Beans on the Counter
An Animal Crossing Short Fan-Story
He first arrived at the town as a total stranger like everyone else. He only carried a few thousand Bells, a suitcase with some extra clean suits, and his favorite coffee cup. He wasn't rich, but he had all the money he needed. He wasn't extremely handsome, but he was fairly good looking. He wasn't very outgoing, but he was open enough to where he could speak to people. Overall, he was simply Brewster: a green-feathered pigeon of few words who had an amazing knack for making coffee.
Before he left, he used to live in the big city in a cramped apartment by himself. It was good enough for him, at least for a little while. Eventually, he wanted to get out of that room. He didn't want to just listen to the whir of the ceiling fan in the morning while he drank his homemade coffee with slightly burned toast. He wanted to be able to wake up to something. He didn't want to work in an office building across the street with other people who complained about their job—well, actually, one other person, but he complained to himself enough as if it were several people doing so—even though Brewster wasn't so fond of breaking into houses and judging the interior choices of others either. He wanted to start his own business.
Most importantly, he didn't want to be alone.
He never really minded the silence of the apartment or living by himself, but everyone gets lonely sometimes. He wanted to meet others, make friendships, maybe even find love and start a family. Although he had the ability to make friends, who was he to make friends with? He wasn't about to walk out to the square and befriend a random stranger out of nowhere, and some of the people who ran the fellow businesses around him either weren't likely to become friends or lived in another town. The only person he found some sort of friendship in was the poodle around the corner who ran a hair salon. She was always there with a smile if he ever stopped in, and she would talk and laugh with him whenever on the off-chance they were able strike up a conversation. He may have possibly even developed some feelings for her at one time. But there was usually someone in either getting their hair done or waiting to get there hair done, and Brewster usually didn't have time to wait around until they were finished. Besides, she was one of those neighbors who lived in a different town and worked in the city. In the end, the two stayed as distant yet friendly acquaintances.
He would have left his apartment if he only knew where to go.
One day, the landlord came around and knocked on the door, telling Brewster that he needed to leave. The building was being closed off since it was getting old and the landlord could no longer afford to own it, and since Brewster didn't have the Bells to buy it, the only solution was to move. The pigeon saw this as a shove in the direction he had been wanting to go in and packed his bags, leaving for the bus stop two days later. He later learned that they simply boarded up the entrance instead of tearing down the whole building, but there was a kind Australian skunk who ran a successful and cheap shoe-shining business on the front steps on sunny days.
There were only three people on the bus that day. A blue and white cat who wore a plaid sweater-vest, the frog who drove the bus and spoke in pirate jargon, and Brewster himself. The cat and the bus driver ended up talking the whole ride until the cat had to leave.
"The city is amazing!" the cat said. "I love going at night when everything is lit up, but it has some awesome shops either way. I'll probably go back in a few days."
The frog laughed and agreed with the cat. "Aye, sprat, the city be an amazing place indeed. Though, of course, I prefer the open sea, yar har har!" he responded then turned at a corner seeing a town in the short distance. "Yar, 'tis be Maxville, lad! If yar be riding to the city again, I'll be 'round to ship ye over thar when ye need me."
Brewster had been staring out the window when the frog shouted over to him. "Ye seabird in the back! Where ye be sailin' off to, lad?" he shouted over to him.
Brewster gave a shrug and answered, "Anywhere. Except the city."
The frog nodded and drove along the dirt path for a while. Trees that shone bright shades of green in the summer sun whisked by quickly and the once bright blue sky began to change into a collage of orange, red, yellow, and purple. Only one other time did someone hop on the bus, but he got off at the stop that had been next. Brewster remained quiet in the back seat, watching out the window as the bus drove on.
Eventually, the sky changed from mostly warm colors to dark cool colors and the bus came to a stop in front of a large brick gate. "This be me last stop," the driver called. "I suggest ye find somewhere ye can get some shut eye for the night."
Brewster squeezed the handle of his suitcase with his wing and stood up, walked down the stairs, and mumbled a sincere "Thank you" to the frog. The frog watched him leave then uttered some final advice to him, "Ye be in Autumnvale, sprat. They be some of the nicest people I know. Don't ye be so tight-lipped around them, especially if yar see a pretty young lass ye like." He gave the pigeon a wink and laughed before waving good-bye and driving off into the late evening.
Brewster watched the bus until it was out of sight before he began walking through the town. It was around eight in the evening and he still saw some animals here and there who were wandering about. There were lots of trees and flowers growing everywhere. Some of the trees even had fruit growing on them. Apples, to be specific.
The first building that he came across was a large white one with columns standing tall in the front of it. Figuring it was worth a shot to see if someone could offer some assistance and out of simple curiosity for the place, he went inside only to come face to face with a bright-eyed owl who greeted him cheerfully, "Hoo! Welcome to the museum! I'm Blathers, the delightful founder this place. Unfortunately, we do not have anything currently on display...but nonetheless...! I dare say, how may I help you? I am at your service!"
"Nothing," Brewster said simply. "Do you know where I could find somewhere to stay tonight?"
Blathers tilted his head in slight confusion at the bird's question. "You would probably want to talk to Mr. Nook, the shop owner. He owns the empty houses around here. We don't have any fancy hotels so... Although we do have a spare room upstairs that you're welcome to use for the night."
Brewster nodded, understanding that the town was more than likely to not have a place for a simple overnight stay, but he accepted the spare room and thanked him for his generosity. For a moment, he glanced around observing the red carpets that led to the different rooms, noticing that there seemed to be a lot of open space for things to be put on display. It's a shame he has nothing he could put out for people to see, Brewster thought. His eyes wondered over to a roped off staircase that led further into a level below the lobby and focused curiously over on it.
Blathers noticed the pigeon staring at the staircase and quickly chimed in. "That used to be our coffee shop," he explained. "A fine young crow used to run the place. Hoo, but sadly, business wasn't too great, and the crow left, leaving the shop abandoned..."
The short tale of the coffee shop's fate immediately made a light bulb shine and dance over Brewster's head. He wondered if it was a bit of a risk to ask, but shooed away the thought. The worst that could happen is that he was told "no". With that, he put forward his suggestion in his usual quiet voice, "Perhaps I could run the coffee shop... I make my own blends."
The owl looked look he was going to either hug him or explode. Brewster couldn't exactly tell which. "You said that you were only staying for one night though, no?" he questioned.
Well, that had been the plan, Brewster said silently. He had to admit though, the town had that cozy feeling to it. It was open and welcoming, and it seemed to have some wonderful animals residing in it. It was definitely better than the cramped apartment in the city. The bus driver even recommended this town to him, and now he had the chance to start up his own business where he could do what he loves. The answer was more than obvious at that point. "I think I'm going to stay here...for a little longer," he told him.
Blathers clapped and gave the biggest smile possible. "Simply smashing!" he cheered. "I'll have a bulletin board message posted about the shop in the morning! You're still welcome to rest in the the room for tonight if you wish."
Brewster nodded. "Thank you," he said. "I'm Brewster, by the way..."
Blathers smiled. "It's a pleasure to have you join the museum family, Mr. Brewster."
* c[_] * c[_] * c[_] *
Six months had passed since Brewster started living in the museum and opened up his basement coffeehouse, which he had named The Roost. Blathers had shown him the barely noticeable spiral staircase that stood in the shadowed corner of the museum and had a "NO ENTRY BEYOND THIS POINT" sign hung across the front, and just upstairs were the rooms the animals of the Autumnvale museum stayed. Brewster never moved out of the museum since he was content with the room he had and Blathers never minded him living there. Granted, the room was still small, but not as small as the apartment was. It was a comfortable size for only one person living there.
The only unfortunate part was that there was no business. Other than Blathers and his sister Celeste who would sit at the counter every evening for their wake-up cups of coffee, no one showed up. Very occasionally, an animal would walk down the stairs of The Roost, but it was only ever to ask for directions to somewhere or to see the nomadic canine who played his acoustic every Saturday night—Brewster's business had become the new place for the dog to play his music instead of just sitting by the town gate. At one time, way, way, back, he had played in front of a train station in one town. It was then that he learned outside gigs weren't the best. Having the train pull in and out of the station or the weather not cooperate totally ruined the vibe, man.
So he sat there, coffee pot hot and ready for the empty chairs, cleaning the coffee cups for the customers that never came. The only sound was the soft piano music that played throughout the basement. Sometimes he would find himself nodding to rhythm of the calming music. "Maybe one day, I'll take up piano playing," he would say.
Another month passed and January rolled around once again to greet the new year. Blathers and Celeste celebrated in the lobby of the museum with Brewster, drinking fresh coffee and eating rice cake. It wasn't a huge celebration but it was nice to be with others you care about on special occasions. After they finished celebrating, they went back to their posts to where nothing had changed.
In mid-January on a Wednesday at 4:27 P.M., an unfamiliar voice was heard talking to the sleeping owl, apparently turning over a newly discovered fossil to him. A ptero head. He evidently accepted the museum's first donation happily and thanked the mysterious voice, telling it to return if it were to discover anything else. Then at 4:29 P.M that same day, loud footsteps could be heard running down the stairs of The Roost and accompanied the sound of someone sitting in one of the chairs in front of the counter.
"Hello! One coffee please."
The sudden disturbance in the silence nearly made Brewster fly to the ceiling, though luckily he only ended up hopping a few inches, if he even moved at all. He looked up from the cup he was cleaning to see a smiling young female with lime green hair under her badge hat and bright blue eyes. She was sitting patiently on the red cushioned seat. His first official customer.
Brewster nodded and told her, "It's 200 Bells...fair enough a price."
"Oh, definitely! Here you go!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out two coins each worth 100 Bells then slid them over towards him. The money was put into the register and Brewster poured the girl her coffee. "This is a neat little place you have running here," she commented.
"Yes..." He passed the cup over the counter. "Here you go... Drinking it hot is the only way."
"Thanks!" She drank it all in just a few gulps and sighed. "Delicious! Creamy! This must be the best coffee I've ever tasted!"
Brewster couldn't help but give a slight smile at how much she liked his coffee. He took the cup back and started cleaning it over again. She was still sitting there watching him. "...Thank you," he said finally.
She smiled and stood back up. "See you tomorrow, okay?"
He stopped dead in the middle of cleaning and turned to look over at her. Had he heard her right? "To...morrow?" he asked.
"Of course! You have the most amazing coffee. I'm your new regular customer!"
Before he could say anything else, she was already bouncing up the stairs, her pigtails jumping in rhythm with her footsteps. He watched her leave then turned back to his coffee cup. He stared into the polished side and let out a laugh. "A regular customer..." A smile continued to spread across his face as he finished cleaning the coffee cup.
* c[_] * c[_] * c[_] *
Her name was Mia. She always kept her promises. She moved to Autumnvale that day and just finished working off part of her rent to Tom Nook. She came from a big city. She loved animals though her favorites were horses. Her favorite color was green, with purple as a close second. She loved piano and violin music even though she mostly listened to rock. She knew how to play the violin. She loved his coffee and would drink it hot at 176.5 degrees. These were all of the things in order that he learned about her when she would come in and sit herself down in her usual spot at the counter. He would always have a cup waiting for her. No one could appreciate his fine blends like she could.
Every day she continued to show up wearing her usual bright smile. Sometimes, she would even bring some of her friends along with her. Sometimes her friends would go to the coffee shop by themselves. Brewster reached the point where he had six people in The Roost at once. All because of her.
For a year and a half, The Roost was filled with laughter and conversation. Though he mainly enjoyed the now routine noise mainly because she would be there with a smile. She was his first customer, and more importantly, she was his best friend.
One day, she didn't show up. He could recall every face that came in that day, and if she had shown, he would definitely remember hers. It threw his routine completely off, and it made him worry. She wouldn't have forgotten. She never forgot things that were meaningful to her, and going to the coffee shop was one of those things. That was something else he learned about her. Maybe she's sick or was too busy to come by today, he suggested to himself. I'll make a special blend for her tomorrow.
She didn't come the next day either. Or the day after that. Or the day after that.
She was gone.
He had left the shop when no one was there and hurried under the evening sky into the crisp fall air over to the town gate. They knew everything that happened in town. They explained everything. She had moved out of Autumnvale and although she never said where, the two gatekeepers and the pigeon agreed that is was most likely somewhere far away. She would have said something if it was somewhere where she could come back to visit, but she didn't want to make everyone sad and left without a word. She didn't want the last memory of her to be her with her friends crying with each other. She wanted them to remember her smile and with it all of the good times they had.
Brewster knew this because he had learned that was the kind of person Mia was.
* c[_] * c[_] * c[_] *
Business was still good after she left, but it was never the same. He missed seeing her green hair in pigtails, or in the bob that she had it cut and styled to after a while ("Don't you think it looks cute, Brewster?" "...Of course."). He missed those bright blue eyes that would watch as he made her the usual blend. Even though he made friendships with some of his other customers and appreciated their regular business as well, her absence hurt and affected him the most. After all, she was his first friend besides the two owls he worked alongside with. It was evident and completely understandable for him to feel so depressed and upset.
Over the next three years, he grew to feel better even though her image never left his mind. He was still Brewster: the quiet pigeon of few words who had an amazing knack for making coffee. Nothing would ever change that about him. He made new friends and business continued to grow, though there would still be plenty of times where the shop was empty and the soft piano music would play in the background.
After a huge rush one day in April, the coffee shop was quiet for the first time in two hours. "It's a new record," Brewster laughed to himself, cleaning the coffee cups. The quietness felt foreign yet still somehow familiar. It was the quietness before she had taken her first steps into The Roost. He sighed and picked up another coffee cup that needed cleaning.
Suddenly, loud footsteps came running down the stairs and a body slid into the seat that right in front of Brewster, the green bob under the badge hat bouncing ever so slightly.
"Hello! One coffee please. Is the price still 200 Bells after all this time?"
Brewster smiled. "Of course... I'll get you the usual."