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NOTE:
This story doesn't jump right in to people getting their freak on, nor does it have explicit sex. If that's what you're after, feel free to hit the back button. Maybe jump to the end to pick some of the 'related' story links.
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After three straight weeks of work without a day off, I finally got some free time after the huge project was completed. I had a whole week off, but had nothing planned except sleeping in. After two days lounging around the house, compared with the frantic pace of so much time at work, I was bugging to get out and *do* something.
Not sure what exactly to do, I put the laptop and a few other essentials in my backpack and drove my company van to a random strip mall across town to go wandering. While I was kind of hoping to find some inspiration, I didn't really care if I only got some fresh air and exercise. None of the stores looked interesting, and I was almost ready to call it quits and go somewhere else when I saw a new little boutique coffee shop. The Grand Opening sign was starting to look worn, but I had never seen the place before, so it was still new to me.
The second I walked in, I knew it was the perfect spot to spend an hour or three. Even though there wasn't anyone in line, I stood to the side as I tried to figure out what what goodies my sweet tooth would demand of me.
The barista's voice snapped me out of my trance.
"Good morning sir, is there something I can get started for you?"
"Gurackks...."
-Ahem!- Clearing my throat, I realized this was the first time I'd spoken all day. Chuckling a bit in my head at my lazy start to the day, I tried again.
"Sorry miss, I had a frog in my throat. Ya, can I get a large cup of regular drip coffee? For here please."
"Sure thing, which blend would you prefer? We have a large selection. Our best sellers are Kona, Sumatra, this wonderful new Ethiopian ........"
As she spoke, I kind of got a 'deer in the headlights' look as she rambled off some names I couldn't follow. Hell, I just wanted some regular normal coffee, not some foo-foo mixology blend of stuff.
She only went through a few more names before I held up my hand.
"Hold on, hold on a second please. I actually don't know what most of those are, but I did recognize the 'Kona' name. Can I have one of those please?"
"Yes sir, right away."
What surprised me is that I realized I couldn't see any carafes or thermoses ready to dispense the dark black brew I needed. There were about a dozen canisters of beans, and she picked the right one and took a scoop of beans to bring to the grinder. My cup was put under a brew basket, and she put the ground beans in it and started working steaming-hot water through it. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry!
This was a lot more work than I had expected, but as I looked around I got the impression this was a specialty shop. This was about the whole 'experience' of coffee, not the coffee version of a fast-food place that I'm used to. This was really cool, and I was glad to have some time to spend here.
"Excuse me miss, but can you maybe change that order to a small cup?"
"Absolutely sir. Is there something wrong?"
"No, no, not at all. I've never been in here and I was just going to have one cup and take off. Now that I see what this place is all about, I'm thinking about staying longer and trying out several types of coffee. I have the day off and nothing to do, and this seems like a cool place to hang out for a while."
"Well lucky you!" she said, deftly sliding a smaller cup under the basket, then pouring in the dark liquid from the larger one.
"So if you will be while, did you want to start a tab?"
"Ya, that's a great idea. Also, can I get one of those ham&cheese croissants to go with this?"
"Sure, if you want to pick a table, I'll warm it up and bring it out to you when it's ready."
We traded my credit card for the cup of Kona, and I turned to find a table. There were plenty to choose from since there isn't much of a rush at 10AM. Spying a tall table with two bar stools, I made my way to the far wall and checked out the view. Perfect. It had a nice view of the whole (rather small) shop, and my table was overlooking a lower level seating area. It was two steps down from my level, and there were six over-stuffed armchairs in groups of two, with a small table between the groups.
My backpack got one stool and I got the other, and once I got out my laptop and situated everything, the barista showed up with my sandwich.
"Here you go sir, enjoy."
"Thanks much. But if I'm going to be here a while, can you stop calling me 'sir' please? It makes me feel old. My name is Mark."