My emotions were a bit high. I had a different reason to go to my favorite coffee shop this time. I wanted to forget what had happened to me that day, to wash up all the miserable feelings in me by the sips of hot coffee. Although, I wasn’t sure that would work well, I thought the trial will worth it.
I saw a familiar face from the neighborhood inside the coffee shop. But I ignored her.
Behind the counter, I greeted the new barista, ordered the same latte as I always do, sat behind the same table, and looked at the same view through the glass. While my fingers were nervously tapping on the lid of the coffee cup, I kept repeating to myself this: “let’s start from this point… the past is gone”. It wasn’t enough convincing. I sent down the first big gulp of the coffee and it started to warm me up right away.
As I decided to focus on something else, I found a left over newspaper on a nearby table.
It was “USA TODAY”. I always hated that paper. Perhaps, because what I’ve always needed was USA Tomorrow.
My attempt of focusing on an article was futile. I tried another page, while I sent down several more sips of the coffee. Little by little, I could feel the lightness. Is this paper so short on topic that 5 pages must be written all on the same subject? I really started to feel the flow of euphoria in me. It relaxed me well. So I got it more and more to the point of “Shangooliness”. At that point, the jazz music in the coffee shop seemed so mush cooler to me. I smiled back to the familiar face.
In less than 20 minutes, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go to the barista and ask for more…but I had to tip her somehow. I was totally drunk.
Amidst the happy but uncertain moment of thinking/feeling about whether I can handle to go back home, or I might be on the verge of making a big mess, I managed to ask myself this vital question of: ” How can anyone ever be such…”
The familiar face from corner of the coffee shop shot: ‘Cheers’!