportunity too. Otherwise, the planning for this trip would have taken much longer.

"I'm surprised you're not on your laptop right now," Lucas said. "It would be a great way to pass time."

They were driving from Yuma to Show Low now, having already said their goodbyes to Lucas' family. His mom was sad to see him go, but she got happier when Lucas promised to see her for Mother's Day. Anton would probably do the same for his mom. She'd be so happy if he did. Anton usually just sent her gifts and spoke to her over the phone. She always wanted him to come visit, but he worried too much about his business to try and fly to Arizona. He had always been worried that something would happen.

"If I look at anything but the road I'll get motion sick," he told Lucas. "Besides, I already took care of the reports for the week. Payroll isn't until next, so I'll handle that when it comes." He didn't know why he found himself rambling about work to Lucas. He was just the only person who genuinely looked interested in it.

"Does your mom have internet?" Lucas asked. His eyes were trained to the road. The road trip was for six hours just to get from Yuma to Show Low. They were planning some stops to stretch their legs, as well as switching drivers too.

The sights were gorgeous. Anton almost forgot how beautiful the desert was. It didn't have many bright colors, but the sky was clear and the mountains grew the further they drove down the freeway. The tops of the mountains had white snow on them, too. Only central Arizona didn't snow.

"Yeah," Anton answered. "I don't know how good it is, but most of my work is done anyway."

He had gone on plenty of road trips, but there weren't many that lasted this long. They had started early in the morning just so they could get there at a decent time. Lucas told Anton to get some sleep, but he wasn't going to let Lucas drive in silence. Instead, they talked a lot, and listened to music. Anton never used to talk this much. Lucas brought it out of him, he guessed.

"Isn't Show Low a tourist town?"

"Pfft!" Anton almost spat out his drink. "Absolutely not! It's one of the cities with absolutely nothing to do." He was so bored when he moved from Phoenix. His mom loved being away from the big cities. But he always craved to drive back to it.

"Ah," Lucas said. He was the passenger that time, with Anton driving. "That might explain why I never went there."

"It's not much to look at," Anton drove past the welcome sign to the city. It was run down, but it still felt like home in a weird sense. "My mom's place is just outside of it."

He drove down the familiar roads, memories of his teenage years coming back to him. He remembered the frustration he felt, having to change schools and everything. Anton had kept it to himself, though. His mother had just lost her father. Anton didn't see his grandpa enough to remember him, but he knew his mom was in a lot of pain back then. She left her job just to work on the horse ranch and keep it going.

There were lots of greenery down the road, with little bits of snow melting from the bright sun. The pine trees were enjoying the crisp air. It would just be another mile before the horses would appear through the thick trunks. His mom always sent him post cards with photos of them running.