Change

“Change is gonna come” proclaims the song that is my morning alarm, rousing me from sleep. I roll over and groan at the bright sun streaming through the window as I hit ‘Dismiss’ and the phone goes silent. I reply to the message from my sister before I stand and pull on the clean uniform hung ready on the bedroom door. Black pants, green shirt, brown jacket, white shoes with green laces. As I walk to my kitchen my cat circles my legs and I tell her “Breakfast time!” I fetch my tea and porridge, and feed Artemis, and walk to my little balcony to eat and watch the morning customers of the bakery. Mary gets a blueberry muffin and a black coffee, then opens her florist shop next door. It’s Monday, so Jason gets one loaf of white bread and two custard tarts, then heads back towards home. The baker flirts with the English teacher by giving him a sausage roll for half price. The teacher doesn’t notice, that’s his usual price. The baker’s daughter eats a fresh apple Danish while he’s distracted. I finish my porridge as my cat comes through the cat-flap to join me, sitting in her favourite patch of sun. I finish my tea and walk to work. “Hey John!” greets my co-worker. “How’s Anna enjoying New York?” I tell him my sister likes it the same as she did when he asked yesterday and pick up my first tour group. I finish work and head home, another Monday the same as the rest. I sigh and wonder when the sound of my morning alarm will no longer feel mocking.

“Change is gonna come” proclaims the alarm. Tuesday. I dismiss it, respond to the message from my sister, and pull on the clean uniform hanging on my door. I head to my kitchen and greet Artemis with the usual call of “Breakfast time!” I make my porridge, fetch my tea, and walk to my balcony to watch the bakery. Mary gets a blueberry muffin, and a black coffee. Jason gets two custard tarts. The baker flirts with the English teacher, and his daughter chooses an apricot Danish today. My cat joins me and sits in her favourite patch of sun. I finish my tea and walk towards work. “Hey John! How’s Anna?” The same as she was yesterday, Brian. I pick up my first tour group. Today a woman is taking extensive notes, and asking me about local hangouts, the best coffee shops. I tell her of the bakery on my street. At least someone is interested in something beyond the one interactive sculpture.

“Change is gonna come” I hear again. This whole week I’ve been starting to doubt it. Wednesday. My morning off. I still eat my breakfast the same way. Mary gets her mid-week special treat of a choc-chip muffin and a black coffee. Jason gets two custard tarts and two bread rolls. Must be burger night. The baker sees the teacher coming and automatically bags up a sausage roll.

“Good morning! Are the sausage rolls and spinach rolls the same price?”

The voice is familiar, but unusual. I look closer and see to my surprise the woman from yesterday has taken my recommendation. Good, the baker deserves it, but he seems as confused as I am. The English teacher looks up from the clipboard he’s checking and squints at her over his glasses.

“Oh. Um. Yes miss, those are both $5.”

“Excellent – in that case may I have a spinach roll?”

The stranger pays and takes her purchase across to a nearby park bench to enjoy. The teacher looks confused. Either luckily or unluckily, the baker is too nonplussed by having a new customer to notice. Mary stares in surprise as she sets out her florist displays. Jason drops his bread rolls and has to go back for more. The teacher has read the price of a sausage roll for the first time ever and is in the middle of asking the baker if he’s been getting some kind of regulars pricing. I lean forward to peer over the balcony with my tea. John laughs and says, “Finally rumbled are you, Brian?” The baker hastily hands him replacement rolls so he can leave. The English teacher is even more confused.

“Why do I get a special price? For what are you ‘rumbled’ exactly?”

The baker stands there, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish.

“He’s flirting with you” says his daughter, through a mouthful of Danish.

He snaps his head around and glares at her, and she and the pastry suddenly disappear to next door. Me and my fellow stickybeaks – Mary, Jason, and now even the stranger – wait with bated breath for the teacher’s response.

He smiles and tells the baker he could have saved time and money by just saying so. The baker begins to stammer that in that case he hoped they could forget the whole thing when the teacher stops him. He leans casually on the counter.

“Much simpler to just ask me if I’d like to get a drink after work tonight. 5:30 at the Green Goose?”

Brian turns back into a goldfish. The teacher puts down a $5 note on the and picks up his sausage roll, waiting patiently for a response.

“He’ll be there!” says his daughter’s head, appearing from behind a display of daffodils. “Hopefully with the power of speech and everything!”

The teacher smiles and walks away and the baker puts a “back in 10 minutes” sign on the counter, disappearing into a back room. His daughter follows. Mary goes back to her business, Jason goes home, and the stranger shakes her head at small town antics before picking up a brochure and heading towards the tourist end of town. I lean back into my chair as Artemis settles into her usual spot. A much more interesting breakfast than usual. Perhaps change does come after all.