CAD204
RECEIPT AS OF: 10/23/01
BARISTA ON DUTY: BLACK COFFEE
RECEIPT FILED AS: CAD2-04
It is certainly good to be home. It’s been a long time. A month and 23 or so days. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around how long it has actually felt to me—perhaps closer to two weeks? Though, I can tell that things have certainly changed since we left. In little ways, of course. The Cafe is now coated in dust in cobwebs. In expected ways, as well. We’re now deep into autumn, though the changes are as subtle as they usually are in SoCal. And in large and unpredictable ways. Things that were certainly always out of our control.
It’ll take time to adjust. Time is such a precious resource, even if it seems like we’ve been swimming in an endless supply of it lately. In the time we’ve been gone, Mistress has opened up several new nightclubs around Long Beach and Los Angeles. She must’ve seen the writing on the wall with the Gossamer Ballast and began planning for its next iterations. Worse, from what I’ve heard, tourists have been flocking to these nightclubs as they can hardly sleep at night anyway. There’s been a plague of paranoia and nightmares taking hold—no doubt Mrs. Ballard’s work.
We still need to find a way to safely cut off Mistress’ tags at their source. We also need to help Galao reconnect with her missing light. There was also a rare flower Red Eye wanted us to look into, though it would be quite the trip. And so long as she can stay focused, we do still have Marocchino on the inside. And… perhaps an uneasy ally in Mrs. Weyer. Her loyalties may be fierce, but her heart seems to be in the right place. Regardless, we’ve been through one hell of an extended vacation, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready to get back to business as usual.
Yours Never-ending,
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