This is the first time I’ve been somewhat openly queer at work in a restaurant. The experience has been wildly different from my experience in an academic setting.

At school, it was sometimes like – “ah! did I mess up horribly and use the wrong pronouns? God I am so sorry. I am so sorry. I am so sorry. I am so -“

At the café, it’s like – today this adorable girl who is dressed like she’s just time traveled directly from the ’80s walks in after we’ve closed and we have to tell her and she’s super polite about it and she walks out smiling and my coworker and I look at each other from across the room and he’s like “man she was so cute,” and I start giggling and agree like “I WASN’T GONNA SAY IT SO I’M GLAD YOU DID” and he’s like “hated to kick her out, like – she can stay as long as she wants, dang,” and we’re just politely objectifying this girl for like five minutes. Priceless. Meanwhile the same coworker is pulling his hair out over this girl he’s just started talking to, running to the back room to text her every five minutes during this shift, and he just bought a Prius and he hasn’t had a car in years and he thinks this is going to increase his chances with the ladies and he’s like stressing out about it and he sighs and he says “women,” and I solemnly nod in agreement. “Women.”

We’re blasting The Rise And Fall of a Midwest Princess album from Chappell Roan (picture a lesbian equivalent of Elton John) over the speakers at closing and before we open the next day because the barista who works at the counter saw them in concert weeks ago and still has not recovered from that experience and it’s so cute.

Everyone is chill, even the grumpy coworker who frequently talks shit about his girlfriend – even him. When it finally dawned on him (you could see him looking from the flannel to the carabiner to the engagement ring and back again like, hmm????) he said something along the lines of “hey man, I’m rooting for you.”

I like it here.