That was true. Mel did make the world seem less terrible and harsh. That was one of the reasons why Caden loved coming to the Black Bird café. Even if his problems only vanished for a little while, those few seconds made it worth it. They gave him hope. "Don't I know it... Anyway, I'm eager to start" he said with a small smile. But as the conversation carried on, he grew curious about Cay's words. Was Mel clean? or was his hands a little dirtier than he was letting on? Either way, Caden couldn't blame him. The poor guy had enough of his chest. Even more so now after their conversation. He just hoped he'd be okay holding onto his dark little secret. "Somebody needs to look after the 'big' guy. He's lucky to have nice staff at his side" Caden wished he could say the same about his own company... Sadly they were all wrapped around his 'parent's fingers' rather than his own.<br/><br/>He followed Cay out front and gave Chris a slight wave in greeting when he turned and questioned his co-worker. Their banter brought a genuine smile to his face, and he nodded to Chris' question. "I owe Mel one. It's a long story..." he said averting his eyes for a second. But Cay's words didn't leave him thinking about the staff room for too long. He'd almost forgotten about Chris' new boyfriend. "Damn..." did he really need to bring that up on the shop floor? Reactions were unpredictable, but luckily Chris just seemed to turn into a sputtering mess which made Caden chuckle and shake his head as he followed Cay behind the counter. He took the apron and folded it once before tying it around his waist so it didn't get in the way of his knees and glanced over at Chris again. "Hey... whatever you're calling it. I'm just happy you've found someone to share some time with. We could all do with one of those" even if it was banter, he was happy Chris had found someone while he'd been away and why wouldn't he? Chris was sweet, caring and fun to be around. They'd both had their arguments in the part, but didn't every friendship? But it seemed even after everything, Chris was still as caring as ever. "I'm sorry for not messaging you. It's... complicated. Maybe Mel can fill you in with some bits and pieces. But... it's just nice to be back around familiar faces again" He wanted to hug Chris and give him a better apology than a simple sorry, but he didn't know how to anymore. So he just gave him a weak smile and went towards the machines when Cay spoke to him.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">~*~​</div><br/>The machines were easy to grasp and the customers were always polite. He started having normal conversations with them and spent a few minutes with each. Was this normal here? it felt so strange. Why couldn't his own environment be like this at home or during work? Everyone felt like machines in his company. If you asked them anything to do with their life at home they'd freeze up like you'd asked them a complex question that'd caused their brain to malfunction. Time always went slowly at his work, but it just seemed to fly past while he was here.<br/><br/>He took another customer and chatted as he got her drink ready and carefully handed the warm cup over to her. She smiled, smelled the coffee from its lid and walked back towards the entrance. Caden hadn't even notice Mel, but his attention shifted when he noticed Caleb was looking at something. His smile brightened and he arched a brow at Caleb's words. "He's been... okay" he said playfully. "But everything seems pretty straight forward" but when food was mentioned he wasn't sure what to say. He didn't really feel hungry, but he couldn't let Mel have something on his own. "I'll only go if you're going. Eating alone can be boring and... I'm paying okay" he wasn't taking no for an answer and was already taking his apron off so he could grab his wallet that was neatly tucked away in the back pocket of his trousers. They probably had more to speak about anyway. Maybe a deli wasn't the best place for it. But it was a new atmosphere which would probably relax them both a little more. "How long do we have again?" He knew Mel would keep him right, but time was easily lost when you were talking to someone. So he wanted to keep track in case either of them forgot.