Door Bee

Lila drove into the drive-through line of the coffee stand. She was late to work again but she didn’t care. This job was the same as any other job, a low-paid, dead-end gig with a jerk of a boss who would probably fire her soon anyway. Which meant that she wasn’t going to skip getting her favorite coffee just because she was a few minutes late.

The coffee stand was in the middle of a parking lot behind a store that had gone out of business. Even though it was hidden behind a building, there was always a steady stream of customers. As she drove through the line, she saw the big sign board that was set up on the side. “Beware of the bees near the window. We are addressing the problem.” That sign had been there for as long as she had been coming there. She couldn’t figure out why they would spend so much money on a fancy sign instead of actually getting rid of the bees. She rolled down her window and the buzzing of the bees was almost soothing.

“The usual?” the redhead at the window asked.

“Yep,” Lila said. “How are the bees treating you?”

“It’s fine,” the man said. “Honestly, I don’t even notice them anymore. I’ve been stung so many times that it doesn’t bother me. It is hard to get new workers though.” He smiled as he handed Lila her Americano. 

Lila entered the parking lot of the warehouse where she worked. At least I’m not working in a hive of bees, she thought as she walked into the warehouse.

“Well look who decided to show up,” said her boss in a whiny voice. So original, Lila thought. Lila had just turned her back on him when she heard him gasp and then yell. She turned back around to see him slapping at his neck, where three bees were attached. They flew away before he could kill them. 

Lila couldn’t help herself. She started laughing. 

“You’re fired! Get out!” he yelled.

Lila shrugged and walked back to her car. Those bees had probably done her a favor, although now she had to figure out how to pay the rest of her rent this month. 

Before she went home she decided that she deserved another coffee. She came through the drive-through line again. 

“You’re back,” the redhead said.

“Yeah. Your bees got me fired. So I figured I should come and tell them thank you.” Lila thought she heard an increase in the buzzing, but then decided she must be imagining things.

“If you need a job, we have an opening, I think you’ll like the work environment,” he said with a smile that Lila couldn’t decipher. “Come back tomorrow at 7 AM and we’ll get you started.”

“Really?” Lila said. “What’s the pay, the hours, you know, all that stuff?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” he said. “Give it a try.”

Lila drove away without answering. She walked into her apartment and heard noises coming from her roommate’s bedroom. Lila knocked on Tina’s door. 

“Why aren’t you at work?” 

“Why aren’t you at work?” Tina answered.

“I got fired,” Lila said.

“I called in sick,” Tina said. “And I called in sick too,” Tina’s latest boyfriend said. 

They both came out of the bedroom, buttoning up their clothes.

“What are you going to do now?” Tina asked.

“I kinda got another job offer already,” Lila replied. “The redhead at the coffee stand offered me a job starting tomorrow.”

“The place with all the bees?” Tina’s boyfriend said.

“Yeah. He said to be there tomorrow so I guess it’s worth checking out, right?”

“Anything that pays your rent is worth checking out,” Tina answered. 

***

The next morning Lila walked up to the coffee stand at 7 AM. She couldn’t believe she had made it there on time. The redhead opened the door of the booth and motioned her inside. It was bigger than Lila had assumed. 

“I’m Matthew, by the way,” he said. 

Matthew showed Lila where everything was and how to make the most common orders. Lila had been a barista in more than one coffee shop so it wasn’t very difficult to pick up. The morning rush went by quickly and Lila found herself enjoying the work. It was certainly better than pulling items from the warehouse for her last boss. She got used to the bees as the morning went on. They buzzed around her but didn’t bother her. She almost felt like they were careful not to get in her way. 

After the line had died down, Matthew took off his apron, smoothed down his hair, and said “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. I’m sure you can handle everything here.” He went through the door in the back of the booth, which he had told Lila led to a small storeroom, looked back, told her not to come in, and closed the door behind him. 

Okay, thought Lila. I guess he likes to take a midmorning nap. Who was she to question how people did their job. She was able to handle the place by herself until things began picking up for lunch. She finally decided to open the door and wake him up. The room was very small and empty. Lila stood there in confusion. There was no way Matthew could have left without her seeing. 

As Lila was standing there, she saw the back of the storeroom start to shimmer and then Matthew stepped through what looked like a melting wall. He gave a start as he saw Lila. First he looked angry, and then he looked sheepish. “Was I away longer than two hours? I tend to lose track of time.”

Lila couldn’t say anything. She had no idea what was happening. 

“I was going to tell you later, but I guess now is good. I don’t know why, but I feel like I can trust you,” he said. 

Lila still couldn’t think of anything to say so she didn’t say anything.

“Let’s get through the lunch rush and then I’ll tell you everything,” Matthew said, without giving Lila a chance to answer.

About two hours later, Matthew shut the window, put up a Closed sign, and made Lila an Americano. Several bees buzzed around the inside of the booth. 

“How much do you know about alternate universes?” Matthew asked. 

Lila stared at him. “Nothing?” she said tentatively.

“I guess that’s normal,” he said. “The storeroom is a portal to an alternate universe. I usually go for a couple hours at a time during slow periods, but now that you’re here I can go for as long as I want,” he said brightly. 

Lila again stood there without saying anything. “Do you have any questions?” he finally asked. 

Lila had been called reckless, irresponsible, unthinking, useless, and many other things, and this was when all of those qualities came in handy.

“Can I go there?” she asked.

“Don’t you want to know what’s there?” Matthew asked in return. 

“That would ruin the surprise,” Lila said. They went into the storeroom, where it was a tight fit for the two of them. Matthew shyly took her hand and pulled her through the wall.

They came into a storeroom just like the one they had left, and stepped into the coffee booth. Lila looked around and couldn’t see any difference. There were even bees buzzing around. This was some sort of magic trick and she had fallen for it. 

Matthew smiled at her again. He turned the sign around to Open and slid open the window. Lila’s jaw dropped when she saw the vehicle that had pulled up to the window. It looked aerodynamic, almost like a submarine, and hovered next to the booth. Inside was a creature that had eyes with clear lids, long arms with webbed fingers and skin that looked as if it was covered with scales. 

The creature spoke to Matthew in a language that sounded like gurgling. After Matthew handed the creature a coffee, the creature nodded to her and drove off with a wave. 

Lila may not have spoken the creature’s language, but she could tell when someone was tired and on their way to work. 

“How does this work? Is this the only universe you go to? Do you always come to the same spot? Who do they think you are? They like coffee?” Lila paused to take a breath.

Matthew held up his hand. “I’ve been to several universes. I always come out in this coffee booth. Everyone thinks I’m a worker from a different part of the world. Everyone loves my coffee.”

 “But how does it work?” Lila asked. 

“I have no idea,” Matthew answered. 

Lila looked outside and saw more bees buzzing around the booth. “Are there always bees?”

“Having bees buzzing around seems to keep me safe. No one ever wants to get too close,” he said.

“Are you from my universe?” Lila asked.

“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure anymore,” Matthew said. 

Another vehicle drove up to the booth. Lila looked at Matthew, then leaned out and opened her hands in the multi-universal gesture of “what will you have?”