Fiction: Mind and Mood

[kethni]

Name: Mind and Mood

Pairing: Matt/Eden

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Adult language

Word Count: 2429

Authors Note: For jaune_chat

Matt/Eden + others. Proprietors of Mind and Mood, a self-help store. Except this one actually seems to work. Soon it's not just the disenfranchised looking for a new direction, but police officers, government officials, geneticists, DAs, delinquent kids, and paramedics. What is their secret?



Eden puts her hands on her hips as she regards the storefront. Beside her, Matt fidgets with his hands.

‘So what do you think, do you think it’s okay, I’m not sure if it’s okay.’

Eden rubs his arm. ‘Matt, it’s going to work out perfectly. You have to think positively. People respond to confidence. Your confidence gives them confidence.’

‘What if I don’t have any confidence?’

‘Then I’ll have to use “the voice” on you,’ she says with a wink.

‘Don’t even joke about that. I don’t want to find myself wondering why I’ve suddenly decided to regrout the bathroom, scrub the kitchen floor, and change the bed linen.’ Matt takes her hand and entwines their fingers. ‘You hear me?’

‘I did it one time,’ she says, rolling her eyes. ‘And you made me think you hadn’t stolen my yoghurt!’

Matt kisses the top of her head. ‘Damn but you’re too damn short. We’re going to have to get you on a rack and stretch you out to a decent height.’

‘I’m a very decent height,’ she says, walking forward and towing him with her. ‘You’re the freak.’ She looks up at the sign. ‘It looks good.’ She lets go of his hand and slaps his ass. ‘Now go and get your little café up and running while I tend to the store.’

‘Don’t be belittling my café,’ Matt says, walking past her to open up. ‘There are other alternative therapy stores near here…’

‘Don’t we know it,’ Eden remarks, looks over at the dark and foetid store across the street.

‘… but we’ve got the only café and that’s going to be a draw.’

Eden props the front door open and looks around their brand new little kingdom. ‘It is going to be a big draw.’ She smiles at him. ‘We’ve worked for this, Matt. It’s going to be a success.’

‘Positive thoughts, Peanut?’

‘I hate it when you call me that,’ she scowls. ‘But no, I put my faith in extensive advertising, rigorous market research, and if that fails bribery and misuse of my ability.’

‘Oh well, as long as you have a plan.’



By mid-morning the shop has had a steady stream of customers and the café is filling up. Charlie offers the latest customers a bright smile as they take their seats in the café.

‘Welcome to “Mind and Mood”! I’m Charlie; I’ll be your waitress. Here are your menus. When y’all have decided what you want you just wave at me.’

‘It’s very nice to meet you Charlie,’ Bennet says smiling calmly. ‘My daughter read about the store opening in the paper.’

‘I want a burger; you’re not some kind of hippy vegetarian place are you?’ Lyle asks suspiciously.

‘Well we do have an exceptional range of vegetarian food but we also have the Magnum 44 burger which is a quarter pound of extra lean, grass-fed beef, which you can have as it is for a healthy option, or with bacon, cheese, and a slice of chicken fried potato for the more self-indulgent option.’

‘Oh my God, if you buy that, I’ll barf,’ Claire says.

‘We have a lovely range of low fat meals,’ Charlie says, her smile a little more fixed. ‘They’re right at the front of the menu.’



At the counter, Eden is considering the attraction/annoyance ratio. Certainly the possible customer she’s dealing with is very attractive, but he’s also annoying the hell out of her.

‘I just think that you could make more of an effort to list the scientific proof. Some of these so-called “alternative therapies” have providences far beyond conventional Western medicine.’

‘I appreciate your point, Sir, and we at “Mind and Mood” are very aware of the long history of non-Western remedies,’ she says patiently, ‘however the majority of our clientele aren’t looking for scientific data and might actually mistrust it.’

‘Mistrust it!’

‘You see, Sir, what many of our customers seek is a sense of… wellness, of unity with the world, and wholeness within themselves. An intelligent man such as yourself knows that such feelings of connectedness and totality cannot be easily observed in others nor monitor or collated.’

You’re such a hippy bullshitter,Matt’s voice says, amused.

The attractive but annoying customer pauses for a long moment. ‘It’s certainly true that perception of anything is almost impossible to prove empirically. How would you go about making me feel… whole?’ he asks, surprising her.

‘That would depend on how fragmented you are,’ she says. ‘We have a range of products for those in need of minor help but for something more fundamental I would recommend a one-to-one therapy session with my husband, Matt. That’s a thirty minute, high intensity therapy session, followed by a fifteen minute relaxation session, which for this week only will cost you thirty dollars. I guarantee you’ll feel wonderful afterwards.’

He looks at her doubtfully. ‘How much is it usually?’

‘Fifty, but we just opened,’ Eden says with a cheery smile, and adds silently to herself, ‘and you really need it Mister.’

He runs his fingers through his curly hair and nods. ‘Very well, can we do it now?’

Matt, any chance of an intensive one-to-one now for Mr Science here?’

Matt looks over, raises his eyebrows, and nods.

‘What name is it please?’ Eden asks, opening a large ledger.

‘Mohinder Suresh. You have my father’s last book on display,’ he says, pulling a face. ‘Chandra Suresh.’

‘It was such a terrible shame what happened to him,’ she remarks. ‘I hope they catch the guy.’

‘Oh… thank you.’



Mohinder follows Matt into a small room which is comfortably appointed with a pair of sofas, a thick rug, and a dozen cushions.

‘Are you a qualified therapist?’

‘Yeah, actually, although I know I might not look like it.’

‘I suppose you and your wife met due to your interest in… crystals and that sort of thing,’ Mohinder says, waving a hand.

‘No,’ Matt says with a smile. ‘Now, the most important thing for you right now is to relax. What would you say to a cup of tea?’

‘I’d say “hello cup of tea”, sorry, sorry, it’s been a rather stressful few weeks. A cup of tea would be very welcome, thank you.’ Mohinder sits down and finds himself taking off his jacket and shoes. ‘I thought relaxation was after.’

‘Sure, but you start off tense it makes everything more difficult.’



Sandra sits back down at the table and glances over her shoulder.

‘Is something wrong?’ Bennet asks.

‘No… it’s just while I was in the restroom I would’ve sworn I heard someone crying.’

‘Maybe someone was upset they didn’t get the burger,’ Lyle says through a mouthful of food.

‘Lyle! Nobody wants to see you eat!’ Claire snaps.



Mohinder practically skips out into the shop, pulls Eden into a hug, and whirls her around, before putting her down again.

‘That was the best thirty dollars I’ve ever spent,’ he announces.

‘I’m pleased that you’re happy with your purchase,’ Eden says, smoothing her clothes. ‘Feel free to come back at any time.’

‘I shall. I’ve given your husband my number if you need any testimonies for a website or something of that nature.’

Eden smiles warmly. ‘Thank you for visiting, Mr Suresh. We hope to see you again soon.’



‘Oh my God, I think you broke Mr Suresh,’ Eden deadpans.

Matt straightens a cushion. ‘He’s doctor.’

‘Oh then I’m sure it makes perfect sense that he went out of here like he was floating on air.’

‘Your faith in me is astounding,’ Matt says, kissing her on the nose as he walks past.

‘Doctor Suresh’s transformation was astounding. I imagine onlookers thought you’d given him drugs,’ she says, following him. ‘You didn’t ask me in.’

‘He didn’t need “persuading” to face anything or to change his behaviour.’

Eden puts her hand on his forearm before he can walk over to the café. ‘So?’

‘So, daddy issues. Dead daddy issues. Nothing very complicated. Sad though,’ Matt says with a shrug. ‘The way people treat their kids.’

‘Did you tell him a lot of wicked lies?’ she teases.

‘Only the kind of lies that should’ve been true.’



Charlie can’t quite work out what the deal is with the two men at the back table. The shorter man is younger by ten years at least and dressed very casually with in trailing jeans, sweatshirt, and trainers while the older man is in an expensive looking suit. The younger man is jittery, uncertain, and intense.

‘Here’s your coffee, gents, and your tofu burger,’ she says, giving the younger man a wink. ‘Your steak will be here in a couple of shakes,’ she says to the older man.

‘Huh? Yeah. Thanks,’ the younger man says.

The older man smiles at her brightly. ‘My brother, Peter, made the mistake of going over to the other alternative therapy place across the road.’

Peter shudders extravagantly. ‘It was awful! And I had to pay three hundred dollars!’

‘Ass.’

‘Is that place open?’ Charlie asks. ‘I thought it was abandoned!’

‘Can we stop talking about it, Nathan?’ Peter asks. ‘I don’t know why you dragged me in here.’

‘I take my little brother to one of the touchy-feely places he loves so much and offer to buy him lunch,’ Nathan says, ‘and he accuses me of “dragging” him in here.’

Peter takes a sip of his coffee. ‘It feels like he’s looking at me.’

‘You should go over there and give the man a piece of your mind. Get your money back,’ Nathan says.

‘I’m not doing that!’

‘Be a man in front of the pretty waitress.’

Charlie laughs and brushes her hair behind her ear. ‘I don’t know if it’s any kind of help but Eden, that’s her there, she provides assertiveness therapy. I haven’t done it myself, but she has a stack of people who swear by her. Anyway, I’ll go and get your steak.’

‘Maybe I should try that,’ Nathan says.

‘Assertiveness therapy? You?’

‘I can’t go through life meek and mild.’



Charlie walks into the kitchen, past Old Mr Linderman the chef, and over to Matt.

‘Hey, how’s it going?’ he asks.

‘Good, we’re getting a good flow of people. Never less than seven of the ten tables full.’

‘Great,’ Matt says. ‘Is something up?’

‘No, just… the two men at table six say the younger man went over to the other alternative therapy store,’ she says.

Matt crosses his arms across his chest and lowers his voice. ‘Are you sure?’

‘That’s what they said. I thought I should let you know.’

‘Thanks Charlie.’



‘You’re looking tense,’ Matt says, patting Eden’s ass.

‘I just booked my first session here in our new place,’ she says. ‘Assertiveness therapy for the pretty boy at the back of the café.’

‘You’ll do fantastic,’ Matt promises.

‘He’s been over to your dad’s place.’

‘I know.’ Matt runs his fingers through his hair. ‘Good luck with that one.’



The sun has risen on a new day and the breakfast rush is rushing.

‘When can you start?’ Matt asks, running his fingers through his hair.

‘Soon as you like,’ Daphne says cheerfully. ‘Now if you want.’

‘You’ve waitressed before your resume says?’

‘All through high school,’ she says nodding. ‘I’m at college right now so the part time hours are great for me.’

Matt gestures at Charlie. ‘Charlie, this is Daphne, she’s the new waitress.’

‘It’s a real pleasure to meet you,’ Charlie says, grabbing her hand and shaking it. ‘I am pleased as punch you’re going to be working here.’

‘Daphne’s fast, very, very fast,’ Matt says.

‘That’ll be very, very, helpful!’ Charlie links arms with Daphne. ‘I’ll show you where everything is.’

Matt and Eden serve scrambled eggs, pancakes, granola, and oatmeal as the waitresses get ready.

‘Remind me why I thought a café was an odd idea?’ Eden asks.

‘Because it wasn’t yours?’

‘Ass.’

‘How’s the appointment book?’ Matt asks.

‘Completely full for the next three weeks.’

‘Three weeks!’

Eden stretches and pauses to get her breath back. ‘Doctor Suresh is a science advisor to the government and the young man yesterday, Peter? His brother is the DA. We’ve got scientists, government officials, lawyers, cops, doctors, nurses, and paramedics.’

Matt tilts his head. ‘I don’t get the medical people.’

‘Peter’s a paramedic,’ Eden explains.

‘Ah.’



By midmorning things have quietened down and Matt is in with a whiny, weedy teenager named Luke when darkness spills across the threshold.

Carry on what you’re doing and pay no attention. Matt, I could use your help out here.

Maury ambles into the room and looks around with an air of polite curiosity.

‘Can I help you, Sir?’

‘You’re in my spot, little lady.’

‘I don’t follow.’

Maury leans his hands on the counter. ‘I was here first. I don’t like you setting up here and stealing my customers.’

‘If you mean that filthy looking hovel over the road, we thought it was abandoned,’ she says primly. Eden feels herself relax as she hears the door to the therapy room open behind her.

Maury looks around the room. ‘How do you get so many people to come in here?’

‘Excellent service.’

‘What do you want, Dad?’ Matt asks, walking forward and putting his hand on Eden’s waist.

‘Matty, I should’ve realised you were here. Bit naughty you setting up practically opposite your old man.’

‘Go away,’ Matt says flatly.

‘You must be making good money.’

‘We’ve been opened for two days!’ Matt snaps. ‘What do you want?’

‘I only want what’s fair, son.’

‘Are you seriously trying to shake us down?’

The two men stare at each other for a long moment, and then break apart.

‘You’ve been practicing,’ Maury says, rubbing his forehead. ‘Doesn’t matter. I guess that’s why all these folks are skipping out here. Wonder how they’d feel if they knew what you were doing.’

‘You’re getting nothing from us. You’re going to go away and not come back.’

Maury shakes his head. ‘You can’t force me son.’

‘He can’t,’ Eden says.



Charlie turns around as the door shuts and, through the window, sees the scruffily dressed older man walk across the road like a marionette.

‘Excuse please, Miss?’

Charlie looks at the two Japanese tourists and smile warmly. ‘I’m awful sorry about that. Now, what do you want to drink with your waffles?’



‘It’s scary how scary you are,’ Matt says, kissing Eden’s neck.

‘You’re not bad yourself,’ she giggles, and squirms out of his arms. ‘And not in front of the customers.’

‘I’m sexy or I’m scary?’

‘Both!’ Eden slaps his ass and winks. ‘Now get back to work!’


The End