Surrender 01 - Surrender

thought they went out of business, or do you just like to prance around SeaTac pretending to be a pilot? That sounds more like it. Are you like that one kid, you know the one who forged all the money and traveled the world because he was that good at getting pilot gear? You know, all of you guys are the same — egotistical jerks. Keep it up and you’ll be wearing a fresh batch of cold brew to whatever Timbuktu place you're flying off to, if indeed you’re flying anywhere!”
    Henry, her supervisor, observing the exchange, jumped from his office chair “Monica! What are you doing! How could you treat a customer this way?” Her supervisor had wanted Monica fired since day one when she’d shot his come-ons down in a matter of seconds. He had a high-pitched, nasally voice that was like nails on a chalkboard. Henry was known as Mr. Customer Service and took any opportunity he could to insult the girls in front of the clientele. It was his petty form of vengeance for being turned down left and right.
    “Henry, I’m—” Before Monica could even finish, Henry interrupted.
    “Sir, I’m so sorry, this one is on us!”
    “No, no, it’s quite alright, she’s clearly having a rough morning and maybe she just wasn’t getting my sense of humor. I figured by now she’d have recognized it as I come here for my coffee once a day, nearly every morning.” As Robert responded to Henry, his eyes never left Monica, as if to apologize for the entire scene he’d helped to create.
    “Nevertheless, your coffee’s on us. Monica, when you’re done with Captain Gallo, please see me in my office.”
    Monica’s heart sank to her stomach. Her day had just gone from bad to worse. She had zero doubt she was about to get fired, and on the same day she’d been evicted. What was next, getting struck by the lightning still streaking across the grey skies outside? As her mind began to come to terms with the gravity of her situation, images of living on the streets or staying at a women’s shelter while getting turned away from every new job application began to circle in her mind.
    “Hello? Hello? Monica! Hello, right here…” Captain Gallo was calling to her.
    Monica came back to reality real fast.
    “Right! One double shot Americano coming up!” Monica made quick work of making a couple shots of coffee, which she then placed in the cup holding the house brew, snapped the lid into place, and handed it over the counter. “Look, I’m sorry about how I went off on you. It’s been a rough morning, just not for any of the reasons you suggested.”
    Robert took a sip of his hot coffee. “Thanks for the apology, though you don’t need to worry about it. I can take it as good as I get. By the way, your coffee’s a little weak. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow morning? If not, good luck with the job search.” With that, he quickly walked off to his gate.
    Jessica watched Captain Gallo leave, thinking he was a royal jerk and she was better off watching him walk away than watching him move toward her. He’d insulted her, and most likely gotten her fired, and he couldn’t give a simple apology. There was one positive to being fired; she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore, or any of his arrogant buddies. Just because they could fly didn’t mean they were better than her, or any of the other people wandering the airport.
    A small part of her worried though, because she was attracted to him. What if there was something wrong with her? How could she feel even the slightest attraction to someone who treated her so badly? She pushed the thought aside and decided to take it one day, or the way her life was going, one hour at a time.
    Now that Monica’s resolve was hardened, she’d be ready for her next encounter with Captain Gallo; she still wasn’t ready to see Henry. With hesitation, she dragged her feet into her supervisor's office where he was waiting. He sat behind his small desk, puffing out his chest, attempting to make himself larger.
    “What are you trying to do? Get us shut down! Do you realize that without flight crews we wouldn’t have passengers? Without passengers we wouldn’t have a business!” Monica was perplexed at his reasoning. If the coffee shop was dependent on only one person purchasing a four-dollar cup of coffee, they had bigger problems than her smarting off to an arrogant jackass. Henry’s face was beet red as he continued to rake Monica over the coals.
    “Look, Monica, Captain Gallo visits us