[ WP ] You are working the register at a quaint café . A customer tries to pay for their purchase with a human heart .

“ How are you this morning? ” the barista asked his next customer. The barista was a man in his mid-twenties, tall with short, dyed black hair and a narrow, triangular face. It had been a few days since he last shaved but the scruff belonged on him. Spiral patterned tattoos running from his wrist all the way up his arm under the fabric of his navy blue shirt which bore the acronym “ G.H.O.S.T. ”. The bohemian affect he exuded in his appearance and style was unintentionally deceptive. 
 
 “ Oh I ’ m good. Yourself? ” The customer was a woman in her early-thirties. She wore a tight black blouse with a short skirt and a silver necklace. The strap of her medium-sized black purse sat on her left shoulder. Her chin-length blonde hair and blue eyes with eyeliner endowed her with an acute exquisiteness. 
 
 “ Living the dream. What can I get for you? ” 
 
 She chuckled, “ Aren ’ t we all. I ’ d like a macchiato, please. ” 
 
 “ Sure. One or two shots? ” 
 
 “ I ’ ll take two. I ’ m exhausted this morning. ” 
 
 “ It seems like that kind of day. That ’ ll be $ 3.52. ” 
 
 The customer reached into her purse. Her hand emerged, dripping with blood, as she placed a human heart on the counter next to the register. “ Can you break this? ” asked the woman. 
 
 “ It already looks pretty broken. ” replied the barista. “ What happened to it? ” 
 
 “ Hah, you know what I mean. Can you make change? ” she smirked. “ It was my boyfriend ’ s, well, my ex-boyfriend ’ s heart. I broke up with him last night. Clearly he didn ’ t take it well. ” 
 
 “ No kidding. The poor thing looks completely crestfallen. But I guess that ’ s how relationships go. ” The barista opened the register and reached in. “ Here are two aortas, a pulmonary vein, a tricuspid and bicuspid valve, ” he said as he handed her the fistful of organ chunks. The customer placed the change in her purse as the barista stuffed the broken heart into the register. “ We ’ ll have your coffee on the counter in just a minute. ” 
 
 “ Thank you! By the way, is that an acronym? What does G.H.O.S.T. stand for? ” 
 
 “ Geist Harvesting Operations Sorting Team, ” he said. Her eyebrows raised. He continued, “ In fact, I could show you our collection sometime. Our organization has managed to put together a fine array of cerebral tissue. Maybe you ’ d even like to be part of it? ” he said as he gave her a broad smile. 
 
 “ Let ’ s make a date out of it, ” she winked at him as she spoke. “ Here ’ s my number. ” 
 
 “ I ’ ll be in touch soon. Oh, and your coffee ’ s up. ” 
 
 “ So it is. I have to run but take care! ” She smiled as she grabbed her coffee and walked out. 

