The Stray Café

Chapter 2: Maybe they're just misunderstood.

My father and I met up with Finnian again the next day, although he wasn't wearing sunglasses or a scarf like the day before. I thought it was nice, but somehow my father thought something was wrong. He looked at Finnian, walking around him, although I had no idea why.

"I thought I told you that you couldn't hide any of your Stray features." My father said.

"I'm not, sir." Finnian replied. "Honest."

"Is that so?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, I don't see one of them that should be there. I'm pretty sure you know that too."

I was thoroughly confused by what they were talking about, since I thought that Finnian was showing all of his Stray features, but that apparently wasn't the case. Finnian excused himself, then headed to the restroom. I only noticed what they were talking about when he came back. A long black cat's tail was exposed after he came back, slowly waving back and forth behind his back. I was surprised, since I didn't think that Strays like Finnian had tails. Well, you learn something new each day, and I was no different.

"That's better." My father said. "Now we can get some training in. Thankfully, I usually have the café closed Sunday morning, so that'll give us a bit of time for us to teach you the ropes."

My father handed him a waiter's uniform and told him to change before we got started. Strangely enough, I noticed a hole in the slacks where Finnian's tail stuck out. I guessed that was so he could keep his tail exposed, but who am I to say things about Strays? I mean, I'm only human after all. Anyway, after Finnian got changed, we started the training. It wasn't really that hard, since it mainly composed of handing menus to customers at tables, taking their order, bringing the order slip to the order rack, and bringing the finished meals to customers. Oh, and I can't forget clearing the table and charging the customers for their meals. Well, I wouldn't put it that way, since the customers paid for their meals at the register on their way out, but you get what I mean. It's pretty easy when there aren't very many customers, but during rush hour, you've got to be able to tell when people have already ordered, are waiting to order, and people who need menus, along with being able to tell which tables you were taking care of. Granted, it took a few days until Finnian felt confident enough to go out into the real world and do his job, but it all paid off in the long run.

He was a natural at it, despite being a bit forgetful at first. Unfortunately, nobody treated him like a normal person except me and my father. The employees talked behind his back and most of the customers pointed out that he was a Stray, saying that he didn't belong in a place like the café. This got him down at first, but all Strays-...no, scratch that. All people need to learn how to deal with criticism eventually. Finnian never let things get him down after a few days of working in the café, and my father and I appreciated it. With that, I began to wonder why Strays were considered to be below normal people.

"Strays aren't all that bad, that's for sure." I thought one day. "Maybe they're just misunderstood."

I thought that for a while, but my mind constantly drifted away from that topic. A few weeks passed after the day we first accepted Finnian into the café family, but by then, we'd already been having problems with another one of our waiters, although not for the same reason as Samuel. I managed to overhear the conversation that my father was having with them, although it didn't sound very pleasing to my ears.

"You can't seriously expect me to work with that...with that Stray!" Xavier said, sounding a bit more than just mad.

"Finn isn't all that bad, Xavier, and neither are most Strays in general." My father replied. "I'm sure you'll be fine working with him for a little longer."