It Came From Denny's

You never know what you'll find at a Denny's. They are everywhere and seemed to contains everything. They can be a good place to stop and eat, or just be a place to rest for a bit. At least, that was always the way that Jesse saw it. He had started coming to his local Denny's to get away from life, but he found that if you're there at the right time of day, it could be quite the escape.

So far today, though, it had been fairly relaxing. Even though it was extremely busy, the number of people and noise just blended together to create a nice hum in the background. Jesse sat quietly at one of the tables, reading a book he had picked up at his school library earlier in the day, and sipping on a coffee that had enough sugar to jump start Vegas.

"Is this seat taken?" a soft voice suddenly said, barely cutting through the atmospheric drone of so many voices.

Jesse looked up from his book and was surprised to see a blond kid, about his age, standing across from him, wearing what looked like a white toga.

"Sorry, I really don't mean to interrupt," the boy said apologetically. "But there is literally no other empty seat, and I just need some coffee."

"Sure!" Jesse said as he quickly dog-eared the page he was on and set his book aside. "I could use some company."

The boy then placed a bow and quiver of arrows on the table, as he sat down in the vacant chair, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

As the boy settled down, he sighed, and then suddenly two white wings unfolded themselves from just below the boy's shoulders.

Jesse grinned, "My name's Jesse. And...are you Cupid? I mean, judging by how you're dressed, and the bow and arrows, and the wings..."

"Actually, my name is Micah," the boy replied gently. "And I'm A Cupid, not THE Cupid. We're more of a department these days than just a single god."

"That makes sense," Jesse said with a slight nod. "Otherwise Cupid would be even busier than Santa. I mean, there are a heck of a lot more people 'in love' than children that believe in some guy that'll bring you gifts if you're good."

Micah chuckled, "Actually, Santa moves pretty quick for a big guy in a sleigh. I mean, we have wings and no extra baggage or animals, and he can still cover a city faster than one of us. We're not really sure how he does it."

"It's probably best if none of us ever know," Jesse said thoughtfully. "I've often found that knowing the answer to something you find to be wonderful can often be a bit of a disappointment."

"Oh, you mean like knowing that the god of love is really a department of overworked angelic half-breeds?" Micah replied sarcastically as he stretched a little more.

"Actually, now that you bring it up, you look exhausted," commented Jesse.

Micah snorted, "Yeah, and I could probably sleep for a week right now if you let me. I'm actually relatively new to being a Cupid, and this is my first Valentine's Day."

"First Valentine's Day?" Jesse said with a frown, as he looked down at his watch. "It's only 3 am. You're three hours into the day and you already look like this? Dude, if that's the case, you might not survive the day."

"Oh no, it's not like that at all," Micah said quickly. "This is actually the start of day four for us. While we're active all year round, we start our Valentine's Day work three days leading up to the main event."

"And you stopped in Denny's to just grab a quick cup of coffee before heading back out?" Jesse said hopefully.

"Well...not exactly," mumbled Micah. "I was here because I had someone I was supposed to visit in here. But...it didn't go so well, and I figured stopping for coffee wouldn't make my day any worse."

"Any worse? What do you mean?" asked Jesse.

Micah sighed, "They decided, just a few days before the beginning of our rush, to go ahead and upgrade our equipment. Brand new bows and arrows. The bows have more power behind them, and the arrows are lighter, faster, and strike...deeper. Which, I'll admit, sounds great at first."

Jesse winced, "I'm guessing that was a bad move on their part."

"Yeah, I think bad is an understatement," Micah said dryly. "In fact, look over my right wing. In the far corner, do you see the guy in the Tweed suit?"

Jesse looks over to see the guy that Micah described, and found that the man was carefully and meticulously licking syrup off his hand.

"I see him. He's licking syrup off...wait..." Jesse started to say when suddenly the guy started trying to make out with his hand.

"Exactly," Micah said, seeing the confused expression on Jesse's face. "He's now in love with his hand. I hit him with an arrow, as he was sitting down, and it went through him and struck his hand."

"Oh my God," Jesse said as he tried not to laugh.

"Oh sure, you think it's funny," Micah grunted. "But the guy that's outside humping his car because the arrow that hit him pinned him to it might not think so in a few days. And neither will my boss."

"I'm sorry," Jesse said as he did his best to get his laughter under control. "Is there any way to undo the damage?"

Micah shook his head, "No. There isn't anything to do but wait until the effect wears off in a few days."

"So you've had nothing but bad luck with this new equipment?" Jesse asked curiously.

"It hasn't been ALL bad," replied Micah. "But I'm somewhere around a 75% fail rate. So, it's bad...really bad."

"Hmmm, is there any way that you can switch back to your old bow?" said Jesse.

Micah just shook his head again.

Jesse smirked, as he picked up his mug and took a sip of his coffee, "Well, this'll certainly be an interesting Valentine's Day."

Just then, one of the waitresses stopped by the table.

"Did you want some coffee, dear?" the seven armed woman said to Micah.

"Yes, please," Micah replied, as he perked up a little bit.

She pulled a mug and coffee pot out from behind her back and quickly poured Micah a cup of coffee. As she set it down she smiled and asked, "Is there anything else I can get you, angel?"

"No ma'am, this is perfect," Micah replied as he picked up the coffee and tentatively took a sip.

She nodded and then turned to Jesse, "Anything for you, Jesse?"

Jesse grinned, "No, I'm good, Sheila. Thank you."

Micah sighed deeply into his coffee mug, as she walked away.

"This day is going to suck just as much as the last three," grumbled Micah.

Jesse chuckled, "You want my advice?"

Micah thought for a moment before replying, "Sure...I mean, at this point, it couldn't hurt."

"Roll with it," Jesse simply said.

Micah frowned, "What?"

"Just roll with it," Jesse repeated. "So, you're messing up because your equipment is messing with your skills. That isn't your fault."

"Yeah, but whether I keep my job or not is measured by my success rate," added Micah. "And right now, that number isn't all that high."

"Sure, but I'll bet that you aren't the only one in your department that's having this issue," Jesse pointed out. "I mean, what idiot rolls out new equipment right before your most major holiday? Trust me, just do your best, don't worry about the flubs...even if they are hilarious...and it will all work itself out. If you're still at least partly successful, that'll stand out. And they can't fire your whole department."

Micah took a moment to consider what Jesse had said before finally nodding his head in agreement, "Okay, yeah, you're right."

"And you know what? If this job doesn't work out for you, come back and see me again," stated Jesse. "I know a guy from a different 'department' that is always looking for help. So I could hook you up with another job."

Micah's eyes narrowed at the mention of a 'different department', "What does this guy look like?"

"Hmmm...well, he's very well dressed. He takes his coffee black, just like you, and..." Jesse paused for a moment. "You know, I'm not sure I could tell you exactly what he looks like beyond that. It's hard to focus on his face."

"Actually, that sounds like my Uncle," Micah said quickly. "And if that's the case, I'd rather not work with him unless I have to."

Jesse grinned, "Yeah, that's fair. It's a completely different business."

"That's one way of putting it," mumbled Micah, just before he tried to down half of his coffee in one gulp.

"In a hurry?" giggled Jesse.

Micah set the coffee mug back down and started to collect his bow and quiver from the table.

"I am now," Micah replied. "I still have about nine hundred more people to visit today, and you've got me convinced that I should keep going. Thanks for letting me join you."

"You're welcome back anytime. Oh! Hey, you know, you could always hook me up with someone, if you'd like to improve your numbers," Jesse suggested, while wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"Nah, I can't do that," Micah replied as he stood up and tucked his wings behind him. "I already know your story, and you're going to have to find your soulmate on another adventure."

Jesse smiled, "I can live with that. Good luck!"

"Thanks," Micah called out as he turned to leave.

He paused to watch the man in the Tweed suit again, for a moment, before shaking his head and heading for the door.

Jesse chuckled to himself and he picked his book back up, "I love Denny's."