The cafe got really popular after it invested in the new chairs.
They were really cool chairs, everyone who came in commented on it. They were the result of a fantastic find by the cafe manager; they'd been dumped at the roadside in front of another cafe. The chairs were in perfect condition, and probably cost a fortune to buy new, but there they were, just dumped at the roadside.
Oscar had called a friend with a truck, and the two of them had loaded them up. That night they worked on reorganising the cafe so they'd fit in. It had taken all night but was definitely worth the effort it had taken.
The chairs were large enough to seat two people comfortably. There was a back that spanned the width of the bench, and carried it up five feet. A small covered top completed it, like a really larger porter's chair, if you made a porter's chair into a loveseat. The whole thing was upholstered in white leather, multiple brass buttons creating a quilted effect on the entire back. The seat was held up by four intricately carved legs of a dark wood that offset the white covering beautifully.
When the cafe opened the next morning, the regular customers came in. They loved the new look, with the love seats against the walls, and rustic tables with the old, wooden chairs on the other side. The regulars left, and they told other people. New customers came in, just to see the chairs. The next thing Oscar and the staff new, the place was a constant hive of activity as the town't residents tried to scoop the privelege of sitting in the new chairs as often as possible.
Business boomed. The cafe used the opportunity to try new dishes, and new ideas. Everyone seemed to love them. The chairs got tons of use. The place was jumping.
Oscar took to doing the books after hours, seated in one of the chairs. They were pretty comfortable, really. He had lots of room to spread out the papers and a computer, and get down to the math part of the business. It all seemed so cozy and pleasant, barely like work at all. He still couldn't believe his luck finding these.
Then the problems started.
It was innocuous enough. A family with three kids came in, and all three wanted to sit in the "comfy seat". It was difficult to fit all of them in there and have room for utensils to be used. The parents wanted one kid to sit at a chair at the end of a table, and a grand screaming match resulted. The three kids elbowed their way through dinner, complainingloudly the whole time and creating a huge ruckus in the process.
A few days later it was a group of teenagers. Several of them wanted to sit on a chair at the same time. Again, a fight ensued, and Oscar ended up having to eject the lot of them. It was the first time he'd ever had trouble with kids in his cafe, and he wasn't too impressed that paying customers actually had to be ejected on his watch.
The next day, it was adults. A lunchtime business meeting, to be precise. Talk of strategies and projects because an all out shoving match as everyone vied for a place in one of the chairs. It wasn't resolved until Oscar and another employee pushed two tables - and chairs - together, and the meeting continued in what looked like a bizarre recreation of the Last Supper.
As time went on, the fights increased. Oscar was spending more time trying to negotiate seating arrangements, and less time serving customers. It was becoming annoying, and he wished more and more that he had never found the damned chairs in the first place.
One night, after balancing the books, Oscar prepared to head home. The chair was so comfortable, though, and the thought of having to trudge home to his wife and bed seemed horribly unappealing. The chair was warm, and it was here, and really, he didn't ever need to leave the chair if he didn't want to.
He woke up the next morning with his face pressed up against the arm of the chair when the employees came in. Embarassed to be caught sleeping at the office, he still had to wrench himself away from the chair.
There were four more fights, and Oscar almost threw everyone out so that he could go back to napping in a chair himself. When he heard his employees suggesting something simlar, he knew something wasn't right.
That night, Oscar and one of the stronger employees took all the chairs to the curb. They spent the evening reorganising the cafe, putting it back the way it was.
The next morning, the chairs were gone.
Over the next few weeks, business dropped off a bit, but so did the fights and arguments. Oscar no longer felt the urge to spend the night at work, and everything returned to normal.
A peaceful workday was worth the trade, he thought. Secretly, he still longed to spend all his time in one of those chairs.
Oscar came across the chairs again a few months later, at a new restaurant in the next town over. He walked in, saw the chairs, and heard two customers bickering over the right to sit in one. Before he could change his mind, Oscar turned on his heel, and ran.
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